Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

the state of alarm (''estado de alarma'') is the lowest of the three degrees of

state of emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

that allows the government to perform actions or impose policies that it would normally not be permitted to undertake. It is regulated in the article 116.2 of the

Constitution of Spain The Spanish Constitution (Spanish, Asturleonese, and gl, Constitución Española; eu, Espainiako Konstituzioa; ca, Constitució Espanyola; oc, Constitucion espanhòla) is the democratic law that is supreme in the Kingdom of Spain. It was e ...

. It can be declared in all of Spain or parts of it in these cases: *Serious risk, catastrophe or public calamity, such as earthquakes, floods, urban and forest fires, or major accidents. *Health crises, such as epidemics and serious contamination situations. *Situations of shortages of basic necessity products. *Paralysis of essential public services for the community if any of the above circumstances or situations concur. The state of alarm is declared by the government through a decree passed by the Council of Ministers for a maximum period of 15 days, reporting to the

Congress of Deputies The Congress of Deputies ( es, link=no, Congreso de los Diputados, italic=unset) is the lower house of the Cortes Generales, Spain's legislative branch. The Congress meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, Madrid, Palace of the Parliament () in Ma ...

, gathered immediately for this purpose. Without the Congress authorization said period may not be extended, and said decree will establish the scope and conditions binding during its duration. The decree will determine the territorial scope to which the effects of the declaration extend. The limitation of rights is regulated in the organic law 4/1981. The allowed limitations are: *Limitation of movement or permanence of people or vehicles at certain times and places, or order them to meet certain requirements *Practice of temporary searches of all kinds of goods and imposition of

civil conscription Civil conscription is the obligation of civilians to perform mandatory labour for the government. This kind of work has to correspond with the exceptions in international agreements, otherwise it could fall under the category of unfree labour. Th ...

*Intervention and temporarily occupation of industries, factories, workshops, farms or locals of any nature, reporting it to the concerned Ministries. *The use of services or the consumption of basic necessities may be limited or rationed *The necessary orders may be issued to ensure the supply of the markets and the performance of the affected services and production centers

Declared states of alarm

2010 air traffic controllers strike

On December 4, 2010, the first state of alarm was declared following the air traffic controllers strike. It lasted until January 16, 2011 and was the first time since the Francisco Franco's regime that a state of emergency was declared.

2020 coronavirus pandemic in Spain

The second state of alarm was declared on March 14, 2020, due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

. It enforced the lockdown of people in all Spanish territory. It ended on June 21, 2020. The third state of alarm was declared on October 7, 2020 due to the second wave of COVID-19 in Madrid. This time, restrictions were not as big as in the previous state of alarm, and they only took place in the territory of the Madrid Autonomous Community. The first-ever national state of emergency was decreed on October 25, 2020, primarily to introduce a

curfew A curfew is a government order specifying a time during which certain regulations apply. Typically, curfews order all people affected by them to ''not'' be in public places or on roads within a certain time frame, typically in the evening and ...

from midnight until six in the morning in order to tackle the widespread between young people in social gatherings. Later, both them were declared unconstitutional by the

Constitutional Court of Spain The Constitutional Court ( es, Tribunal Constitucional) is the supreme interpreter of the Spanish Constitution, with the power to determine the constitutionality of acts and statutes made by any public body, central, regional, or local in Spa ...

References

{{reflist, 2 Emergency laws Constitutional law Law of Spain