View source for Cortes Generales

{{short description|Bicameral legislature of Spain}}
{{distinguish|Cortes Españolas|Cortes Gerais}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Infobox legislature
| background_color  = #900000
 | name               = General Courts
 | native_name        = {{lang|es|Cortes Generales}}<br />{{hidden|Co-official languages|{{langx|eu|Gorte Nagusiak}}<br/>{{langx|ca|Corts Generals}}<br />{{langx|gl|Cortes Xerais}}<br />{{langx|oc|Corts Generaus}}}}
 | legislature        = [[15th Cortes Generales]]
 | transcription_name = 
 | coa-pic            = 
 | coa_res            = 
 | coa_caption        = 
 | house_type         = Bicameral
 | houses             = [[Senate of Spain|Senate]]<br />[[Congress of Deputies]]
 | leader1_type       = [[President of the Spanish Senate|President of the Senate]]
 | leader1            = [[Pedro Rollán|Pedro Manuel Rollán Ojeda]]
 | party1             = ([[People's Party (Spain)|PP]])
 | election1          = 17 August 2023
 | leader2_type       = [[President of the Congress of Deputies]]
 | leader2            = [[Francina Armengol|Francesca Lluc Armengol Socias]]
 | party2             = ([[Socialist Party of the Balearic Islands|PSOE]])
 | election2          = 17 August 2023
 | members            = '''616'''<br />266 [[Senate of Spain|senators]]<br />350 [[Congress of Deputies|deputies]]
 | structure1         = Senado de España - XV legislatura 31-08-2024.svg
 | structure1_res     = 280px
 | structure2         = Congreso de los Diputados de la XV Legislatura de España.svg
 | structure2_res     = 230px
 | house1             = [[Senate of Spain|Senate]]
 | house2             = [[Congress of Deputies]]
 | political_groups1  = 
'''[[Sánchez III Government|Government]] (92)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}}} [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]] (89)
*{{Color box|#672F6C}} Confederal Left group (2){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}}} [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]] (1)
* {{Color box|#F094B6}} [[Pacte Progressista]] (1)}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Basque Nationalist Party}}}} Basque group (1){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}}} [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]] (1)}}
'''Supported by (20)'''
*{{Color box|#FFB232}} Republican group (9){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Republican Left of Catalonia}}}} [[Republican Left of Catalonia|ERC]] (4)
*{{Color box|{{party color|EH Bildu}}}} [[EH Bildu]] (5)}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Basque Nationalist Party}}}} Basque group (5){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Basque Nationalist Party}}}} [[Basque Nationalist Party|PNV]] (5)}}
*{{Color box|#672F6C}} Confederal Left group (4){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Coalició Compromís}}}} [[Coalició Compromís|Compromís]] (1)
*{{color box|{{party color|Más Madrid}}}} [[Más Madrid|MM]] (1)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Geroa Bai}}}} [[Geroa Bai|GBai]] (1)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Gomera Socialist Group}}}} [[Gomera Socialist Group|ASG]] (1)}}
*{{color box|{{party color|Galician Nationalist Bloc}}}} [[Galician Nationalist Bloc|BNG]] (1)
*{{color box|{{party color|Canarian Coalition}}}} [[Canarian Coalition|CC]] (1)

'''[[Opposition (parliamentary)|Opposition]] (154)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|People's Party (Spain)}}}} [[People's Party (Spain)|PP]] (145)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Together for Catalonia (2020)}}}} [[Together for Catalonia (2020)|Junts]] (4)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Vox (political party)}}}} [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] (3)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Navarrese People's Union}}}} [[Navarrese People's Union|UPN]] (1)
*{{color box|{{party color|Independent Herrenian Group}}}} [[Independent Herrenian Group|AHI]] (1)

 | political_groups2  = ''' [[Sánchez III Government|Government]] (146)''' 
*{{Color box|{{party color|Spanish Socialist Workers' Party}}}} [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party|PSOE]] (120) 
*{{Color box|{{party color|Sumar (electoral platform)}}}} [[Sumar (electoral platform)|Sumar]] (26){{efn|
*{{Color box|{{party color|Sumar (electoral platform)}}}} [[Sumar (electoral platform)|SMR]] (10)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Catalunya en Comú}}}} [[Catalunya en Comú|CatComú]] (6)
*{{Color box|{{party color|United Left (Spain)}}}} [[United Left (Spain)|IU]] (5)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Más Madrid}}}} [[Más Madrid|MM]] (2)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Coalició Compromís}}}} [[Coalició Compromís|Compromís]] (1){{efn|
* {{color box|{{party color|Valencian People's Initiative}}}} [[Valencian People's Initiative |IdPV]] (1)}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Chunta Aragonesista}}}} [[Chunta Aragonesista|CHA]] (1)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Més per Mallorca}}}} [[Més per Mallorca|Més]] (1)}}

'''Supported by (26)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|Republican Left of Catalonia}}}} [[Republican Left of Catalonia|ERC]] (7)
*{{Color box|{{party color|EH Bildu}}}} [[EH Bildu]] (6)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Basque Nationalist Party}}}} [[Basque Nationalist Party|EAJ/PNV]] (5)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Podemos (Spanish political party, 2022)}}}} [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]] (4)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Canarian Coalition}}}} [[Canarian Coalition|CCa]] (1)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Galician Nationalist Bloc}}}} [[Galician Nationalist Bloc|BNG]] (1)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Coalició Compromís}}}} [[Coalició Compromís|Compromís]] (1) {{efn|
*{{color box|{{party color|Més–Compromís}}}} [[Més–Compromís|Més]] (1)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cadenaser.com/comunitat-valenciana/2025/06/23/mes-decide-romper-con-sumar-y-abre-una-grieta-en-compromis-mico-al-grupo-mixto-ibanez-se-queda-radio-valencia/ | title=Més decide romper con Sumar y abre una grieta en Compromís: Micó al grupo mixto, Ibáñez se queda}}</ref>}}
*{{Color box|{{party color|Independent}}}} [[Independent politician|Independent]] ([[José Luis Ábalos|1]]){{efn|José Luis Ábalos was expelled from PSOE in 2024.}}
'''[[Parliamentary opposition|Opposition]] (178)'''
*{{Color box|{{party color|People's Party (Spain)}}}} [[People's Party (Spain)|PP]] (137)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Vox (political party)}}}} [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] (33)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Together for Catalonia (2020)}}}} [[Together for Catalonia (2020)|Junts]] (7)
*{{Color box|{{party color|Navarrese People's Union}}}} [[Navarrese People's Union|UPN]] (1)
 | first_election1    = [[1977 Spanish general election|15 June 1977]]
 | first_election2    = [[1810 Spanish general election|January–September 1810]]
 | last_election1     = [[2023 Spanish general election|23 July 2023]]
 | last_election2     = [[2023 Spanish general election|23 July 2023]]
 | session_room       = Senado fachada Madrid.jpg
 | session_res        = 200px
 | meeting_place      = '''Senate'''<br />[[Palacio del Senado, Madrid|Palacio del Senado]]<br />Plaza de la Marina Española<br />[[Centro (Madrid)|Centro]], [[Madrid]]
 | session_room2      = Congreso de los Diputados (España) 17.jpg
 | session_res2       = 200px
 | meeting_place2     ='''Congress of Deputies'''<br />[[Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid|Palacio de las Cortes]]<br />Carrera de San Jerónimo<br />[[Centro (Madrid)|Centro]], [[Madrid]]
 | website            = {{url|cortesgenerales.es/}}
}}

The '''{{Lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}}''' ({{IPA|es|ˈkoɾtes xeneˈɾales}}, {{lit|General Courts}}), or the '''Spanish Parliament''', is the [[Bicameralism|bicameral]] legislature of [[Spain]], consisting of the [[Congress of Deputies]] (the [[lower house]]) and the [[Senate of Spain|Senate]] (the [[upper house]]).

The Congress of Deputies meets in the [[Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid|Palacio de las Cortes]]. The Senate meets in the [[Palacio del Senado]]. Both are in [[Madrid]]. The Cortes are elected through universal, free, equal, direct and secret [[suffrage]],<ref>{{cite constitution |article=68.1 and 69.1|clause= |section= |polity=Spain|date=1978}}</ref> with the exception of some senatorial seats, which are elected indirectly by the legislatures of the [[Autonomous communities of Spain|autonomous communities]]. The {{lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}} are composed of 616 members: 350 deputies and 266 senators.

The members of the {{Lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}} serve four-year terms, and they are representatives of the Spanish people.<ref>{{cite constitution |article=66 |clause= |section= |polity=Spain|date=1978}}</ref> In both chambers, the seats are divided by constituencies that correspond with the [[Provinces of Spain|fifty Spanish provinces]], plus [[Ceuta]] and [[Melilla]]. However, each island or group of islands within the [[Canary Islands|Canary]] and [[Balearic Islands|Balearic]] archipelagos forms a different constituency in the Senate.<ref>{{cite constitution |article=69.3|clause= |section= |polity=Spain|date=1978}}</ref>

As a [[parliamentary system]], the Cortes confirm and dismiss the [[Prime Minister of Spain|prime minister]] and their [[government of Spain|government]]; specifically, the candidate for Prime Minister has to be invested by the Congress with a majority of affirmative votes. The Congress can also dismiss the prime minister through a [[vote of no confidence]]. The Cortes also hold the power to enact a constitutional reform.

The modern {{lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}} were created by the 1978 [[Constitution of Spain]], but the institution has a long history.

{{anchor|History of the Spanish legislature}}

==History==
{{further|Spanish parliamentarism}}
{{More citations needed section|date=December 2020}}

===Visigothic Kingdom===
{{further|Tribal council (Germanic)|Visigothic Code|Councils of Toledo}}
The [[tribal council (Germanic)|tribal councils]] organized under [[Germanic law]] in the [[Visigothic Kingdom]] had the power of appointing and confirming kings, as well as passing laws and judgment. The [[Visigothic Code]] compiled under [[King of the Visigoths|kings]] [[Chindasuinth]] and [[Recceswinth]] in the mid-7th century placed the kings, [[Visigoths]], and [[Romano-Spanish|native Spanish]] under a [[Visigothic law|single law]] and formed the basis of [[Spanish law]] through the medieval period. The Visigothic councils, however, gradually came to be completely dominated by [[Catholic Church in Spain|the clergy]] under the leadership of the [[archbishop of Toledo|archbishop]] of [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]]; with ecclesiastical prerogatives completely secure, they then tended to allow royal edicts to come into effect without further ratification.<ref>{{citation |editor-last=Scott |editor-first=Samuel Parsons |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924072483419/page/n3/mode/2up |title=The Visigothic Code (Forum Judicum) |publisher=Boston Book Co. |location=Boston, MA |date=1910 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/cu31924072483419/page/n11/mode/2up ix–xxi]}}</ref>

===High Middle Ages (8th–12th centuries)===
[[File:20060626-León San Isidoro.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Saint Isidoro Basilica]], where the [[1188 Cortes of León]] was held]]
{{further|Spain in the Middle Ages}}
The [[curia regis|royal council]]s ({{langx|la|curia regis}}) of the [[Iberian peninsula]]'s various kingdoms came to be known as {{lang|es|cortes}} ([[Castilian Spanish]]) or {{lang|ca-valencia|corts}} ([[Valencian Spanish]]). They began as advisory councils made up of the most powerful [[Spanish nobility|nobles]] and the [[feudal lord]]s closest to the king. General councils were convened in 873, 1020, 1050, and 1063. The [[1188 Cortes of León|1188 Cortes]] of [[Kingdom of León|León]] convened by [[Alfonso IX of León|Alfonso IX]] is sometimes taken to mark the beginning of [[parliament|parliamentary bodies]] in [[Western Europe]]<ref>{{citation |last=Keane |first=John |title=The Life and Death of Democracy |date=2009 |location=London |publisher=Simon & Schuster}}.</ref>{{page?|date=February 2023}} because it was the first to provide formal national representation of the free urban citizens alongside the clergy and hereditary nobility. Subsequently, larger and more inclusive Cortes occurred in the [[Principality of Catalonia]] in 1192, the [[Kingdom of Portugal]] in 1211, the [[Kingdom of Castile]] in 1250, the [[Kingdom of Aragon]] in 1274, the [[Kingdom of Valencia]] in 1283, and [[Kingdom of Navarre]] in 1300. The Leonese and Castilian Corteses were merged in 1258, after which it provided representation to Burgos, Toledo, León, Seville, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, Zamora, Segovia, Ávila, Salamanca, Cuenca, Toro, Valladolid, Soria, Madrid, Guadalajara, and (after 1492) Granada.

===Rise of the bourgeoisie (12th–15th centuries)===
[[File:María de Molina presenta a su hijo a las Cortes de Valladolid 1863 Antonio Gisbert Pérez.JPG|thumb|right|250px|[[María de Molina|Queen Maria de Molina]] presents her son [[Ferdinand IV of Castile|Ferdinand IV]] to the 1295 Cortes of [[Valladolid]].]]
{{further|Reconquista}}
During the [[Reconquista]], the growth of trade and an urbanized middle class ({{langx|es|burguesía}}) expanded their importance at the various corteses.{{fact|date=February 2023}} The king retained the ability to call and dismiss the Cortes but tended to exchange {{lang|es|[[fuero]]s}}, further grants of privileges and autonomy, to the residents of certain cities in exchange for lump sum payments to meet military and other obligations.{{fact|date=February 2023}} (Modern [[Navarre]] preserves certain rights and privileges{{which?|date=February 2023}} in its current [[statute of autonomy]] directly derived from these fueros.){{fact|date=February 2023}} In some cases, the Cortes was able to independently select agents to act as permanent advisors to the king between its sessions.{{fact|date=February 2023}}

===Habsburg rule (16th–17th centuries)===
[[File:Philip II's realms in 1598.png|thumb|right|250px|Map of the [[Iberian Union]] under [[Philip II of Spain|Philip{{nbsp}}II]] in 1598, with the purviews of the empire's various corteses.
{{legend|#008000|Territory under the [[Council of Castile]]}}
{{legend|#f5ab12|Territory under the [[Council of Aragon]]}}
{{legend|#0000ff|Territory under the [[Council of Portugal]]}}
{{legend|#800000|Territory under the [[Council of Italy]]}}
{{legend|#ff0000|Territory under the [[Council of the Indies]]}}
{{legend|#d87ada|Territory under the [[Supreme Council of Flanders|Council of Flanders]]}}]]
[[Image:Cortes Catalanas.jpg|right|thumb|250px|A meeting of the [[Catalan Courts]] in the 15th century]]
{{further|Habsburg Spain|Revolt of the Comuneros|Spanish Empire|Siglo de Oro}}
Beginning with the [[Catholic Monarchs]] [[Isabella I of Castile|Isabella]] and [[Ferdinand II of Aragon|Ferdinand]], monarchs' control over Spain's various kingdoms in [[personal union]] allowed them to curtail the power of the [[grandee]]s and burghers. Queen Isabella initially had difficulty in securing funding for the [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|voyages]] of [[Christopher Columbus]] in the 1490s but her grandson the [[House of Habsburg|Habsburg]] [[Holy Roman Emperor|emperor]] [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] (Charles I of Spain) was able to easily provide for [[Ferdinand Magellan]]'s [[Magellan's Expedition|1519 expedition]] and then to pointedly [[Treaty of Zaragoza|sell away all of Spain's rights]] to the [[Spice Islands]] without any consultation with the Toledo Cortes in 1529. The 1520 [[Revolt of the Comuneros]] had intended to reverse this trend and provide a stronger role for the Cortes but was crushed by the [[Íñigo Fernández de Velasco, 2nd Duke of Frías|Constable]]'s royalist forces at the 1521 [[Battle of Villalar]] and then brutally suppressed. 

Reorganized, the corteses retained some power over the realm's finances{{mdash}}particularly in [[Crown of Aragon|Aragon]]{{mdash}}but became limited to a consultative entity. By the reign of [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]], the delegates of the Cortes of Castile were financially dependent on the Crown for their income.<ref>{{citation |last=Haliczer |first=Stephen |author-link=Stephen Haliczer |title=The Comuneros of Castile: The Forging of a Revolution, 1475–1521 |year=1981 |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison, Wisconsin |page=227 |isbn=0-299-08500-7 |ref=Hal81}}</ref> The Imperial Cortes and its deputation ({{langx|es|Diputación General de Cortes}}) primarily concerned themselves with overseeing previous agreements and the collection of taxes in Castile and the larger empire; separate deputations oversaw similar work in Aragon and Navarre.<ref>{{citation |last=García de Cortázar |first=J.A. |title=Historia de España |lang=es |publisher=Alfaguara |year=1978 |isbn=8420620408 |page=306}}.</ref> 

The corteses were able to regain some of their previous powers and influence during the 17th century, as repeated [[sovereign default]]s reduced the monarchy to financial dependency and a series of deputies including the [[Gaspar de Guzmán, Count-Duke of Olivares|Count-Duke of Olivares]] oversaw most day-to-day government. Under the young and chronically ill [[Charles II of Spain|Charles{{nbsp}}II]], the Cortes of Castile was responsible for naming his mother [[Mariana of Austria|Mariana]] regent.

===Bourbon rule (18th–19th centuries)===
{{further|War of Spanish Succession|Bourbon Spain|Bourbon Reforms}}
During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]], the [[House of Bourbon|Bourbon]] king [[Philip V of Spain|Philip{{nbsp}}V]] suppressed the Cortes of Aragon and Valencia in 1707 and those of Catalonia and the [[Balearic Islands]] in 1714. Following the [[Peace of Utrecht]], the 1716 [[Nueva Planta Decrees]] fully abolished the autonomy of the [[Crown of Aragon]]. Philip also acted to repeal or curtail most of the diverse grants of autonomy and privilege ({{lang|es|fueros}}) throughout his kingdom. [[Kingdom of Navarre|Navarre]] was finally merged during the [[1833 territorial division of Spain]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=García de Cortázar y Ruiz de Aguirre|first=José Angel|title=La época medieval|publisher=Alfaguara|year=1976|isbn=84-206-2040-8|edition=3|location=Madrid|pages=250|oclc=3315063}}</ref>

===Napoleonic Spain and the Three Liberal Years===
{{further|Peninsular War|Napoleonic Spain|Cortes of Cádiz|Trienio Liberal}}
[[File:El juramento de las Cortes de Cádiz en 1810.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Jurement of the [[Cortes of Cádiz]]]]
With both the Bourbon monarchs [[Charles IV of Spain|Charles IV]] and [[Ferdinand VII of Spain|Ferdinand VII]] having abdicated their throne and [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] having appointed his brother [[Joseph Bonaparte|Joseph]] as the new king, a "[[Cortes of Cádiz]]" was convened that claimed sovereignty over Spain and operated as a [[government-in-exile]]. The Cortes was the first to act as a single representative body for the entire country and empire, although substitutes had to be chosen from among the people of [[Cádiz]] for many regions occupied by the French and unable to send their own delegates. Extremely liberal, the [[Spanish Constitution of 1812|Constitution of 1812]] enacted by the Cortes was immediately set aside by Ferdinand upon his restoration in 1814. His conservative policies led to a series of military coups that culminated in [[Rafael del Riego|Col.{{nbsp}}Rafael del Riego]] forcing him to accept a more liberal constitution from 1820{{ndash}}1823, the [[Trienio Liberal]] ("Three Liberal Years"). Ferdinand vetoed nearly every law passed during the period and repeatedly asked other nations to invade and restore him to his previous authority. Finally, [[The Hundred Thousand Sons of St. Louis|a French invasion]] crushed the National Militia and restored absolutist rule in Spain. During the subsequent reaction, many liberals were forced into exile, many{{mdash}}ironically{{mdash}}ending up in France, but generally Ferdinand VII was less strident in his policies through the remainder of his reign.

===First Spanish Republic (1873–1874)===
{{main|First Spanish Republic}}
When the monarchy was overthrown in 1873, the king was forced into exile. The [[Spanish Senate|Senate]] was abolished because of its royally appointed nature. A republic was proclaimed and the [[Congress of Deputies (Spain)|Congress of Deputies]] members started writing a Constitution, supposedly that of a [[federal republic]], with the power of Parliament being nearly supreme (see [[parliamentary supremacy]], although Spain did not use the [[Westminster system]]). However, due to numerous issues, Spain was not ready to become a republic; after several crises the government collapsed, and the monarchy was restored in 1874.

===Restoration (1874–1930)===
The regime just after the First Republic is called the [[Restoration (Spain)|Bourbon Restoration]]. It was formally a [[constitutional monarchy]], with the monarch as a [[rubberstamp (politics)|rubberstamp]] to the Cortes' acts but with some reserve powers, such as appointing and dismissing the Prime Minister and appointing senators for the new [[Spanish Senate|Senate]], remade as an elected House. In practice there was an artificial two-party system called ''[[Turno|El Turno Pacífico]]'' (peaceful rotation) in which elections were informally fixed so the Conservatives and Liberals would have alternating periods as the majority in the Cortes, with other parties restricted to a smaller number of seats.

Soon after the [[October Revolution|Soviet revolution]] (1917), the Spanish political parties started polarizing, and the left-wing [[Communist Party of Spain (main)|Communist Party]] (PCE) and [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] (PSOE) blamed the Government for supposed election fraud in small towns (''[[caciquismo]]''), which was incorrectly supposed to have been wiped out in the 1900s by the failed ''regenerationist'' movement. In the meantime, spiralling violence started with the murders of many leaders by both sides. Deprived of those leaders, the regime entered a general crisis, with extreme police measures which led to a dictatorship (1921–1930) during which the Senate was again abolished.

===Second Spanish Republic (1931–1939)===
{{Main|Cortes republicanas}}
The dictatorship, now ruled by Admiral [[Juan Bautista Aznar-Cabañas|Aznar-Cabañas]], called for local elections. The results were overwhelmingly favorable to the monarchist cause nationally, but most provincial capitals and other sizable cities sided heavily with the republicans. This was interpreted as a victory, as the rural results were under the always-present suspicion of ''caciquismo'' and other irregularities while the urban results were harder to influence. The King left Spain, and a Republic was declared on 14 April 1931.

The Second Spanish Republic was established as a [[presidential republic]], with a [[Unicameralism|unicameral]] Parliament and a President of the Republic as the [[Head of State]]. Among his powers were the appointment and dismissal of the [[Prime Minister of Spain|Prime Minister]], either on the advice of Parliament or just having consulted it before, and a limited power to dissolve the Parliament and call for new elections.

The first term was the constituent term charged with creating the new [[Spanish Constitution of 1931|Constitution]], with the ex-monarchist leader [[Niceto Alcalá Zamora]] as President of the Republic and the left-wing leader [[Manuel Azaña]] as Prime Minister. The [[1931 Spanish general election|election]] gave a majority in the [[Cortes republicanas|Cortes]] and thus, the Government, to a coalition between Azaña's [[Republican Action (Spain)|party]] and the PSOE. A remarkable deed is [[universal suffrage]], allowing women to vote, a provision highly criticized by Socialist leader [[Indalecio Prieto]], who said the Republic had been backstabbed. Also, for the second time in Spanish history, some regions were granted autonomous governments within the unitary state. Many on the extreme right rose up with General [[José Sanjurjo]] in 1932 against the Government's social policies, but the coup was quickly defeated.

The elections for the second term [[1933 Spanish general election|were held in 1933]] and won by the coalition between the Radical Party ([[Liberalism|center]]) and the [[Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas]] (CEDA) ([[Conservatism|right]]). Initially, only the Radical Party entered the Government, with the parliamentary support of the CEDA. However, in the middle of the term, several corruption scandals (among them the [[Straperlo]] and the [[Nombela scandal|Nombela]] affairs) sank the Radical Party and the CEDA entered the Government in 1934. This led to uprisings by some leftist parties that were quickly suffocated. In one of them, the left wing government of Catalonia, which had been granted home rule, formally rebelled against the central government, denying its power. This provoked the dissolution of the [[Generalitat de Catalunya]] and the imprisonment of their leaders. The leftist minority in the Cortes then pressed Alcalá Zamora for a dissolution, arguing that the uprising were the consequence of social rejection of the right-wing government. The President, a former monarchist Minister wary of the authoritarianism of the right, dissolved Parliament.

The [[1936 Spanish general election|next election]] was held in 1936. It was hotly contested, with all parties converging into three coalitions: the leftist [[Popular Front (Spain)|Popular Front]], the right-winged {{illm|National Front (Spain, 1936)|lt=National Front|es|Frente Nacional Contrarrevolucionario}} and a Centre coalition. In the end, the Popular Front won with a small edge in votes over the runner-up National Front, but achieved a solid majority due to the new electoral system introduced by the CEDA government hoping that ''they'' would get the edge in votes. The new Parliament then dismissed Alcalá-Zamora and installed [[Manuel Azaña]] in his place. During the third term, the extreme polarisation of the Spanish society was more evident than ever in Parliament, with confrontation reaching the level of death threats. The already bad political and social climate created by the long-term left-right confrontation worsened, and many right-wing rebellions were started. Then, in 1936, the Army's failed coup degenerated into the [[Spanish Civil War]], putting an end to the Second Republic.

From November 1936 to October 1937, the Cortes were held at [[Valencia City Hall]], which was still being used for its local purposes at the same time. The building was a target for the [[Italian Air Force]] in service of the [[Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War)|Nationalist faction]], resulting in a bombing in May 1937.<ref>{{cite news |title=Cuando el Ayuntamiento de Valencia fue bombardeado|trans-title=When Valencia City Hall was bombed|url=https://elpais.com/ccaa/2017/05/30/valencia/1496140159_948812.html |access-date=12 October 2022 |work=[[El País]] |date=30 May 2017 |language=Spanish}}</ref>

===Francoist Spain (1943–1977)===
{{main|Cortes Españolas}}
[[Francisco Franco]] did not prioritize the creation of a consultative or legislative type of assembly [[Francoist Spain|during his rule]].{{sfn|Giménez Martínez|2015|pp=71–72}} In 1942, following the first symptoms of change in the international panorama in favour of the [[Allies of World War II|Allied Powers]], a law established the Cortes Españolas (Spanish Cortes), a non-democratic chamber made up of more than 400 ''[[Procurador en Cortes (Spain)|procuradores]]'' (singular ''procurador''). Both the Cortes' founding law and the subsequent regulations were based on the principles of rejection of parliamentarism and political pluralism.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/230894183.pdf|title=Las Cortes de Franco o el Parlamento imposible|first=Miguel Ángel|last=Giménez Martínez|journal=Trocadero: Revista de historia moderna y contemporánea|issn=0214-4212|issue=27|year=2015|pages=73}}</ref> Members of the Cortes were not elected and exercised only symbolic power. It had no power over government spending, and the cabinet, appointed and dismissed by Franco alone, retained real legislative authority. In 1967, with the enaction of the [[Organic Law of the State]], the accommodation of "two family representatives per province, elected by those on the electoral roll of [[patriarchy|family heads]] and married women" (the so-called ''tercio familiar'') ensued, opening a fraction of the Cortes' composition to some mechanisms of individual participation.{{sfn|Giménez Martínez|2015|p=75}}

==Under the Constitution of 1978==
[[File:The state visit of Reuven Rivlin to Spain, November 2017 (9872).jpg|thumb|The [[President of Israel]] [[Reuven Rivlin]] addresses the {{Lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}} during his state visit to [[Madrid]] in November 2017]]
[[File:Dmitry Medvedev in Spain 3 March 2009-2.jpg|thumb|[[President of Russia|Russian President]] [[Dmitry Medvedev]] signs the Book of Distinguished Guests at the {{Lang|es|Cortes Generales|italic=no}} in [[Madrid]] on 3 March 2009]]
The Cortes are a bicameral parliament composed of a lower house ([[Congreso de los Diputados]], ''congress of deputies'') and an upper house ([[Senado]], ''senate''). Although they share legislative power, the Congress holds the power to ultimately override any decision of the Senate by a sufficient majority (usually an [[absolute majority]] or [[supermajority|three-fifths majority]]).

The Congress is composed of 350 deputies (but that figure may change in the future as the constitution establishes a maximum of 400 and a minimum of 300) directly elected by universal suffrage approximately every four years.

The Senate is partly directly elected in that four senators per province are elected as a general rule and partly appointed by the legislative assemblies of the [[Autonomous Communities of Spain|autonomous communities]], one for each community and another one for every million inhabitants in their territory. Although the Senate was conceived as a territorial upper house, it has been argued by nationalist parties and the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] that it does not accomplish such a task because 208 out of 265 members of the Senate are elected by popular vote in each province, and only 58 are representatives appointed by the regional legislatures of autonomous communities. Proposals to reform the Senate have been discussed for at least ten years as of November 2007. One of the main themes of reform is to move towards a higher level of [[federalization]] and make the Senate a thorough representation of autonomous communities instead of the current system, which tries to incorporate the interests of province and autonomous communities at the same time.

==Joint Committees==

{| class="wikitable"
! Committee
! Office
! Chair(s)
! Term
! Refs
|-
! Relations with the [[Court of Auditors (Spain)|Court of Auditors]]
|style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #FFB6B6;" |[[Juan Francisco Serrano Martínez]] ([[PSOE]])
|style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta para las Relaciones con el Tribunal de Cuentas |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=317 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
! [[Joint Congress-Senate Committee for the European Union|European Union]]
|style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #B0CEFF;" |[[Alberto Fabra]] ([[People's Party (Spain)|PP]])
|style="text-align:center;" |2025–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta para la Unión Europea |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=318 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
!Relations with the [[Spanish Ombudsman|Ombudsman]]
|style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #B0CEFF;" |[[Luis María Beamonte]] (PP)
|style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta de Relaciones con el Defensor del Pueblo |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=316 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
! Parliamentary Control of [[RTVE]]'s Board and its Partnerships
|style="text-align:center;" |senator
! style="background: #B0CEFF;" |Antonio Silván Rodríguez (PP)
|style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta de Control Parlamentario de la Corporación RTVE y sus Sociedades |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=358 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
![[Joint Congress-Senate Committee on National Security|National Security]]
|style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #B0CEFF;" |[[Edurne Uriarte]] (PP)
|style="text-align:center;" |2024–present
!<ref>{{Cite web|title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta de Seguridad Nacional|url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XIV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=319|url-status=live|access-date=11 September 2021|website=Congreso de los Diputados|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210911013827/https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XIV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=319 |archive-date=2021-09-11 }}</ref>
|-
! Study of Addictions' Issues
|style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #B0CEFF;" |[[Pablo Hispán]] (PP)
|style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta para el Estudio de los Problemas de las Adicciones |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=322 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
!Coordination and Monitoring of the Spanish Strategy to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals ([[Sustainable Development Goals|SDGs]]''')'''
| style="text-align:center;" |deputy
! style="background: #D468B8;" |Engracia Rivera Arias (Sumar)
| style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta para la Coordinación y Seguimiento de la Estrategia Española para alcanzar los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible (ODS) |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=315 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|-
!Insularity
| style="text-align: center;" |senator
! style="background: #FFB6B6;" |José Antonio Valbuena Alonso (PSOE)
|style="text-align:center;" |2023–present
!<ref>{{Cite web |title=Current membership of Comisión Mixta sobre Insularidad |url=https://www.congreso.es/en/organos/composicion-en-la-legislatura?p_p_id=organos&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_organos_selectedLegislatura=XV&_organos_selectedOrganoSup=1&_organos_selectedSuborgano=323 |access-date=8 November 2025 |website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
|}

==See also==
{{PoliticsES}}
* [[List of presidents of the Congress of Deputies of Spain]]
* [[Solemn Opening of the Parliament of Spain]]
* [[Bureaus of the Cortes Generales]]
* [[Spanish Parliamentarism]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060402230723/http://libro.uca.edu/cortes/cortes.htm O’Callaghan, Joseph F. ''The Cortes of Castile-León, 1188–1350'', 1989].
*[https://web.archive.org/web/19980118005221/http://www.congreso.es/funciones/constitucion/titulo_3_cap_1.htm Constitución Española, Título III, {{Lang|es|De las Cortes Generales}}, 1978]

==External links==
* {{Official website|www.congreso.es}}

{{Spain topics}}{{Cortes Generales}}{{National bicameral legislatures}}
{{Parliaments in Europe}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Cortes Generales| ]]
[[Category:Government of Spain]]
[[Category:Parliaments by country|Spain]]
[[Category:Bicameral legislatures|Spain]]
[[Category:National legislatures|Spain]]