Reforms of Mediterranean Welfare States: Attention to Spanish Case and the Governance in Social Policies in Time of Crisis

The Welfare State (WS) is broadening for the last thirty years in Spain with its own characteristics and context. The Spanish State of Autonomies established due to the Constitution of 1978 and the following processes of democratization and decentralization have been essential in the design and development of our WS, opened from the 80s up to the current days. This fact is demonstrated in the Public System of Social Services and the most of Social Policies whose exclusive responsibilities were assumed by the Autonomous Communities, though without being restricted because the State undertakes a certain role and the local organisms develop an increasing advocacy. As a consequence, a complex multilevel government is created and this fact requires a very high co-ordination between administrations and at the same time the participation of the rest of actors or members involved in its implementation. Due to the crisis of the Keynesian classical model, which manifested itself at international level from the mid-seventies onwards and here from eighties, it progressively became necessary to restructure the welfare system, as well as to redefine the role of the public sector. We are going to analyze the effects of this crisis were not only economic and social, also political and institutional, and the changes which were prompted by it in its contents and its management. This was because, in addition to having financial consequences, this inconsistency ended up impacting upon the welfare system’s own capacity to act and its legitimacy. Consequently, the diverse prominence held by different public and social agents in the pursuit of citizens’ welfare are changing. Therefore, the debates endure for uncertainness for its future. Hence, the post-Keynesian WS can be considered to be undergoing constant material readjustments, although attached strategic reforms of its character which is more qualitative than any previous reform. Nowadays we assist to certain measures to reduce WSt (cutting pensions, helps and wages) which affects especially families, retired, elderly and unemployment people. However there was no very high level of social mobilization in Spain until now (as in Greece, France or UK) and specifically the Andalusia society is not articulated as other communities (Basque country, Catalonia, Madrid…). Individualistic or personal strategies are growing against other perspectives in the general framework of political disaffection and ethical crisis. In fact, clienteles’ networks with an overloaded Administration and strong traditional support from Mediterranean families were pointed out as possible keys by the specialists (Ferrara, Moreno, Sarasa). Anyway they are complicated process where other factors are involved (practices and political culture, path dependency, even anthropology, religious and psychological features). And definitely, the need to improve participatory in local governance thus seems to be a direct consequence of the changing pressures in a globalization world.