Second Spanish Republic: Biennium Reform & Challenges
Biennium Reform: A Period of Change
The Biennium Reform began under the government of Azaña, with a similar composition to the provisional government, including radicals.
Land Reform
Land reform was proclaimed to address the problem of land access, which had led to violent clashes between laborers and the Civil Guard. There was strong repression of peasants who took land without permission, and peasants attacked the Civil Guard. The objectives were to end landlordism, prevent absenteeism, and reward owners who worked the land.
An institute for agrarian reform was established to settle peasants on the land, but implementation was slow due to compensation to owners.
Religious Influence Reduction
The Republic aimed to reduce the influence of the Church, particularly in education. Public education was sought, secular and free. Property was confiscated. In 1932, laws were enacted for civil marriage, divorce, and desecularization of cemeteries. In 1933, a law was passed that restricted religious congregations from the teaching profession. Due to failures in replacement, public places were used, and the Church encouraged organizations of rights.
Nationalism and Statutes
Nationalism was stillborn, but statutes were adopted. Catalonia’s parliament approved the Generalitat in 1932, with the Executive Council having wide powers. Macià was the president of the Generalitat, and Companys was the president of parliament. In the Basque Country, the Catholic PNV wanted an agreement based on the SNTA. There were obstacles attempting to establish jurisdiction with the Vatican relations. In Galicia, it did not apply due to the Civil War. In Andalucia, Blas Infante drafted the status, but it could not be approved.
Education and Culture
Education and culture promoted a mixed-school model that was secular, public, and free. It eliminated the influence of the Church. There was significant progress, with targets including the construction of 27,000 schools and increasing teachers’ salaries. There was a building of enrollment in high school and create educational missions.
Labor Policy
Labor policy was directed by Largo Caballero, a Socialist Party member, who was in charge of regulating collective bargaining, the right to strike, and holidays. Mixed juries were created, along with social benefits, including pensions, allowances, and social insurance. This labor policy faced opposition from the CNT employers, who held a very radical position.
Coup Attempt and Repression
In 1933, a coup attempt was carried out by Sanjurjo, but a general strike stopped them. He was sentenced to death and then life imprisonment. In Casas Viejas, where the revolutionary movement triumphed, there was an attempt to proclaim libertarian communism in the Andalusian countryside. There was strong repression by the police of the Republic and later a trial of the oppressors. Azaña resigned and Martínez Barrio was named. Elections were held in November 1933.
Conservative Transition
The right was reorganized, marking the conservative transition biennium. There was a function between the organizations of conservative groups around a moderate Catholic ideal led by Gil Robles (president), and the Radical Party abandoned its anti-clericalism led by Lerroux. The CEDA and the Radical Party defined Catholic sectors, small business owners, and affluent middle classes. Their objectives included ending secularism, defense, and restoring the national economy to the sanjurjada of reprisals.
Other parties included: PNV and Lliga presented in separate lists. The left and center Republicans presented separately, the CNT defined abstention, the PSOE did not want alliances, and the PCE was alone. In the 1933 elections, the CEDA and the Radical party were due later plasma phalanx and PCE.