Sumar calls to build a Broad Front for the 29-N "adding all political, social, and civic organizations"

During the dissolution of the Cortes Generales, the Permanent Deputation of the Congress exceptionally assumes the powers of the Plenary regarding the control of royal decree-laws. This control is structured through a procedure that combines the provisions of the Constitution (arts. 78, 86, and 116) and the Rules of the Congress, which declare that the same rules applicable to the Plenary apply to the Permanent Deputation for its operation and sessions.

The legal basis is twofold. On one hand, Article 78 of the Constitution establishes that each Chamber shall have a Permanent Deputation, composed of a minimum of 21 members, which continues exercising its functions when the Congress is dissolved or its term has expired until the constitution of the new Cortes. During this period, it assumes, among others, the powers derived from Article 86 of the Constitution, that is, those related to the validation or repeal of decree-laws. On the other hand, the Rules of the Congress specify that, in case of dissolution or expiration of the term, it corresponds to the Permanent Deputation to “assume all the powers that the Congress of Deputies attributes to it in relation to decree-laws” and that the same regime that applies to the Plenary applies to its sessions and operation.

The procedure begins with the approval of the royal decree-law by the Government and its publication in the Official State Gazette. Article 86 of the Constitution requires that it be submitted to debate and vote within a maximum period of thirty days from its promulgation. If during that period the Congress is dissolved, the control power falls to the Permanent Deputation. The President of the Congress, who also presides over the Permanent Deputation, convenes the session on her own initiative or at the request of two parliamentary groups or one-fifth of the members of the Deputation. The agenda must include explicitly the item related to the validation or repeal of the decree-law.

Regarding guarantees of deliberation and decision, the same regime as for the Plenary applies. For the Permanent Deputation to adopt agreements, the attendance of the majority of its members (quorum) is necessary, according to the general criteria of the Constitution for the validity of the Chambers’ agreements. The session is conducted as a plenary session: the competent Government member presents and defends the content and urgency of the decree-law; then the spokespersons of the parliamentary groups intervene with speaking turns and times set by the Rules and the Presidency, with possible rounds of reply and rejoinder. All this is recorded in the Minutes of the Sessions, just like in an ordinary Plenary.

After the debate phase, a single vote is held on the validation or repeal of the royal decree-law. The required majority is the simple majority of the members present: the decree-law is validated if affirmative votes exceed negative ones, unless the Constitution or an organic law imposes a reinforced majority for some specific aspect, which is not usual in the ordinary use of this instrument. If the majority rejects validation, the decree-law is repealed from that moment, without prejudice to the consolidated legal situations it may have generated while in force.

A specific point is the possible decision to process the decree-law as a bill. Article 86.3 of the Constitution allows that, once validated, the Congress may agree to process it as a bill, which opens the door to introducing amendments. In a situation of dissolved Cortes, doctrine debates to what extent the Permanent Deputation can open that processing, because it does not exercise full legislative power: its proper function is control and not lawmaking. In practice, the Permanent Deputation generally limits itself to pronouncing on validation or repeal, leaving the eventual substantive normative adaptation to the new Cortes once constituted.

Finally, once the new Cortes Generales are constituted, Article 78 of the Constitution and the Rules of the Congress impose on the Permanent Deputation a duty of accountability: it must report to the new Plenary on the matters dealt with and decisions adopted during the dissolution period, including validations or repeals of decree-laws. This communication closes the cycle and allows the new parliamentary majority, if it deems appropriate, to promote legislative reforms that replace or modify the content of the decree-laws validated during the period in which the Permanent Deputation itself acted on behalf of the Congress.

The Minister of Culture is the highest political and administrative authority of the Ministry of Culture within the Government of Spain. His/her competencies are defined by royal decrees regulating the basic organic structure of ministerial departments and, specifically, by the royal decree that develops the structure of the Ministry of Culture itself. Based on this framework, his/her functions can be systematized into several major blocks.

1. Political and strategic direction of the department

Like any minister, the Minister of Culture holds the highest direction of the ministry:

• Sets the general lines of cultural policy of the Government in the areas under his/her competence (heritage, arts, cultural industries, reading, audiovisual, etc.).
• Directs and coordinates the actions of the secretariats of State, undersecretariat, and general directorates of the department.
• Represents the ministry within the Council of Ministers, defending normative, budgetary, and program proposals affecting culture.
• Exercises the political relationship with the Cortes Generales on cultural matters: explanation of bills, appearances, responses to parliamentary control initiatives, etc.

2. Regulatory power and lawmaking

In the cultural field, the Minister of Culture exercises the regulatory power delegated by the Government:

• Proposes to the Council of Ministers bills and royal decrees affecting cultural policy, cultural heritage, books and libraries, performing and musical arts, cinema and audiovisual, or cultural and creative industries in general.
• Approves ministerial orders and other general provisions within his/her scope, within the framework set by laws and royal decrees.
• Promotes the adaptation of cultural regulations to European norms and international commitments assumed by Spain.

3. Planning, coordination, and budget

The minister is responsible for the strategic planning of state cultural policy:

• Defines medium- and long-term plans and strategies for the development of culture and cultural and creative industries.
• Leads the preparation of the Ministry of Culture’s budget, negotiates its inclusion in the General State Budget project, and accounts for its execution.
• Establishes priorities in public funding of culture (subsidies, aids, agreements, investment programs in cultural infrastructures and equipment).
• Coordinates the ministry’s actions with other departments in policies with a cultural dimension (education, foreign affairs, digitalization, tourism, equality, etc.).

4. Management of the state public cultural sector

The Ministry of Culture has public bodies and entities of the institutional public sector specialized in different cultural fields. The minister exercises over them:

• Functions of oversight and strategic direction, setting objectives and priorities.
• Powers of appointment or proposal of appointment of their top officials, according to applicable regulations.
• Approval of their action plans and supervision of their budgets, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance.

5. Cultural heritage, arts, and reading

On the material level, the Minister of Culture has assigned functions regarding the protection, conservation, and dissemination of cultural heritage owned by the state, as well as promoting artistic creation:

• Promotes the policy of protection of historical heritage, museums, archives, and state libraries.
• Designs support policies for performing arts, music, visual arts, and other cultural expressions.
• Promotes measures to encourage reading, books, and libraries, as well as the use and access to culture in digital format.

6. Cultural industries, audiovisual, and patronage

A central part of his/her competencies refers to the cultural and creative industries:

• Promotion and regulation of the audiovisual and cinematographic sector, in coordination with other departments competent in telecommunications and audiovisual services.
• Promotion of programs and lines of aid and subsidies aimed at the production, distribution, and exhibition of cultural works.
• Development of measures of patronage, sponsorship, and private participation in culture financing, within the general fiscal and budgetary framework.

7. International projection and cultural cooperation

Finally, the Minister of Culture plays a key role in external cultural action:

• Participates in defining Spain’s position on culture within the European Union and specialized international organizations.
• Promotes programs of international cultural cooperation and projection of Spanish culture abroad, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Represents Spain in international forums and meetings related to culture, cultural diversity, and heritage protection.

Overall, the competencies of the Minister of Culture cover both the definition of the Government’s cultural policy and the daily management of the administrative apparatus and the state public cultural sector, playing a key role in articulating creation, heritage, cultural industry, and international projection.

In the Spanish electoral system, candidacies can only take the forms provided for in the Organic Law of the General Electoral Regime (LOREG). Citizen platforms or broad fronts can participate, but always “through” one of those legal forms; LOREG does not recognize associations or social movements as autonomous electoral subjects.

1. What legal forms can present candidacies?

According to Article 44 LOREG, the following can present candidates or lists:

• Political parties registered in the corresponding registry.
• Federations of parties (stable unions of several parties).
• Electoral coalitions of parties and federations, constituted for a specific election.
• Groups of electors, which are candidacies promoted directly by citizens who gather a minimum number of signatures.

An association, platform, or social movement cannot, by itself, register a candidacy unless it adopts one of these forms. In practice, it has three routes:

• Integrate into an existing party that is part of the broad front, influencing its lists and program.
• Promote the creation of its own party, which registers in the Party Registry and then forms a coalition with others in a unitary candidacy.
• Promote a group of electors (especially at the municipal level) if opting not to constitute a party.

2. Registration requirements and endorsements

Article 44 LOREG requires that:

• Parties and federations be registered in the corresponding registry (Political Parties Registry) before presenting candidacies.
• Electoral coalitions be communicated in writing to the competent Electoral Board within 10 days following the election call, indicating:
  • Name and acronyms of the coalition.
  • Internal rules governing it.
  • Persons holding its management or coordination bodies.
• Groups of electors gather a minimum number of signatures from persons registered in the census of the corresponding scope, notarized or certified by the municipal secretary. For municipal elections, Article 187 LOREG establishes the number of signatures according to the municipality’s population.

The Central Electoral Board has developed these requirements through instructions, for example:

• Instruction 1/2010, on the constitution of electoral coalitions, specifying which Board is competent according to the territorial scope and emphasizing the obligation to communicate the coalition within the legal deadline.
• Instructions on signature accreditation (endorsement) for groups of electors, which also allow the use of electronic signatures.

3. Role of citizen organizations in a “Broad Front”

Within a typical broad front candidacy, citizen organizations can:

• Participate in the internal structure of one or more parties that make up the coalition, occupying positions in the candidacy’s management bodies.
• Give political name to the coalition (for example, “Broad Front” or similar), provided the name is communicated according to Article 44 LOREG and does not conflict with existing acronyms.
• Place their own people on the lists as candidates, indicating their membership in a specific party or their status as independents (Article 46 allows specifying the party affiliation or independent status alongside candidates’ names).

What is not possible is for a mere association registered in the associations registry to appear alone as the promoting subject of a list without adopting the form of a party or group of electors.

4. Relevant limits and prohibitions

When configuring a broad front, among others, these LOREG limits must be considered:

• Prohibition of double candidacy: no candidate may stand in more than one constituency or in more than one candidacy for the same election.
• Only one list per constituency: no party, federation, coalition, or group of electors may present more than one list in the same constituency for the same election; parties integrated in a federation or coalition may not present their own candidacy where the coalition runs.
• Continuity of illegalized parties: it is prohibited to present candidacies that, in practice, continue the activity of a party declared illegal, considering structures, persons, financing, etc.
• Rules on financing and electoral expenses: parties, coalitions, and groups must respect spending limits and the auditing by the Court of Auditors; associations participating in the candidacy are subject to this framework when channeling resources to the campaign.

In summary: a citizen organization wishing to formally integrate into a Broad Front-type candidacy must decide whether to join one of the existing parties, constitute its own party, or promote a group of electors. The political visibility of the “front” can be reflected in the coalition’s name and symbols and in the lists, but legally the entry door is always the figures that LOREG recognizes as subjects entitled to present candidacies.