Republican Zone: Revolution, Collapse, and Governments
The Republican Zone and the Revolution
The Collapse of the Republican State
To prevent the uprising, the Republican government had to organize a military force. It decided to deliver arms to the militias of the parties and trade unions. State power suffered a crash and was replaced by revolutionary organizations. Councils, committees, and juntas emerged. These united to form Regional Councils. The establishment of the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias was also important.
The Outbreak of the Social Revolution
In the territory loyal to the Republic, the military uprising caused a revolutionary climate. Once the rebellion was suppressed, there was a push for social changes. The most significant element of the social revolution was the collectivization of industrial and agricultural property. Business owners fled when war broke out, and workers took the forefront of businesses, making them self-managed. A series of decrees gave legal cover to the industries and land seizures by popular agencies. The occupation of farms extended massively. In the first months of the war, the Church, the bourgeoisie, the owners, and the wealthy classes were persecuted. The imposition of a “terror” revolution in the streets was driven by the most radical sector of anarcho-syndicalism and the POUM.
The Government of Largo Caballero
In late summer of 1936, militants failed to stop the advance of the rebels. On September 5, 1936, Largo Caballero formed a new government made up of Republicans, Socialists, and Communists; later, anarcho-syndicalists entered. Largo Caballero’s goal was to form an “anti-fascist alliance” against the rebels. However, a series of military failures reopened the confrontation between the Republican forces. One sector, made up of Republicans, Communists, and Socialists, favored tidying up the rear, while the other sector, composed of anarchists and the POUM, insisted on securing the revolutionary transformation. The problems that weakened the government of Largo Caballero broke out in Barcelona (The May Events).
Negrín’s Government
These events influenced the situation, subtracting power from the anarchists and strengthening the Communists’ positions. The Communists demanded the dissolution of the POUM, but Largo Caballero refused and resigned. Azana commissioned the formation of a new government to Negrín. The Popular Front formed parties without the UGT or CNT. Indalencio Prieto assumed the Ministry of War, and the new Cabinet based its policy on the priority of the military effort. Faced with the difficulty of stopping the advance of Franco’s troops, the government tried to find a negotiated solution to the war, proposing Negrín’s Thirteen Points, a program from March 1938. Life was already very difficult in the Republican territory. In September 1938, the Republic received a setback when it signed the Munich Pact, but Negrín insisted on the need for military resistance. The loss of Catalonia marked the exile of the government of the Republic.