Editing Castile and León (section)

==Administration and politics==

===Territorial organization===
The community is the sum of nine provinces: [[Province of Ávila]], [[Province of Burgos]], [[Province of León]], [[Province of Palencia]], [[Province of Salamanca]], [[Province of Segovia]], [[Province of Soria]], [[Province of Valladolid]] and [[Province of Zamora]]. The provincial capitals fall in the homonymous cities to their corresponding provinces.

The concurrence of some peculiar geographical, social, historical and economic characteristics is legally recognized for [[El Bierzo]] (an area that was a province on its own in the [[1822 territorial division of Spain|project of initial provincial division]], though it disappeared in the [[1833 territorial division of Spain]]), and the [[Comarcas of Spain|comarca]] of ''El Bierzo'' was created in 1991, with its center in [[Ponferrada]].<ref>LAW 1/1991 of 14 March, by which is created and regulates the region of El Bierzo. Date of the B.O.C.Y.L .: 20 March 1991 No. Bulletin: 55/1991</ref> It is the only Castilian-Leonese territory recognized by law outside the normal provincial division, and it is administered by a Comarcal Council. Castile and León also includes the [[exclave of Treviño]], surrounded by the [[Basque Country (autonomous community)|Basque]] [[Álava|province of Araba/Álava]].
[[File:Provincias de Castilla y León.svg|thumb|left|300px|Provinces of Castile and León]]
{|class="wikitable"
!style="width:170px;"|Province
!style="width:85px;"|Capital
!style="width:85px;"|Area (km2)<ref>{{cite web |title=Población superficie y densidad por CCAA y provincias |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=/t43/a011/a1998/densidad/a2008/l0/&file=t10031.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 |access-date=18 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304081320/http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=%2Ft43%2Fa011%2Fa1998%2Fdensidad%2Fa2008%2Fl0%2F&file=t10031.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
!style="width:85px;"|Population (2011)<ref>{{cite web |title=Censos de Población y Viviendas 2011. Resultados nacionales por Comunidades autónomas y provincias |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |url=http://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=%2Ft20%2Fe244%2Favance%2Fp01%2Fl0%2F&file=01001.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224155901/https://www.ine.es/jaxi/tabla.do?path=%2Ft20%2Fe244%2Favance%2Fp01%2Fl0%2F&file=01001.px&type=pcaxis&L=0 |url-status=live }}</ref>
!style="width:80px;"|Municipalities<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ine.es/pob_xls/pobmun11.xls |title=Cifras oficiales de población resultantes de la revisión del Padrón municipal a 1 de enero de 2011 |publisher=Instituto Nacional de Estadística |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=17 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200917104840/https://www.ine.es/pob_xls/pobmun11.xls |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la provincia de Ávila.svg|13px]] [[Province of Ávila]] || [[Ávila, Spain|Ávila]] ||8 050.15||171 647 || [[List of municipalities in Ávila|248]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la Provincia de Burgos.svg|13px]] [[Province of Burgos]] || [[Burgos]] ||14 291.81||372 538|| [[List of municipalities in Burgos|371]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de León.svg|13px]] [[Province of León]] || [[León, Spain|León]] ||15 580.83 ||493 312|| [[List of municipalities in León|211]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la Provincia de Palencia.svg|13px]] [[Province of Palencia]] || [[Palencia]] ||8 052.51||170 513|| [[List of municipalities in Palencia|191]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la Provincia de Salamanca.svg|13px]] [[Province of Salamanca]] || [[Salamanca]] ||12 349.95 ||350 018|| [[List of municipalities in Salamanca|362]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la provincia de Segovia.svg|13px]] [[Province of Segovia]] || [[Segovia]] ||6 922.75 ||163 171|| [[List of municipalities in Segovia|209]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la provicia de Soria.svg|13px]] [[Province of Soria]] || [[Soria]] ||10 306.42 ||94 610|| [[List of municipalities in Soria|183]]
|-
| [[File:Va-dip.svg|13px]] [[Province of Valladolid]] || [[Valladolid]] ||8 110.49 ||532 765|| [[List of municipalities in Valladolid|225]]
|-
| [[File:Escudo de la provincia de Zamora.svg|13px]] [[Province of Zamora]] || [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]] ||10 561.26 ||191 613|| [[List of municipalities in Zamora|248]]
|}

====Provision of services====
[[File:Borrador de UBOST CyL (2015).svg|thumb|Draft of UBOST presented in September 2015.]]

The new territorial arrangement approved by Law 7/2013, on Planning, Services and Government of the Territory of the Community of Castile and León, establishes that the geographical spaces delimited for the provision of services are the [[Basic unit of territorial planning and services (Castile and León)|basic unit of territorial planning and services (UBOST)]] -urban or rural- and functional areas -[[Stable functional area (Castile and León)|stable]] or strategic-.<ref>{{citation |url=http://bocyl.jcyl.es/boletines/2013/10/01/pdf/BOCYL-D-01102013-2.pdf |title=Ley 7/2013, de 27 de septiembre, de Ordenación, Servicios y Gobierno del Territorio de la Comunidad de Castilla y León |work=[[Boletín Oficial de Castilla y León]] num. 189, of 1 October 2013 |publisher=[[Castile and León Regional Government|Junta de Castilla y León]] |pages=65222–65273 |issn=1989-8959 |access-date=10 January 2018 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304222455/http://bocyl.jcyl.es/boletines/2013/10/01/pdf/BOCYL-D-01102013-2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Also, the new ordination determines that the [[Mancommunity of common interest (Castile and León)|mancommunities of common interest]] are entities for the fulfillment of their specific purposes, which may be declared when their territorial scope substantially agrees with an UBOST or several contiguous ones.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DISPOSICIÓN EN HTML BOCYL-D-04052015-1&#124; BOLETÍN OFICIAL DE CASTILLA Y LEÓN |url=https://bocyl.jcyl.es/html/2015/05/04/html/BOCYL-D-04052015-1.do |access-date=2021-11-22 |website=bocyl.jcyl.es |archive-date=22 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122181952/https://bocyl.jcyl.es/html/2015/05/04/html/BOCYL-D-04052015-1.do |url-status=live }}</ref>

This ordination is still in the implementation phase, and in September 2015 the draft map dividing the autonomous community was presented in 147 rural UBOST and 15 urban UBOST.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.comunicacion.jcyl.es/web/jcyl/Comunicacion/es/Plantilla100Detalle/1281372051501/_/1284483465801/Comunicacion |title=La Junta presenta el primer borrador de unidades básicas de ordenación del territorio, abierto a aportaciones previas a la propuesta inicial para su tramitación |first=Junta de Castilla y |last=León |website=www.comunicacion.jcyl.es |access-date=21 January 2018 |archive-date=11 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111052723/http://comunicacion.jcyl.es/web/jcyl/Comunicacion/es/Plantilla100Detalle/1281372051501/_/1284483465801/Comunicacion |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Autonomous institutions===
[[File:Burgos - Palacio de Justicia 1.jpg|thumb| [[Palacio de Justicia, Valladolid|Palacio de Justicia]], seat of the Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León, in Burgos.]]
[[File:Valladolid_cortes_castilla_leon_07_lou.jpg|thumb|[[Seat of the Cortes of Castile and León]] in [[Valladolid]]. The city has an official status as seat of the legislature, government and president.]]
The main autonomous institutions are:
*[[Castile and León Regional Government|Junta de Castilla y León]] (Regional Government of Castile and León), with headquarters in Valladolid, is the regional executive, formed by the [[President of the Junta of Castile and León|President of the Regional Government]], the vice presidents and the councilors
*[[Cortes of Castile and León|Cortes de Castilla y León]] (Parliament of Castile and León), based in Valladolid
*[[Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León|Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León]] (Upper Court of Justice of Castile and León), based in Burgos
The Statute of Autonomy does not explicitly establish one capital. Initially the [[Cortes of Castile and León|Cortes]] were installed provisionally in [[Burgos]]; the possibility of fixing a capital in [[Tordesillas]] was also discussed, although the final decision was to install the [[Cortes of Castile and León|Cortes]] provisionally in the [[castle of Fuensaldaña]].

The region's 1983 statute of autonomy did not name a capital. The articles referred only to the "seat of government", that could only be fixed with a two-thirds approval in the [[Cortes of Castile and León]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vergara Pedreira |first1=Susana |date=3 September 2019 |title=León se 'levanta': Valladolid no será capital de la Comunidad |trans-title=León 'rises up': Valladolid will not be the capital of the Community |url=https://www.diariodeleon.es/articulo/leon/leon-levanta-valladolid-sera-capital-comunidad/201909031721551935609.html |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=Diario de León |language=Spanish}}</ref> In 1987, [[President of the Junta of Castile and León]] [[José María Aznar]] approved that the basic bodies of regional rule – the presidency, [[Castile and León Regional Government|Junta]] and the [[Cortes of Castile and León|Cortes]] – would be located in [[Valladolid]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Felix |first1=Lira |date=23 February 2019 |title=Castilla y León no tiene capital |trans-title=Castile and León has no capital |url=https://lacronicadesalamanca.com/231313-castilla-y-leon-no-tiene-capital/ |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=La Crónica de Salamanca |language=Spanish}}</ref>

One reason for the lack of the official capital is that the merger of Castile and León as one autonomous community caused uproar in the latter, which wanted to be separate. Other autonomous bodies are in the capitals of other provinces of the region. The [[High Court of Justice of Castile and León]] is in [[Burgos]], the Court of Audits is in [[Palencia]], the Advisory Council is in [[Zamora, Spain|Zamora]], the Ombudsman is in [[León, Spain|León]].<ref name="voz">{{cite news |last1=Santamarta |first1=Rubén |date=5 September 2019 |title=Castilla y León: dos reinos, pero ninguna capital |trans-title=Castile and León: two kingdoms, but no capital |url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/espana/2019/09/04/castilla-leon-dos-reinos-ninguna-capital/00031567593370457875178.htm |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=[[La Voz de Galicia]] |language=Spanish}}</ref>

In March 2009, the [[Junta of Castile and León]] apologised for school textbooks that named Valladolid as capital, saying that it was an honest confusion of its status as a seat.<ref>{{cite news |date=25 March 2009 |title=La Junta pide perdón por los libros de texto que hacen de Valladolid la capital |trans-title=The Junta apologises for textbooks that make Valladolid the capital |url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2009/03/25/castillayleon/1238000334.html |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]] |language=Spanish}}</ref> In February 2010, the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]] in Valladolid City Hall rejected a [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] proposal for the city to become the official capital, saying it could "provoke eight motions against it" from the other provincial capitals.<ref>{{cite news |date=1 February 2010 |title=El PP renuncia a solicitar la capitalidad para evitar conflictos entre provincias |trans-title=PP renounces plan to ask for capital status, in order to avoid conflict between provinces |url=https://www.elmundo.es/elmundo/2010/02/01/castillayleon/1265053518.html |access-date=4 March 2021 |work=El Mundo |language=Spanish}}</ref> In September 2019, José Antonio de Santiago Juárez of Valladolid's PP made a proposal of the same matter, which was opposed by the party leadership.<ref name="voz" />

===Cortes of Castile and León===
During the first legislature, the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] was the party with the most representation in Cortes, being the first president of the community the Socialist [[Demetrio Madrid]]. Since the 1990s, regional policy has been framed by a series of absolute majorities of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]], which continues to comfortably govern at present. Other national parties with presence in the community, either locally or regionally, are [[United Left (Spain)|United Left]] (previously as [[Communist Party of Spain]]) and [[Union, Progress and Democracy]], with a significant presence in the provinces of [[province of Ávila|Ávila]] and [[province of Burgos|Burgos]]. Previously [[Democratic and Social Centre (Spain)|Democratic and Social Centre]] of [[Adolfo Suárez]] also managed to be in the regional political life occupying the reformist center of the political spectrum.

The Leonesism through the [[Leonese People's Union]], the Castilianism through [[Castilian Party|Party of Castile and León]], previously [[Commoners' Land]] or localistas parties like [[Independent Solution (Spain)|Independent Solution]], [[Group of Zamoran Independent Electoral Members]] or [[Initiative for the Development of Soria]] have also had their presence, although at a lower level.

The community is governed by [[Alfonso Fernández Mañueco]], of the [[People's Party (Spain)|People's Party]]. This party obtained 29 [[Procurator in Cortes|procurators]] in the [[2019 Castilian-Leonese regional election]]. Mañueco's investiture was supported by the party [[Citizens (Spanish political party)|Citizens]], with 12 representatives. The party that obtained the most seats at the election, the [[Spanish Socialist Workers' Party]] is in opposition, with 35 representatives. The leader of the opposition is [[Luis Tudanca]]. In addition, four more formations obtained parliamentary representation in the region: [[Podemos (Spanish political party)|Podemos]] (2 seats), [[Vox (political party)|Vox]] (1), [[For Ávila|XÁvila]] (1) and [[Leonese People's Union]] (1).

A 2024 law passed by the regional Castile and León coalition (including Vox and the People's Party) omitted any mention of General Franco as a dictator, which sparked criticism.<ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title= Right-wing parties 'whitewash' Spain's fascist past with law erasing Franco dictatorship|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/03/30/spain-vox-castilla-y-leon-franco-new-law-fascism/ |work= |location= |access-date=}}</ref>

===Human rights===
[[File:ValladolidPride2024.jpg|thumb|[[Valladolid]] LGBTQ+ Pride 2024.]]
The roots of modern human rights theories has its origins in Castile and León. The [[School of Salamanca]] was an intellectual movement of 16th-century where humanism raised, being its major contributor [[Francisco de Vitoria]].

The [[Valladolid debate]] was the first moral debate in European history to discuss the rights and treatment of Indigenous people by European colonizers.

Castile and León is the only autonomous region in Spain without a specific regional law protecting LGBTQ+ citizens.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.diariodecastillayleon.es/castilla-y-leon/240628/52248/blanco-descarta-ley-lgbti-castilla-leon-espera-ver-evoluciona-consolida-norma-nacional.html | title=La Junta descarta una ley LGTBI en Castilla y León | date=28 June 2024 }}</ref> Several LGBTQ+ organizations exists in the region, such as Segovia Entiende,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://segovia.es/area/participacion-ciudadana-transparencia-y-gobierno-abierto/entidades/asociacion-segoentiende | title=Asociación Segoentiende &#124; Segovia }}</ref> Espacio Seguro LGBTQ+ Burgos,<ref>https://espacioseguroburgos.org/</ref> Chiguitxs LGTB+ Palencia,<ref>https://www.facebook.com/chiguitxslgtb/?locale=es_ES</ref> Arco Ávila,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/arcoavilalgtbiq/?hl=es | title=Instagram }}</ref> Awen León<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/awenlgtbileon/?hl=es | title=Instagram }}</ref> or Fundación Triangulo Castilla y León.<ref>https://www.facebook.com/fundaciontriangulocyl/?locale=es_ES</ref>

Since 2022 the Festival Zorrilla´s Fest<ref>https://zorrillasfest.es/</ref> is celebrated annually in Valladolid during Pride Week to promote LGBTQ+ artists and local LGBTQ+ engagement. Since then artists such as Samantha Hudson, Putochinomaricón, Javiera Mena or Tremenda Jauría have performed in the Festival.

The first transgender person in Spain to reach Professor level at University is Marina Sáenz, in the Law School of Valladolid University.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/yes/2021/03/13/emociona-ver-83-anos-persona-cambia-sexo/0003_202103SY13P8991.htm | title=Marina Sáenz, primera catedrática transexual de España: «Emociona ver que a los 83 años una persona cambia de sexo» | date=11 March 2021 }}</ref> 

Abortion law is applied as in the rest of the country, but women might suffer difficulties due to the high proportion of medical practitioners objecting to practise abortions.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://cadenaser.com/castillayleon/2024/02/12/mas-del-80-de-los-ginecologos-en-castilla-y-leon-se-declaran-objetores-de-conciencia-para-no-realizar-interrupciones-del-embarazo-radio-castilla/ | title=Más del 80% de los ginecólogos en Castilla y León se declaran objetores de conciencia para no realizar interrupciones del embarazo | date=12 February 2024 }}</ref>