Auntamiento

Ayuntamiento (in the old transcription of ayuntamiento , Spanish: Ayuntamiento ) is a municipal authority in Spain ^[1] .

Developed from the institutions of the Romans and intensified during the wars with the Moors, Ayuntamiento soon gained significant influence in public life. Due to the unsuccessful uprising of Juan de Padilla in 1521 and the merciless cruelty of Charles V , which overwhelmed all class advantages, the freedom of the cities over the next three centuries was lost. Despite this, the memory of her did not fade among the people. An instructive proof of this is the comedy of Calderon - "Alcade of Salamei."

The uprising of 1808 also relied primarily on ayuntamiento. On this basis, the Cortes , assembled in Cadix in 1812 , restored in general terms the old system, applying it through many democratic innovations to the needs of the time. After the restoration of Ferdinand VII, the independence of the ayuntamiento was destroyed, but the Cortes restored it by law on February 3, 1823. Then, after the French invasion, ayuntamiento again lost their independence, which was again confirmed by the 1837 constitution. According to this law, ayuntamiento and their chairman ( alcadas ) are elected by indirect election of communities; the government may suspend temporarily the actions of ayuntiento, but is obliged to subsequently obtain the approval of the cortes, who alone have the right to dissolve the ayuntiento. The competence of the latter includes: compiling voter and jury lists, organizing the national guard, police, distributing and levying taxes and managing community property.

In 1840, the Cortes approved a draft of a new law drawn up in a French fashion. Under this law, ayuntamiento were deprived of their political influence and their activity was limited to only urban interests. As for suffrage, it was granted only to persons paying a high salary of taxes. This law was not enforced, however, as a result of the uprising that led to the expulsion of the regent Queen Mary-Christina .

In the period from 1840 to 1843, the law of 1823 came into force again. Following the subsequent counter-revolution, the Cortes adopted in 1845 the law of 1840, amended under French influence. The latter remained in effect until the September Revolution of 1868, which again renewed the law of 1823 and modified it in the municipal law of 1870. Under the new provision, members of ayuntamiento (concejales) are elected by the district by general and direct suffrage, and the alcadas and his deputies (tenientes) are elected by concejales. As an “economic-administrative unit”, Ayuntamiento is completely excluded from the political sphere, only the position of the alcade has a political character, and even voter lists are compiled by the auntamiento. The administrative authority of the latter remains within the limits established by law on February 3, 1823. The management of community property and charitable institutions, as well as the collection of taxes, is limited to the participation and control of provincial authorities. Further, under the authority of the ayuntamiento there is no armed force other than a police guard. In case of violation of the law by ayuntamiento, the provincial governor and the government have the right to suspend their operation, but the final decision must be made by the judiciary. The general municipal law was amended at the request of the Fueros in the provinces inhabited by the Basques , and, to a lesser extent, in Navarre .

When, with the accession to the throne of Alfonso XII in December 1874, the reactionary party of the liberal conservatives (the Canovas ministry) became the helm of the government, it was not slow to revoke the law of 1870 on ayuntamiento again. Such a measure was taken in the form of direct subordination to the government of municipal authorities. The election of alcades was allowed only to a limited extent and in smaller areas of the state. Governors, especially during the election campaign, arbitrarily closed ayuntamiento. The Ministry of the Sagasta (since February 1881) in 1882 proposed for consideration by the Cortes a draft reform of ayuntamiento. This project met the reform requirements long overdue in Spanish society, in the sense of a return to greater autonomy of urban governance.