Congress of Deputies, Madrid
Courtesy National Tourist Office of Spain

Figure 12. System of Government, 1988

The royal Palace, Madrid
Courtesy Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

According to the 1978 Constitution, political power is centered in the bicameral Cortes, and the king exercises largely honorific functions as head of state (see fig. 12). Judicial power is vested in independent courts. The governmental system outlined in the new Constitution, in its emphasis on democratic principles and its provisions for decentralization, represents a radical transformation in the nature of the Spanish state.

Data as of December 1988