Government and administrative divisions

Barcelona is governed by a city council formed by 41 city councillors, elected for a four-year term by universal suffrage. The executive (Comissió de Govern—Government Commission) is formed by 21 councillors, led by the Mayor, with 5 lieutenant-mayors and 15 city councillors, each in charge of an area of government.

The seat of the city council is on the Plaça Sant Jaume, opposite the seat of Generalitat de Catalunya. Since the coming of the Spanish democracy, Barcelona has been governed by the PSC, first with an absolute majority and more recently in coalition with ERC and ICV. The municipal opposition is formed by the CiU and the PP.

The city council has jurisdiction in the fields of city planning, transportation, municipal taxes, public highways security (through the Guardia Urbana or municipal police), city maintenance, gardens, parks and environment, facilities (like schools, nurseries, sports centres, libraries, etc.), culture, sports, youth and social welfare. Some of these competencies are not exclusive, but shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya or the central Spanish government.

Barcelona, as one of the two biggest cities in Spain, is subject to a special law articulated through the Carta Municipal (Municipal Law). A first version of this law was passed in 1960 and amended later, but the current version was approved in March 2006.[27] This law gives the local government a special relationship with the central government and it also gives the mayor wider prerogatives by the means of municipal executive commissions.[28] It expands the powers of the city council in areas like telecommunications, city traffic, road safety and public safety. It also gives a special economic regime to the city's treasury and it gives the council a veto in matters that will be decided by the central government, but that will need a favorable report from the council.[27]