Text and Context of the Express Constitutional Amendment of August 2011

Abstract

In august 2011, just a few months before the general elections, the Spanish Parliament passed the Balanced-budget Amendment. According to it, the new article 135 states the limitation of deficit spending and public debt for the central, regional and local governments. Socialdemocratic party and Popular party -the majority in Spanish Parliament- agreed with the Balanced-budget Amendment. Consequently, the parliamentary process was developed so quickly that has been called the "express" amendment. The minoritarian political parties -especially the lefties- claimed for a referendum to ask public opinion about this constitutional amendment that affects seriously the Welfare State. This article explains the details of the Balanced-budget Amendment and the political circumstances that accompanied all this process, analyzing the reasons argued by the Spanish Constitutional Court in order to reject the judicial claim presented by two Representatives, members of the Spanish Parliament, against this constitutional amendment.