Oligarchy and Caciquism in Spain’s Restoration Period
Oligarchy and Caciquism
This text is a passage from the book Oligarchy and Caciquism, written by Joaquin Costa and published in 1901. Even though it is a primary source, it could also be considered secondary as he gives his views and opinions, analyzing the political system of the Restoration period in Spain at that time. Notably, it was four years after the Disaster, when Spain lost its last colonies (Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines).
Analysis of the Political System
Firstly, let’s analyze the main ideas of the text to understand it properly. The text is a clear analysis of the current political system in Spain:
- Costa lists the elements that constitute the system: the oligarchs (members of the nobility that held power), caciques (local political bosses that used their influence to change citizens’ will and manipulate the elections), and the civil governor (the medium and instrument of communication).
- He evaluates the leading class as a foreign faction that by force occupied ministries, captains, railroads, etc. to impose taxes and collect them.
- Finally, he denounces the corruption of the electoral system: he describes the manipulation in the elections, declaring that those who falsified the voting had the power and authority. So, they did it abusing their power.
Historical Context
Secondly, let’s contextualize the text to understand how we reached this point. After Queen Isabel II was removed from power due to issues like the crisis of 1866 and La Gloriosa revolt, there was a lack of power. Prim was chosen as the provisional head of government. Then, Amadeo from the Italian royal family was elected King. However, he resigned, and the First Spanish Republic started (1873-1874). There were many heads of state during the republic, but it ended quite early due to a coup d’état by Martinez Campos, leading to Alfonso XII becoming King. The years 1868-1874 are known as the democratic sexennium, marked by political movements and the Third Carlist War (when Spain did not have a King, Carlists proposed Carlos VII as King, but they lost, and Alfonso XII was elected). The failure of the democratic sexennium triggered the Restoration during the following years.
The Restoration and its Corruption
The government of Alfonso XII started with the idea of the restoration, developed by Canovas (conservative). He wanted to bring stability to Spain and implemented many reforms: he placed the army under the King, removing their power to prevent pronunciamientos and riots, which had been frequent in the past. During Alfonso XII’s government, the 1876 Constitution was released, attempting to represent all Spaniards. Notably, it declared Catholicism as the official religion but allowed other religions to be practiced in private, based on the Cadiz Constitution (1712). This was necessary because the Constitution written during the sexennium (1869) had declared Spain a free religion country, which did not represent most Spaniards.
After the death of Alfonso XII in 1885, his widow, Maria Cristina of Habsburg, became regent and appointed Sagasta (liberal) as Prime Minister. The Prado Pact was agreed upon, where both liberal (Sagasta) and conservative (Canovas) parties accepted that they would take turns in the government (Bipartidism), which would make the system corrupt. Moreover, suffrage at the beginning was exclusive, but in 1890, universal male suffrage was accepted. There were three main methods to corrupt the voting system:
- Pucherazo: claiming that the ballot paper was damaged and could not be counted as valid.
- Caciquism: local leaders (caciques) in rural areas would buy people’s votes.
- Encasillado: people would vote using the name of a deceased person.
Although the government was corrupted, the economy was doing well until the Disaster of 1898. After the death of Canovas (the head of the bipartidism), Spain entered and lost a war against the United States. Spain signed the Paris Peace Treaty, losing the colonies of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines, which negatively impacted the country’s economy. In this text, written in 1901 after these events, Joaquin Costa reports this corruption and seeks solutions, claiming that a change in the system is needed.
The Regenationism Movement
When Alfonso XIII inherited the crown in 1902, the bipartidism continued, with the government shared periodically by Maura (conservative) and Canalejas (liberal). However, due to the Disaster of 1898, the Regenationism movement emerged. Led by Joaquin Costa, it aimed to improve the political situation through criticism and finding solutions. It differed from the Generation of ’98, which was more critical but did not offer alternatives. The Regenationists tried to provide alternatives and even created a party. This period saw many social movements, including the workers’ movement and nationalism in Catalonia, Basque Provinces, and Galicia. Additionally, the Wars of Morocco took place, resulting in significant loss of life. The situation became increasingly corrupt, complex, and unstable, eventually leading to the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in 1923.
Conclusion
, this text was one of the most interesting and influential sources of the period as it describes the corrupted political system that Spain had at that time. However, Costa did not only criticise the failures of the restoration, he tried to find out solutions in order to make Spain more developed. For that reason, his analysis helped writers, politicians and historians to identify the problems of Spain and many tried to implement the solutions he proposed. This corrupted period was very stable for a long period since its 1876 Constitution was in force for a long time. However, it triggered the regenerationism which had a little success and caused the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and Berenger later in order to try to keep the King Alfonso XII.