L'IMPACTE DE LA CRISI ECONòMICA GLOBAL EN EL SISTEMA DE DESCENTRALITZACIó POLíTICA A ESPANYA

This article has a double objective for analysis: the impact of the economiccrisis and measures adopted to cope with it within the current system ofpolitical decentralisation in Spain, and conversely, the impact of that decentralisationon the economic crisis and on the effectiveness of the measuresadopted. The article is divided into two parts. In the fi rst part there is a verybrief presentation of the data of the economic crisis and its economic, social,political and legal repercussions as well as the impact of the State onthe autonomous regions in terms of the characteristics of the Spanish economiccrisis. The second part follows the same system in relation to themeasures adopted: they are described and their effects on the system ofpolitical decentralisation are shown as well as the impact of that systemon the effi ciency and effectiveness of those measures. The article concludesby affi rming that, for the moment, the crisis has had a moderate impactwith respect to political decentralisation and that the system of decentralisationhas played an essentially neutral role in relation to the crisis and themeasures adopted to cope with it. The fact that since before the crisisthe State was already enjoying a clear position of pre-eminence with respectto the Autonomous Communities, is used to explain this double phenomenon,and most especially in relation to economic policy. Also, the factthat the system of distribution of powers is highly deconstitutionalised inSpain, in the sense that its precision is largely freely regulated by centralState government bodies must also be taken into account. For these tworeasons, the State has not had to introduce reforms or changes to the systemwhen adopting the measures it considered necessary in order to copewith the economic crisis.