

- this influential weekly was established in 1978
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- ETA, meaning "Basque homeland and liberty", is a terrorist organization founded in 1959 to fight for Basque independence. Its political wing, established in 1978 as Herri Batasuna - HB (Popular Unity) is now called batasuna (Unity). Batasuna was declared an illegal organization in 2003. Opinion polls show a majority of Basques are opposed to the political violence and murder campaigns espoused by ETA.
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- The current Spanish Constitution was approved in the Cortes Generales in December 1978. It describes Spain as a parliamentary monarchy, gives sovereign power to the people through universal suffrage, recognizes the plurality of religions, and transfers responsibility for defense from the armed forces to the government.
The Constitution was generally well received, except in the Basque Country, whose desire for independence it did not satisfy. It is considered to have facilitated the successful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
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- The name of the autonomous governments of Catalonia and Valencia. A great deal of power has now been transferred to them from central government.
The medieval term generalitat was revived in 1932, when Catalonia voted for its own devolved government. After the Civil War, it was abolished by Franco but was restored in 1978, with the establishment of comunidades autónomas comunidad autónoma. The Valencian Generalitat is keen to preserve the traditions of the region from Catalan influence.
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- One of Spain's two main national political parties, the other being the PP - Partido Popular. The PSOE was transformed from a democratic Marxist party to a liberal democratic party in 1978. It came to power in 1982 and remained in government until 1996. Under the leadership of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero it returned to power in 2005 and increased its share of the vote in the 2008 general elections.
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- Spain's 1978 Constitution granted of areas of competence competencias to each of the autonomous regions it created. It also established that these could be modified by agreements, called estatutos de autonomía or just estatutos, between central government and each of the autonomous regions. The latter do not affect the competencias of central government which controls the army, etc. For example, Navarre, the Basque Country and Catalonia have their own police forces and health services, and collect taxes on behalf of central government. Navarre has its own civil law system, fueros, and can levy taxes which are different to those in the rest of Spain. In 2006, Andalusia, Valencia and Catalonia renegotiated their estatutos. The Catalan Estatut was particularly contentious.
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- Spain has long been been a diverse country, made up of different kingdoms and territories with their own languages, political institutions and legal systems. Periods of central control and uniformity, such as the Franco era, nurtured nationalist and separatist feeling in the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia. The 1978 Constitution changed Spain into a country consisting of 19 autonomous regions, known as comunidades autónomas or autonomías. These replaced the old regiones. Each of them has its own parliament and government, and its relationship with the central government is governed by an estatuto. Some have more autonomy than others.
The comunidades autónomas are: Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, the Basque Country , the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Extremadura, Galicia, Madrid, Murcia, Navarre, La Rioja, Valencia and the North African cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Estatuto/Estatut
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- España (official title: Reino de España) is a constitutional monarchy with a two-chamber system. The king, Juan Carlos I, was appointed Head of State on 22.11.1975. The successor to the throne is Crown Prince Felipe de Asturias. The official language of the country is Spanish. Since 1978, el gallego (Galician), el catalán (Catalan) and el euskera/el vasco (Basque) have also been recognised as national languages.
- España (official title: Reino de España) is a constitutional monarchy with a two-chamber system. The king, Juan Carlos I, was appointed Head of State on 22.11.1975. The successor to the throne is Crown Prince Felipe de Asturias. The official language of the country is Spanish. Since 1978, el gallego (Galician), el catalán (Catalan) and el euskera/el vasco (Basque) have also been recognised as national languages.