Spain's Congress drops 'of Deputies' in name reform

Congress drops 'of Deputies' in the name of inclusive language

The Congress of Deputies will be known simply as Congress starting Tuesday. The reform of the chamber's rules, pushed by PSOE and Sumar, cleared its second-to-last step in committee and now only awaits a final vote to take effect. PP, Vox and UPN voted against it. The stated goal is to promote inclusive language by removing the generic masculine from the name of the lower house. No economic impact assessment has been published on what it will cost to redo signage, stationery and the chamber's digital properties.

What exactly changes in the Congress rules reform

The text amends the chamber's rules so the institution no longer carries the 'of Deputies' suffix. The majority backing the government pushed it through in committee, with outright opposition from PP, Vox and UPN, and the decisive session is set for Tuesday. The short name is nothing new: in everyday speech and headlines, 'the Congress' was already used on its own, which considerably reduces the practical impact. The difference is that it now becomes the official name, with everything that entails.

Article 66 of the Constitution and the legal tangle nobody has settled

An uncomfortable argument resurfaces every time the change comes up: Article 66 of the Constitution. 'The Cortes Generales represent the Spanish people and are made up of the Congress of Deputies and the Senate,' the text reads. The question is whether a parliamentary majority can alter through its rules a name that appears in the Constitution without touching the Constitution itself. The technical answer is not as obvious as the political one, and to date nobody has offered one that settles the controversy.

Congress, Congresa or Le Congrese: the problem of replacing 'deputies'

Once the surname is gone, what remains? The discussion quickly turned to alternatives. One faction backed 'Congresa' as a counterbalance; another proposed 'Congress of Legislators' or 'of Legislators' to avoid gendered doubling; a third suggested 'les congresistes', which sounds French. There is no consensus even within the governing majority itself. The dictionary adds noise: the RAE (Spain's language academy) lists 'congreso' as an archaic term for carnal copulation, a detail the more ironic members did not let pass.

What it costs to rename an institution: signage, websites and contracts

Renaming an institution does not come cheap. Signage at its premises, official stationery, internal communications, the chamber's website and social media all have to be redone. It is argued that such a process ends up producing lucrative adaptation contracts for a handful of suppliers, though no official figure has been announced. The item-by-item breakdown circulating these days has not been denied by anyone with responsibility at the chamber either.

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With the current majority, the new name is likely to go through on Tuesday, and within a year almost nobody will remember what it used to be called. The real doubt is another one: if one day the government changes hands and someone decides to reverse it, the signage shuffle will have been paid for twice. Nobody will sign off on that bill.