Spain’s Second Republic: From Constitution to Civil War
The Organization of the State
The Constitution is at an intermediate point between a centralized state and a state with autonomy.
The Opening of 1931
The coup attempt of 1931 precipitated the adoption of the Constitution, and with it, the adoption of the Statute of Catalonia, whose first president was Francisco Macia. The Basque Statute presented more difficulties. The Statute of Navarra was adopted by an assembly of Basque municipalities but not by the General Courts, therefore it required a rewrite. It was finally adopted with the triumph of the Popular Front in 1936, after the elections of 1933. The same happened with the Galician Statute. Other statutes, with the evolution of the coup, were impossible to pass (Valencia and Andalusia).
Land: Structure and Property
The situation of the peasantry was affected by the distribution of land. The interim government raised emergency measures pending approval from the Constitution, determined by municipal law, such as obligatory cultivation and the establishment of an eight-hour day for agricultural workers. Ideally, precipitated by the attempted coup of Sanjurjo, the Agrarian Reform Law was approved in September 1932. It had a triple objective: the disappearance of landlordism, punishing absenteeism of large landowners, and providing a tool for rewarding work.
However, the dire economic situation did not help the process. The fields did not become impatient, and large landowners were afraid of being expropriated. The government made enemies on both sides. The fall of the Azaña government took place after the peasant uprising in Casas Viejas (January 1933). This caused a break in the Republican-Socialist coalition. In this situation, Azaña said he did not know what happened and resigned. Alcalá Zamora (President of the Republic) called for elections in November 1933.
The Conservative Biennium
With these elections began the Conservative Biennium. Right-wing parties submitted to the coalition, the CEDA, while the left remained disarticulated. The anarchists promoted abstention. All this may explain the electoral triumph of the right (CEDA followed by the PRR). From here, there is a series of anomalies:
- Whatever the explanation, the right won, and it was as unexpected for the right as it was for the left, because it was thought that the Republic was not compatible with the right. The left began to affect the election result because it established relations between CEDA and totalitarian parties that triumphed in Europe. This coincided with the founding of two far-right parties: the Spanish Phalanx and the JONS in 1933. In 1934, the two merged into the Spanish Phalanx of the JONS.
- In response, the President of the Republic, Alcalá Zamora, faced with the threat of a revolutionary strike, chose Lerroux (leader of the second-largest party) as President of the Government.
The CEDA did not feel safe because, in order to govern, Lerroux attempted a conciliatory policy with the Church, interrupting the autonomy process. Participants in the military coup of 1932 were pardoned. Land reform slowed down. This whole policy of counter-reform created a climate of instability with the far left, and even within the Radical Party, an internal division occurred. The chance in 1934 to appoint three ministers of the CEDA resulted in a revolt that led to the so-called Revolution of 1934, which took place in Madrid, Catalonia, and more severely in Asturias, where leftist parties, including anarchists, acted jointly under the symbol UHP.
The situation in Asturias was so serious that it was necessary to involve the army in Morocco.
As of 1934, an increasingly intense polarization of the population into two separate sectors (far-right and left) was observed. They created a climate of increasingly visible tension, both in Parliament and on the streets. In 1935, corruption involving Lerroux himself burst out (the “Straperlo” scandal), introducing rigged roulette, and therefore Lerroux was forced to resign. The President of the Republic again had to nominate a member of the CEDA and appointed Portela Valladares (Radical Party). Given that the CEDA considered that the President of the Republic was overstepping his bounds, they withdrew their support, and due to the inability to govern, elections were called in February 1936.
The Popular Front
Before the elections in February, the left managed to form a coalition: The Popular Front (PSOE, PC, POUM, and the Unionist Party).
- Although the anarchists were not part of the Front, they encouraged their followers to vote, and subsequently, the Popular Front won the election. The elections demonstrated the polarization of society. During this period, the Popular Front’s policy continued from 1931-1933 (the first biennium). One of the first measures of the new government was the release of the participants in the Revolution of 1934, which created a climate of impunity in Spanish society, making social polarization even more evident.
From the beginning, a coup was feared, so military coup suspects were separated. Goded was sent to the Balearic Islands, Franco to the Canary Islands, and Mola to Navarre, from where he conspired with Sanjurjo to prepare the coup.
The coup was precipitated by the murders of Lieutenant of the Assault Guard José Castillo (Socialist) and Calvo Sotelo (far-right) on July 13th. All this precipitated the coup, which began on July 17th in Ceuta and spread to the peninsula on July 18th.