The mayor of the town of Etxarri Aranatz, in Navarre … has been sentenced by the Pamplona superior court to six years of disqualification for public office and to a fine of 100,000 pesetas for the crime of disobeying higher authority. [He] refused, in accordance with the unanimous vote of the town council, to uphold two court rulings that abrogated municipal decisions opposing cooperation with the Army in … posting the lists of the town's eligible recruits. [He] is the first mayor to be sentenced in Spain for refusing to cooperate in recruiting soldiers.

Alarmed that nearly half of all young men in Spain who are eligible for the draft claim to be conscientious objectors, the government has come up with a [new] policy … When on duty, [soldiers] now have a right to disobey orders that violate the law … If they feel they have been abused, they can circumvent military authorities and complain directly to Spain's ombudsman … For Spain's top brass, these are hardly changes designed to create a tough citizens army. But if trends continue, they also know they may soon be without soldiers.