Crisis of 1917 and Primo de Rivera Dictatorship: Causes, Consequences, and Resignation
Crisis of 1917
WWI-Spain was neutral-economic profits- greatest industrial owners.
The rest of population remained poor-social unrest, & tensions.
Tensions
Social: General strike. Fightings between the strikers & army. Protest 2 topple the restoration.
Military: Creation of Juntas de Defensa militar. Politicians succumbed 2 military pressure.
Political: Government suspended las Cortes. Establishment of Asamblea de Parlamentarios.
Consequences of Crisis of 1917
Army control over Spanish society increased.
National Unity Governments: weak & very short governments
Class conflict: Looking 4 their own solution. Influence by Bolsheviks revolution.
Social unrest: Pistolerismo (Trade unions, industry owners). Ley de fugas (a law that allow 2 authorities 2 shot down those who run away)
Basque & catalan nationalism: both of them looking 4 more autonomy.
Morocco’s problem: Rif (abd-el-krim, disaster of annual in 1921)
(Miguel) Primo de Rivera Dictatorship (1923-1930)
Authoritarian response of workers & intellectuals 2 the crisis after 1917.
Charismatic leader following the example of Mussolini in Italy with restricted political participation.
Promises: Restore the public order. End of the war in Morocco. Combat the political corruption.
Measures: Constitution as suspended. Parliament was dissolved. Political parties & trade unions were banned.
1923-1925 Military directorate: Restoration of public order. End of Morocco’s problem After Alhucemas landing 1924.
1925-1930 Civil directorate: Attempts of bringing together 2 workers & owners. Parliament was replaced by ‘National Consultative Government’
Dictatorship didn’t solve Econ. Polit. Soc. problems. Although was very popular between wealthy & middle classes There was a slight recovery of employment but adding huge debts 2 the Government. Economy worsened after 1929.
Primo’s de Rivera Resignation
Organization of the political opposition: left-wing parties, Trade unions, Intellectuals.
Primo de Rivera lost the support of the king Alfonso XIII and the army.
Alfonso XIII tried to restore the Restoration (Berenguer, Aznar)
Pacto de San Sebastián 1930 Political parties and intellectuals (Ortega y Gasset) defend republic and they will promote the coup d’etat to archive it.
Society and Economy
Primary sector: Agriculture 70% of the population worked in it. Inequality in the land ownership (latifundios in the south and minifundios in the north). Farmers started to use machinery and techniques.
Secondary sector: Spanish industry was concentrated in specific regions Cantabria and Basque country. Spanish production wasn’t very competitive, so the majority of the products and raw materials were imported.
Economy policy during dictatorship followed Italian model: state intervention and economic nationalism.
Social inequalities: at least 65% of the population was illiterate. Rural population and industry workers suffer poor work conditions. middle classes prospered in grown cities.
April 14th 1931 2nd Spanish Republic was Established
Monarchy: head of state (king) head of government(elected)
Republic: head of state (elected) head of government (elected)
Provisional government called elections for constituent cortes, which would write a constitution.
Spain declared itself a republic for all kind of workers
First president (H of S) Niceto Alcalá Zamora First Prime Minister (H of G) Manuel Azaña
Reformist Biennium 1931-1933
Republican parties and socialist rules in coalition
Reforms
PARLIAMENT AND SUFFRAGE: only a single chamber. universal suffrage (first time women vote)
ARMY: Military officers swore allegiance to the republic (new police ‘guardians of Asalto’)
AGRICULTURE: new distribution of lands (ged rid of latifundios, provide plots of lands to poor peasants)
STATUTES OF AUTONOMY: Recognition to historical regions, they were allowed to write their own autonomous statues. (Catalonia and Basque country)
EDUCATION: more than 10.000 new schools built.
RELIGION: Separation between the church and the government. Freedom of religion. civil marriage and divorce passed.
SOCIAL: improvements in the workers conditions, increasing wages and social security protection.
1933-1936 Radical CEDA (Black) Biennium
Violent climate of opposition to Republic
Right W.: Oligarch, landowners, army officers and the church
Left W.: labour movements demanding deeper reforms.
Casas viejas incident: January 1933, there was a brutal represión by the ‘guardia de asalto’ against an Anarchist uprising. Azaña was forced to resign.
New elections in November 1933 won by R.W parties
CEDA: confederación española de derechas autónomas of José Mª Gil Robles was the most voted party. It was a strongly catholic party with fascist tendencies inside.
Gil Robles himself has declared to be monarchist.
To avoid more tensions, the government was established by the second most voted Party, Radical party of Alejandro Lerroux.
From the beginning its main was to stop or reserve the reforms of the previous period.
1934 revolution. October mainly located in Asturias. it was declared the ‘estat catalá’
The army repressed brutally the revolutionaries (Franco) and companies was imprisoned.
Popular Front February 1936-July 1936
Left-wing parties decided to organized in just one Party called PF.
Also with socialist. Main aim was resume the reforms and claim amnesty for political prisoners.
February 1936 there were new elections. PF is the most voted. Manuel Azaña is the new president.
Measurement
amnesty for political prisoners, especially those arrested during October 1934 revolution.
Reintroduction of Agrarian Reform of 1932.
Catalan parliament was given back its functions.
Social religious and education reforms were extended.
Some army members with some right-wing politicians supported by rich landowners started to conspire against the PF government. Disorder and violence spread all over Spain and finally two decisive events in July. First the assassination of Lieutenant of ‘Guardia de asalto’, Castillo by right-wing gunmen. Days later, José Calvo Sotelo, conservative leader was kidnapped and assassinated by left-wing followers.