Alfonso XIII’s Reign and Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship in Spain
Alfonso XIII’s Reign and the Path to Dictatorship
In 1902, Alfonso XIII was declared of age, ending the regency of Maria Cristina. Until then, the Canovist system had allowed a certain stability. However, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, Spain experienced a state of permanent political crisis. The deaths of Canovas (1897) and Sagasta (1903) led the turnista parties into an internal struggle for leadership, which weakened their position and facilitated the emergence of new parties (socialists, republicans, and nationalists) outside the turnista system. This led to the depletion of the Canova system. Adding to the political crisis was a social climate of violence caused by the struggle between unions and employers, and rising discontent in the military due to the disaster of 1898 and the failures of the war in Morocco, which many military personnel blamed on politicians.
Early Attempts at Political Revisionism
Between 1902 and 1909, the first attempts at political revisionism were made, trying to change the system from above. The disaster of 1898 had raised the voices of regenerationists, such as Joaquín Costa and Alba, who criticized the political system, calling it sick and degenerate, and called for moral regeneration of political life, ending despotism and electoral fraud. The assassination of Canovas left Francisco Silvela, a defender of revisionist views, as the leader of the Conservative Party. Silvela formed several governments and tried to stamp out corruption in the system but failed due to many conflicting interests, even within his own party. He left politics in 1903, giving way to a new Conservative leader, Antonio Maura. Maura did not achieve better results and even aggravated the crisis with his authoritarian attitude and refusal to leave the government to the Liberals, with the excuse that they were allied with Republicans to make the feedback from below.
The Tragic Week of 1909
The outbreak of the Tragic Week in Barcelona in 1909 accelerated the crisis. Since the 1906 Algeciras Conference, Spain had exercised a protectorate over northern Morocco. In 1909, some members of Kabylia (tribes) around Melilla attacked Spanish companies, and Maura decided to send troops. Instead of sending those located in Andalusia, he used the occasion to test the plan of mobilization of reservists and ordered the inclusion of these in Madrid and Barcelona (July 10). In this situation, the Socialists and Republicans promoted joint action against the call for reservists for the campaign in Morocco (1903 and 1904 reservists, who were of the working class because the wealthy could pay a fee to avoid service). The protests were ignored by Maura’s government, and when the troops embarked in Barcelona, incidents began (July 18). On the other side, in Barcelona, the organization Solidaridad Obrera, of a pseudo-anarchist character, called a general strike on July 26, which was joined by other workers’ organizations (UGT). Poor organization meant the strike was only followed in Barcelona. The governor declared a state of civil war, and violence became widespread, escaping the control of the organizers (news arrived on July 27th of the disaster at Barranco del Lobo): barricades, overturned streetcars, burning of convents, and clashes between police and strikers. For three days, the city, isolated from the outside, saw prolonged fighting in the streets until the situation gradually returned to normal. The balance of these three days was more than 100 killed, 300 wounded, almost a hundred buildings destroyed (especially monasteries), and multiple damages. Then came the repression: arrests, prosecutions, and death sentences. The death sentence and execution of the founder of the Modern School, Ferrer Guardia, without evidence and after a very irregular trial (it was intended to make an example of the anarchist leader and teacher), encouraged such protests inside and outside of Spain that the king had to force Maura’s resignation.
Continued Crisis and the Rise of Primo de Rivera
Between 1909 and 1917, the crisis remained due to the inability of traditional parties to address it. The liberal Maura was succeeded by Canalejas, also a regenerationist, but his assassination by an anarchist in 1912 left the Liberals without a leader. The king called on the conservative Eduardo Dato, but a sector of conservatives did not accept his leadership, and, led by Maura, formed the Maurista party, which divided the Conservatives.
The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
By 1923, Spanish society and political life were in an unsustainable crisis that had been dragging on since 1917. On September 13, the Captain General of Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera, proclaimed a state of war. The government resigned, and the king handed over power to the rebels, consummating the coup, which was favorably received by most Spaniards. Primo de Rivera addressed the nation, announcing the arrival of a new system, tentatively in the hands of the military. Contrary to the tradition of nineteenth-century coups, it did not mean a change of government but the building of a stable regime, a dictatorship, accusing politicians of the traditional liberal parties of all ills, and proclaiming their intention to eliminate elections and Parliament. However, he did not intend to create a new totalitarian order in the style of fascism; his ideas about social and political problems were simple, he believed in order and in “strong governments.” After the dissolution of the Courts, a Military Directorate was formed, with Miguel Primo de Rivera as president, who was supported by the King in all his resolutions. The popular reaction was favorable, or at least passive, as people thought it would end a system that had proved incapable of solving the country’s problems.
From Military to Civil Directorate
In 1924, he created the Patriotic Union party, with which Primo de Rivera tried to gather all those politicians who supported the new regime to gradually return power to civilians. It was not exactly a single political party like Italian fascism, since the other parties were not outlawed. The Military Directorate was changed in December 1925 to a Civil Directorate, naming a government composed of former members of the turnista parties that was endorsed by the people through a plebiscite. In 1927, he convened a National Consultative Assembly, which should prepare and submit to the government, in phases, general and comprehensive legislation to regulate the procedure for a return to normality. In 1928, the Assembly met, but at no time was there agreement among members about the future constitutional arrangements that the country should adopt. In short, what ended up ruining the dictatorship as a political formula was its own inability to find an institutional solution.
The Moroccan Question
Over the years, the dictatorship focused on addressing the most serious problems of the moment, which justified its rise to power: first, the question of Morocco. The first step was to resolve the issue of responsibility for the disaster of Annual by burying the Picasso report, and then solve the problem of the war in Morocco. Primo de Rivera was in favor of withdrawing troops from the newly conquered areas, contrary to the opinion of the majority of the army. In 1924, he gave orders to begin withdrawing, an operation that cost many casualties as it was done in the middle of an attack by the Rif. Abd-el-Krim became very confident with this apparent victory and launched an attack on French positions. The result was the collaboration of Spain and France in a joint operation. The Spanish landed at Alhucemas Bay while the French attacked from Fez, in the mountains above. The Arab leader was cornered and surrendered to the French. Peace came in 1926. It was the biggest success of the dictatorship and prolonged its existence beyond expectations.