The notion of citizenship has three main uses: it makes it possible to refer to the quality and right of a citizen (“Citizenship is not respected in this country”), to all the citizens of a nation (“The representatives have listened to the demands of citizenship “) And the behavior of a good citizen (” The businessman, showing off his sense of citizenship, donated thousands of pesos to the children’s dining room “).
In addition to all this, we cannot ignore that there is what is known as a citizenship letter, also called a nature letter. It is a document that allows the nationality of a specific country to be acquired and is characterized, in the case of Spain, as being ex gratia, that is, it is granted without being subject to any type of precept.
In the aforementioned country we have to state that those over 18 years of age, the legal representative of any individual who is less than 14 years old, who is over 14 years old and is assisted by their legal representative, and also the person can request that letter. who is incapacitated either by herself or through her aforementioned legal representative.
Likewise, to request it, an application must be submitted and along with it must be documents such as the birth certificate of the spouse if he is Spanish, the marriage certificate, the birth certificate of the interested party…
A citizen is an resident who is subject to political rights. These rights allow you to intervene in the government of your country through voting. Citizenship also implies certain obligations and duties (such as respect for the rights of others).
Citizen action must be responsible, peaceful and self-regulating. Its main objective is to improve public welfare. Actions that only seek individual benefit, on the other hand, are not linked to citizenship.
The full citizenship of all citizens is essential for the proper functioning of a democracy. If some citizens cannot vote (for reasons of religion, ethnicity, sex, etc.), democracy fails and the postulates of citizenship are not fulfilled.
This allows us to remember that, throughout history, the notion of citizenship has been mutating. In ancient Greece, for example, the only citizens were men with the ability to acquire weapons and defend the city. Women, slaves, and foreigners were not considered citizens.
Today’s democracies, on the other hand, tend to consider full citizens all men and women over a certain age (generally 18 years).
It is interesting to know that in Spain, in addition, in 2006, the approval by the Government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of a subject for Primary and Secondary Education called “Education for Citizenship” was carried out. One subject is committed to promoting a tolerant, fair and defender of human rights and freedoms.
However, after the arrival to power of President Mariano Rajoy, the minister of the aforementioned area suppressed that subject for another that received the name of Constitutional Civic Education that has been rejected by a large part of society since it avoids issues such as social inequalities and, however, addresses issues such as the private economy or what it calls exclusive nationalism.
