The current Spanish constitution was drafted by a process heavily dominated by members of the former Francoist regime. The Spanish people were never formally asked "What sort of constitution would you like?" They were asked "Would you like a democratic constitution or not?" And I think a lot of people voted 'yes', whether or not they liked the constitution on offer, but simply because they wanted to ensure the return to democracy and the end to dictatorship was solidified. A fairer process of drafting a constitution would have produced a very different document.
If a dictatorship offers people democracy on its terms, people will accept it. But, was their choice really free? Would they have agreed to the same terms if the threat of dictatorship wasn't there? (1978 was only three years after Franco died, Spanish democracy was very young, and it was entirely believable in 1978 that it might not have lasted.)
The committee of 7 people that drafted the constitution included people from very different ideologies, for example a former member of the Franco government, a Catalan member of UCD, a Catalan nationalist, a socialist or a Catalan member of the communist party and they all agreed on the text that was voted. Were they all dominated by the Francoist regime? By that time Spain had already had democratic elections so, if that text were rejected the result would be to restart the constitutive process, not to go back to the dictatorship.
Ultimately we need to answer one question: is the current Spanish Constitution democratic or not? if it is, it does not matter how it came to be. Any changes could be done by a democratic process. If it is not, then all the Spanish citizens are affected and a whole new constitutive process is needed where all the citizens vote, not only Catalans.
skissane|6 years ago
If a dictatorship offers people democracy on its terms, people will accept it. But, was their choice really free? Would they have agreed to the same terms if the threat of dictatorship wasn't there? (1978 was only three years after Franco died, Spanish democracy was very young, and it was entirely believable in 1978 that it might not have lasted.)
szeptik|6 years ago
Ultimately we need to answer one question: is the current Spanish Constitution democratic or not? if it is, it does not matter how it came to be. Any changes could be done by a democratic process. If it is not, then all the Spanish citizens are affected and a whole new constitutive process is needed where all the citizens vote, not only Catalans.