Mancomunidad
Encyclopedia
In present-day Spain
a mancomunidad ' onMouseout='HidePop("13511")' href="/topics/English_language">English
"commonwealth") is a free association or commonwealth of municipalities
. A mancomunidad is a legal personality
, and can exist either for a particular period of time to achieve a concrete goal or can exist indefinitely.
A Spanish mancomunidad constitutes a local entity within the national legal framework, to which those municipalities delegate some of their functions and powers. It is similar to a comarca
, with the difference that comarca has somewhat different meanings in the various autonomous communities of Spain
and mancomunidad is defined identically throughout the country. The municipalities in a single mancomunidad need not be coterminous (though they usually are). They are required to set a clear goal, create management bodies distinct from those of the individual municipalities, and provide the mancomunidad with its own budget.
or historical region
s that, despite of the strong identity and common goals of their inhabitants, are divided by provincial
or even ancient kingdom
borders. Examples of such regions are Tierra de Campos
, Manchuela
and Ilercavonia
.
Such regions or comarcas have often not been able to achieve the necessary legal recognition for their administrative development within the existing provincial or autonomous frameworks. Therefore their municipalities have resorted to organizing themselves in a mancomunidad.
Other groups of municipalities that don't face the problem of borders cutting across their natural region of comarca may form a mancomunidad for economical purposes, to improve local services or in order alleviate some form of historical administrative neglect owing to distance from and lack of communication with current administrative centers.
". This was the sense intended in the Mancomunitat de Catalunya ("Commonwealth of Catalonia", 1914–1925).
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
a mancomunidad ' onMouseout='HidePop("13511")' href="/topics/English_language">English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
"commonwealth") is a free association or commonwealth of municipalities
Municipalities of Spain
The municipalities of Spain In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. municipi.*Galician or , sing. municipio/bisbarra.*Basque , sing. udalerria. are the basic level of Spanish local government...
. A mancomunidad is a legal personality
Legal personality
Legal personality is the characteristic of a non-human entity regarded by law to have the status of a person....
, and can exist either for a particular period of time to achieve a concrete goal or can exist indefinitely.
A Spanish mancomunidad constitutes a local entity within the national legal framework, to which those municipalities delegate some of their functions and powers. It is similar to a comarca
Comarcas of Spain
In Spain traditionally and historically, some autonomous communities are also divided into comarcas .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing comarca.*Galician , sing. comarca....
, with the difference that comarca has somewhat different meanings in the various autonomous communities of Spain
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
and mancomunidad is defined identically throughout the country. The municipalities in a single mancomunidad need not be coterminous (though they usually are). They are required to set a clear goal, create management bodies distinct from those of the individual municipalities, and provide the mancomunidad with its own budget.
Purpose
In Spain there are a number of naturalNatural region
A Natural region is one which is distinguished by its natural features of geography and usually more important, geology. The natural ecology of the region is likely to be significant but one of these factors tends to influence the others....
or historical region
Historical region
Historical regions are delimitations of geographic areas for studying and analysing social development of period-specific cultures without any reference to contemporary political, economic or social organisations....
s that, despite of the strong identity and common goals of their inhabitants, are divided by provincial
Provinces of Spain
Spain and its autonomous communities are divided into fifty provinces .In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian , sing. província.*Galician , sing. provincia.*Basque |Galicia]] — are not also the capitals of provinces...
or even ancient kingdom
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
borders. Examples of such regions are Tierra de Campos
Tierra de Campos
Tierra de Campos is a large historical region or greater comarca that straddles the provinces of León, Zamora, Valladolid and Palencia, in Castile and León, Spain...
, Manchuela
Manchuela
Manchuela or La Manchuela is a comarca located in Castile-La Mancha, Spain.-Historical comarca:The historical Manchuela comarca included the municipalities of Tarazona de la Mancha and Villalgordo del Júcar, as well as the Requena-Utiel comarca which had been part of the Cuenca Province until 1851...
and Ilercavonia
Ilercavonia
Ilercavonia is an ancient comarca of Spain formerly populated by the ancient Iberian tribe known as Ilercavones. It is a greater comarca made up of smaller ones...
.
Such regions or comarcas have often not been able to achieve the necessary legal recognition for their administrative development within the existing provincial or autonomous frameworks. Therefore their municipalities have resorted to organizing themselves in a mancomunidad.
Other groups of municipalities that don't face the problem of borders cutting across their natural region of comarca may form a mancomunidad for economical purposes, to improve local services or in order alleviate some form of historical administrative neglect owing to distance from and lack of communication with current administrative centers.
Other uses
The term mancomunidad and its cognates are also used to translate the English word "commonwealthCommonwealth
Commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has sometimes been synonymous with "republic."More recently it has been used for fraternal associations of some sovereign nations...
". This was the sense intended in the Mancomunitat de Catalunya ("Commonwealth of Catalonia", 1914–1925).