Page "Autonomous communities of Spain" Paragraph 35

The distribution of powers may be different for every community, as laid out in their Statutes of Autonomy.

There used to be a clear de facto distinction between so called " historic " communities ( Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia ) and the rest.

The " historic " ones initially received more functions, including the ability of the regional presidents to choose the timing of the regional elections ( as long as they happen no more than four years apart ).

As another example, the Basque Country, Navarre and Catalonia have full-range police forces of their own: Ertzaintza in the Basque Country, Policía Foral in Navarre and Mossos d ' Esquadra in Catalonia.

Other communities have a more limited force or none at all ( like the Policía Autónoma Andaluza in Andalusia or the BESCAM in Madrid ).