Abascal proposes regulating vulture funds to curb real estate speculation

A reform of the legislation on gender-based violence must go through the presentation of a text, debate and amendments in the Congress, the intervention of the Senate, and the final approval. The next step depends on who initiates the reform and the procedure already completed; since you do not specify a particular initiative, this is the general process, not the schedule of a specific file.

1. Presentation and admission of the text

The first distinction is between two routes:

• Government bill: the text sent to the Congress must be accompanied by a statement of reasons and the necessary background for its examination. The Board orders its publication, opens the period for amendments, and sends it to the competent committee.
• Parliamentary bill proposal: it can be presented by a group with the signature of its spokesperson, or a deputy with fourteen other signatures. It also requires a statement of reasons and background.

In this second route, the proposal is sent to the Government for it to express its opinion and, when it affects budget credits or revenues, its agreement with the procedure. After thirty working days without an express refusal to the latter, it can be included in the agenda for its initial debate.

2. Initial decision of the Congress

A proposal requires consideration: the Plenary decides whether to start processing it, without yet approving its final content. If accepted, it is sent to committee and the amendment period is opened.

Government bills do not require this initial vote. However, if total amendments are presented, the Plenary debates whether to return the bill to the Government or replace it with an alternative text. If it agrees to return it, the initiative is rejected.

3. Amendments, drafting committee, and committee

The ordinary period for amendments is fifteen working days, although it can be modified. These can delete, modify, or add provisions. In a reform on gender-based violence, this phase allows specifying the scope of the measures and negotiating their wording.

Afterwards, a drafting committee — a small group of parliamentarians — studies the text and amendments and prepares a report. The committee debates the articles and approves an opinion, which contains the resulting text. It can also request documentation and hearings from experts for advice. The Board determines the competent committee according to the content of the reform.

4. Plenary and majority requirement

When the debate corresponds to the Plenary, groups can maintain amendments rejected in committee. If the reform is processed as a organic law, it requires an absolute majority of the members of the Congress in a final vote on the whole. It is not enough to obtain more favorable votes than opposing ones.

If it does not reach that majority, it returns to committee for a new opinion within a month. A second vote without an absolute majority means its rejection.

5. Senate and final decision

Once approved by the Congress, the text goes to the Senate. If the Senate introduces amendments or a veto, it returns to the Congress. Amendments are accepted by simple majority; in the case of an organic law, the text incorporating them must also pass a joint vote by absolute majority. To lift a veto on an organic law, an absolute majority is also required.

6. Deadlines and continuity

There is no automatic total duration. Extensions of deadlines, negotiations, and scheduling of debates influence it. Urgency halves the ordinary deadlines of the Congress. Also, a pending parliamentary reform expires with the dissolution of the Chamber and requires a new presentation to be resumed.

These rules can be consulted in the Congress Regulations, especially in articles 109 to 132 and 207.

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 defines the Prime Minister as the central figure of the executive power and political leadership of the country. His powers and functions appear mainly in articles 97, 98, 99, 100, and 112 to 115, as well as some provisions distributed in other articles.

1. Head of the executive power and political leadership

Article 97 establishes the basic function of the Prime Minister:

• Direct the Government's action: coordinates and guides the work of all ministers, sets priorities, and marks the general line of action of the Executive.
• Direct internal and external policy: defines the major orientations in areas such as economy, welfare state, relations with autonomous communities, European Union, diplomacy, etc.
• Direct the civil and military Administration: has authority over the General State Administration and the political command structure of the Armed Forces.
• Responsible for the defense of the State: without being Commander-in-Chief (a role the Constitution assigns to the King symbolically), the Prime Minister politically directs defense and national security decisions.

2. Confidence relationship with the Congress

The Prime Minister is politically responsible before the Congress of Deputies:

• Election by investiture (art. 99): proposed by the King, but only becomes Prime Minister if he obtains the confidence of the Congress by majority (absolute in the first vote, simple in the second).
• Continuous political responsibility: must maintain that confidence; if clearly lost, his continuity can be questioned through parliamentary control mechanisms.

3. Appointment and dismissal of the Government

Within the organization of the Executive itself, the Constitution assigns key functions to the Prime Minister (arts. 98 and 100):

• Propose the appointment and dismissal of ministers: the King appoints and removes ministers at the Prime Minister's proposal, who decides the Government's composition and portfolio changes.
• Configure the governmental structure (within the legal framework): can create, merge, or suppress ministries through the corresponding regulations.
• Dismiss the entire Government: when the Prime Minister ceases (due to resignation, loss of confidence, etc.), the Government ceases as a whole and remains in office until the new Executive takes office.

4. Instruments for relations with the Cortes

The Prime Minister has several constitutional tools to manage his relationship with the Cortes Generales:

• Vote of confidence (art. 112): can present it before the Congress for it to ratify its support on a program or general policy statement. If lost, the Prime Minister must resign.
• Dissolution of the Cortes and calling elections (art. 115): can propose to the King the dissolution of the Congress, the Senate, or the Cortes Generales and the calling of elections, respecting certain limits (for example, cannot do so while a motion of censure is in process).
• Participation in legislative and regulatory initiative: although the Government as a whole has legislative initiative, it is the Prime Minister who politically directs it and decides priorities of bills and royal decree-laws.

5. Parliamentary control: motion of censure

Although the motion of censure (art. 113) is an instrument of the Congress, it directly affects the Prime Minister:

• If a motion of censure succeeds (a "constructive" motion proposing an alternative candidate), the Prime Minister ceases and is replaced by the approved candidate.
• This possibility conditions the Prime Minister's actions, who must govern paying attention to the stability of his parliamentary majority.

6. Functions in the formation and replacement of the Government

In the Government formation phase, the Prime Minister comes into play after the King's proposal and parliamentary investiture. Once elected:

• Swears or promises the office before the King and takes office.
• Proposes the appointment of ministers and starts government action.
• In case of vacancy, resignation, or death, the Government remains in office and a new investiture process opens.

7. Representation and coordination functions

Although not always expressly stated in specific articles, other practical functions derive from his constitutional position:

• Political representation of the Government domestically and abroad: leads international summits, participates in European Councils, and regularly appears before Parliament.
• Territorial coordination: leads political relations with autonomous communities, although each has its own government.
• Promotion and coordination of cross-cutting public policies: sets priorities in areas such as ecological transition, digitalization, social cohesion, or institutional reforms.

Overall, the Constitution configures the Prime Minister as the figure concentrating political leadership and ultimate responsibility of the Executive, always subject to the confidence of the Congress and framed in a parliamentary system where the government depends on the majority of the lower chamber.

Before leading Vox, Santiago Abascal developed almost two decades of political activity in the People's Party, mainly in the Basque Country. He was a councilor, leader of the New Generations, member of the General Assemblies of Álava, and regional parliamentarian. Later he held positions in the Community of Madrid and presided over the Foundation for the Defense of the Spanish Nation, before leaving the PP in 2013 and participating in the creation of Vox.

His beginnings in the Basque PP

Abascal grew up in Amurrio, Álava, in a family with political ties: his father, Santiago Abascal Escuza, was a leader of Alianza Popular and later of the PP. He joined the People's Party in 1994, at 18 years old, and began taking responsibilities in the Álava organization. His first stage took place in a context marked by ETA's violence against political representatives and the confrontation over Spain's territorial model. These circumstances are part of the environment in which he started his career, according to biographical reconstructions by El Diario Vasco.

Councilor and leader of New Generations

In 1999 he obtained his first elected position: PP councilor in the Llodio City Council, where he remained until 2007, during two municipal terms. At the same time, he worked as an advisor to the Government Subdelegation in Álava between 1999 and 2003.

His rise within the party continued with the presidency of New Generations of the Basque PP, which he held between 2000 and 2005. That responsibility allowed him to combine municipal representation with political organization tasks. The consulted biographies also mention his participation in PP's governing bodies, including its National Board. Vozpópuli reviews these early positions.

His time in Basque institutions

Between 2003 and 2004 he was a procurator of the General Assemblies of Álava, that is, a representative in the parliamentary institution of the territory. Then he moved to the Basque Parliament, where he served in two periods: from January 2004 to February 2005 and from October 2005 to January 2009. Therefore, the usual reference to his parliamentary stage between 2004 and 2009 does not mean he held the seat continuously.

His trajectory before Vox thus included municipal, territorial, and regional experience, as well as internal responsibilities. A summary of that trajectory can be consulted at Telecinco.

DENAES and positions in Madrid

In 2006 he participated in the creation of DENAES, the Foundation for the Defense of the Spanish Nation, which he presided over until 2014. This activity, focused on defending Spain's unity, overlapped with his last years in the PP and the birth of Vox.

Later he moved part of his activity to Madrid. Between 2010 and 2012 he directed the Data Protection Agency of the Community of Madrid, during Esperanza Aguirre's government. In 2013 he took over the direction of the Foundation for Patronage and Social Sponsorship, also linked to the regional administration. These were appointed positions, different from his previous elected responsibilities, as explained by Infobae.

The break with the PP and the leap to Vox

Abascal left the PP in 2013, citing disagreements with Mariano Rajoy's leadership, especially about national unity and the response to nationalism. He then participated in the creation of Vox along with José Antonio Ortega Lara and other promoters. The party was publicly presented in January 2014, according to Cadena SER. In September of that year he was elected president: his leadership came after a previous political trajectory, not as his first institutional experience.