El referéndum autonómico

Abstract

The Spanish Constitution of 1978 established a system that strongly prioritizes the representative democracy. The constituent power drew up a restrictive regulation of the referendum, as evidenced by the experience: only two national referendums have been called for over 30 years. One of the most significant open debates in the Spanish legal doctrine concerns the possibility for autonomous regions to call regional referendums within the Spanish constitutional framework. Beyond the political noise that surrounds the issue, this paper aims to discuss ways to achieve this purpose. Bearing in mind the close connection between this debate and the Catalan separatism, we will also consider the constitutionality of an eventual call for a self-determination referendum.