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Sacrifices that Pay: Polity Membership, Political Opportunities and the Recognition of Same-Sex Marriage in Spain

2007; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 12; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13608740701495152

1743-9612

Kerman Calvo,

Political Influence and Corporate Strategies

Abstract This article examines the Spanish gay and lesbian movement, and discusses its role in the legalization of same-sex marriages. The main focus is on the interplay between gay and lesbian rights organizations and leftist political parties during a time span that goes back to the late 1970s. In order to shed new light on the links between protest, interest representation and policy change, including law reform, this article combines the analysis of political opportunities and the exploration of some fundamental decisions taken by social movement organizations on their engagement with mainstream politics. The main argument is that impact in the area of law reform is brought about only when available opportunities for change are seized by politically incorporated social movements. Keywords: Gay and Lesbian MovementSocial Movement OutcomesGay MarriagePolity MembershipSpain Notes [1] 'Political incorporation' denotes the transition from challenging status to polity membership. The distinction between challengers and members is one of the tokens of social movement theory (McAdam et al., 2001 McAdam, D., Tarrow, S. and Tilly, C. 2001. Dynamics of Contention, Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], pp. 11–13; Tilly 1978 Tilly, Ch. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Google Scholar]). A member of the polity is a contender for power 'who has routine access to government' and uses legitimate means to achieve its goals (Tilly 1978 Tilly, Ch. 1978. From Mobilization to Revolution, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. [Google Scholar], p. 117). Challengers, in stark contrast, are defined by a taste for confrontational relations with governments and other members of the polity. As a result they enjoy hardly any access to government. [2] The Spanish party system is commonly defined as a moderate multiparty system, where only two large parties, one to the left (the PSOE) and one to the right (the PP), have real chances of winning power at the national level (Linz & Montero 1999 Linz, J. J. and Montero, J. 1999. The Party Systems of Spain: Old Cleavages and New Challenges, Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones. [Google Scholar], pp. 3–6). The system also features a wealth of regional party systems, often dominated by one or two strong nationalistic parties. IU, which stands as the third contender for power at the national level, has never been a governing party. [3] Similar initiatives were shortly to be rehearsed in Greece (Synaspismos) and Portugal (Bloco de Esquerda). However, neither the Portuguese nor the Greek communist parties embraced ideological reform as their Spanish peer did, resulting in a more fragmented political landscape where the veteran communist parties competed with brand new left-libertarian outfits. [4] The literature on the PSOE is very large, and cannot be summarized here. Good accounts of the historical evolution of and main strategic decisions taken by this political party since the early 1970s can be found in Maravall (2003 Maravall, J. M. 2003. The Political Consequences of Internal Party Democracy, Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones. [Google Scholar], pp. 25–26) and Gangas (1995 Gangas, P. 1995. El Desarrollo Organizativo de los Partidos Políticos Españoles de Implantación Nacional, Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones. [Google Scholar], pp. 146–152). See also Linz and Montero (1999 Linz, J. J. and Montero, J. 1999. The Party Systems of Spain: Old Cleavages and New Challenges, Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones. [Google Scholar]). [5] The PSOE convinced the centre-right government of the UCD (Unión de Centro Democrático) that such a change in the law was necessary, if only because of the collision between the old law and basic Constitutional principles. The law was reformed on December 1978. [6] Dolors Renau, the one Socialist MP with a willingness to advance gay and lesbian rights in the political arena, affirmed, 'Homosexual rights recognition was neither a priority, not even an issue for the socialist governments of the 1980s. It simply was not something that deserved discussion' (see Calvo 2005a Calvo, K. 2005a. Pursuing Membership in the Polity: The Spanish Gay and Lesbian Movement in Comparative Perspective, (1970–1997), Madrid: Instituto Juan March de Estudios e Investigaciones. [Google Scholar], p. 210). [7] A partial exception to this was the erratic public positioning of the Minister of Social Affairs, Cristina Alberdi. While she repeatedly endorsed the official position that new legislation in this area should regulate new family choices, she occasionally developed more specific arguments based on the social legitimacy of homosexual relations (see, for instance, her opinions in El País, 19 July 1994). In 1995, the government actually promised a law to upgrade to legal status 'de facto' couples. Alberdi attributes blame for the final inaction in this area to an increasingly 'hostile political environment towards the Government and its policies' (Alberdi & Méndez 2001). [8] Electoral maelstrom in 2000 created yet another leadership crisis within the PSOE which ended with the election in 2001 of José Luís Rodriguez Zapatero as party leader. [9] The views of these initial organizations were summarized in an interview with José Antonio Berrocal, leader of the Homosexual Liberation Front of Madrid (Frente de Liberación Homosexual de Castilla [FLHOC]). El País, 27 June 1981. [10] These particular words belonged to members of the Coordinadora de Collectius per a'Lliberament Gai, which was a short-lived radical group based in Barcelona and which published La Pluma, no. 1 (1978). Similar remarks can be found in an important ideological paper authored by members of the short-lived FLHOC (1978 FLHOC (1978) Mission statement, Madrid. [Google Scholar], p. 2). [11] This was published in Entiendes?, no. 4 (1988, p. 4), the group's magazine. [12] Iniciativas Gais, no. 10 (1991). Iniciativas was one of the free publications of the CGL.