# Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1936

The Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country of 1936 (Spanish: Estatuto de Autonomía del País Vasco de 1936; Basque: 1936ko Euzkadiren Berjabetasun-Araudia) was the first statute of autonomy of the Basque Country. It was approved by the Cortes Generales of the Second Spanish Republic on 1 October 1936 in Valencia, in the midst of the Spanish Civil War. After the approval of the Statute, the first autonomous government was formed, led by José Antonio Aguirre (EAJ-PNV) and with the participation of the PSOE, PCE, EAE-ANV, Republican Left and Republican Union.

## Timeline

| date | event |
| 1931, April 22 | Ministry of Interior dissolves 4 Diputaciones (Álava, Gipuzkoa, Navarra, Vizcaya) and replaces them with appointed Comisiones Gestoras |
| Estatuto SEV ||
| 1931, May 12 | Sociedad de Estudios Vascos (SEV) accepts the task to produce a draft of autonomy statute for the entire Vasco-Navarrese area |
| 1931, May 31 | SEV publishes its proposal of Vasco-Navarrese autonomy, titled Estatuto General del Estado Vasco and called Estatuto SEV or EGEV |
| 1931, June 7 | PNV assembly comes out with suggested amendments to Estatuto SEV |
| 1931, June 11 | Assembly of councils from Gipuzkoa comes out with suggested amendments to Estatuto SEV |
| Estatuto de Estella ||
| 1931, June 14 | Estatuto SEV is discussed at assembly of council representatives from four provinces in Estella; its amended version is overwhelmingly approved and becomes known as Estatuto de Estella |
| 1931, June 15 | Navarrese Comisión Gestora proposes 3 alternative drafts: of Vasco-Navarrese autonomy, Navarrese autonomy, and internal Navarrese regulations |
| 1931, June 28 | General elections to the Cortes produce a joint Carlist-PNV representation, known as minoría vasco-navarra |
| 1931, August 10 | Gathering of Navarrese council representatives, who overwhelmingly (200 out of 220) endorse Estatuto de Estella |
| 1931, September 25 | The Cortes constitutional commission rejects Estatuto de Estella as incompatible with works on a planned constitution |
| Estatuto de las Gestoras (four provinces) ||
| 1931, December 15 | Comisiones Gestoras from four provinces gather in Bilbao and decide to work a new autonomy draft |
| 1932, January 31 | Representatives of provincial councils gather in four respective capitals and all vote in favor of works towards a joint Vasco-Navarrese autonomy |
| 1932, March 21 | Common commission formed by representatives of four Comisiones Gestoras finalise their own draft, known as Estatuto de las Gestoras |
| 1932, April 24 | Four Comisiones Gestoras during joint session in San Sebastián agree on Estatuto de las Gestoras and specify further steps |
| 1932, May 22 | General assembly of council representatives, planned for this day to vote on Estatuto de las Gestoras, is postponed due to ongoing heated debate |
| 1932, June 19 | Representatives of councils from all four provinces gather in Pamplona and by majority (354 out of 550) approve of Estatuto de las Gestoras; however, more Navarrese councils vote against than in favor |
| Estatuto de las Gestoras (three provinces) ||
| 1932, June 26 | Comisiones Gestoras from Álava, Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya meet and decide to re-launch works on a new statute, intended for these three provinces only |
| 1932, October 18 | Three Comisiones Gestoras invite all parties to form an inter-party committee to work on a new draft; the call is rejected by some groupings |
| 1933, April 23 | Local elections in many municipalities produce large Right-wing gains in Álava, Gipuzkoa, Navarre and Vizcaya |
| 1933, August 6 | Estatuto de las Gestoras, re-tailored to fit only three provinces, is approved by council representatives gathered in Vitoria and is marked for a referendum |
| 1933, November 5 | Amended Estatuto de las Gestoras is subject to referendum in Álava, Gipuzkoa and Vizcaya and wins overwhelming support (84% of entitled voters); however, there is no required 2/3 support in Álava (46%) |
| stalemate ||
| 1933, November 19 | General elections to the Cortes produce a Right-dominated assembly |
| 1933, December 22 | PNV files a motion to proceed with works on Estatuto de las Gestoras on assumption that rejection in Álava only does not affect the general outcome; the same date majority of Alavese councils ask the Cortes to exclude Álava from further works |
| 1934, January 12 | Comisión de Estatutos of the new Cortes declares that the Alavese vote must not be ignored |
| 1934, February 28 | the motion to proceed with Estatuto de las Gestoras for Vizcaya and Gipuzkoa only is defeated 125 vs 136 in the Cortes |
| 1934, April 11 | The Cortes commission adopts the recommendation that the referendum be repeated in Álava |
| 1934, April 28 | Two-day plenary debate in the Cortes produces no decision as to further proceedings on Basque autonomy |
| 1934, June 12 | In protest against protracted works on autonomy, PNV deputies withdraw from the Cortes |
| 1935, November 14 | Alavese councils adopt Carta Foral de Álava, a document with proposal of provincial autonomous regime; it would never be discussed by the Cortes |
| Estatuto de Prieto, Estatuto de Elgeta ||
| 1936, February 16 | General elections to the Cortes produce a Frente Popular dominated assembly |
| 1936, April 17 | The new Cortes constitutes its Comision de Estatutos with Indalecio Prieto as its president |
| 1936, May 12 | The new Cortes declares that the aggregate result of 1933 referendum is valid and binding also for Álava |
| 1936, June 15 | The Cortes commission introduces changes to Estatuto de las Gestoras, advanced mostly by Prieto; this version becomes known as Estatuto de Prieto and is intended for three provinces |
| 1936, July 6 | The government discusses Estatuto de Prieto, but fails to agree on the way forward |
| 1936, July 18 | Military coup on the peninsula; the Civil War begins |
| 1936, September 29 | The Cortes commission accepts Estatuto de Prieto as its official proposal |
| 1936, October 1 | Estatuto de Prieto is adopted by the Cortes as the official autonomy statute. As at the time the frontline in Vascongadas was in the town of Elgeta, the document also became known as Estatuto de Elgeta |
| 1936, October 6 | Cortes-adopted autonomy statute is officially published; in practice it enters into force only in Vizcaya, as Álava and Gipuzkoa are already held by the Nationalists |