Spain’s Second Republic: Reforms and Upheaval
Lesson VII: The Second Republic
In early 1931, during the economic crisis, General Berenguer resigned, and Admiral Aznar was instructed by King Alfonso XIII to form a new government in February. General elections were announced, initiated by Romanones and Cambó, and were preceded by city elections on April 12 as a referendum on the monarchy. Although the results favored the dynastic parties, the King decided to go into exile due to limited support from the cities, which were not influenced by the caciquismo system. Thus, on April 14, 1931, the Second Republic was proclaimed, establishing a provisional government headed by Alcalá Zamora.
The interim government, comprising all forces of the Covenant, implemented several measures before the elections. These included the proclamation of the 8-hour workday and the Law of Municipal Boundaries by the Labor Ministry, headed by Largo Caballero; the possibility of early retirement with pay for officers, representing 17% of the army; and the creation of the Assault Guard by the Ministry of War, led by Manuel Azaña. Furthermore, the Ministry of Public Instruction, led by Marcelino Domingo, mandated the creation of new teaching positions and made religion an elective subject in schools. However, the Republic faced strong opposition from the Church due to educational reforms and from the CNT and PCE unions, which considered it a bourgeois regime.
On June 28, 1931, elections resulted in a significant victory for Republicans and Socialists. They began drafting a new constitution, defining Spain as an Integral State with the possibility of autonomy. It included various rights, such as female suffrage and divorce. It also established the separation of church and state, religious freedom, a unicameral Cortes, the establishment of the jury system, and the creation of the Tribunal of Constitutional Guarantees. On December 10 of that year, Alcalá Zamora was appointed President, and Manuel Azaña became Prime Minister.
On August 10, 1932, a coup attempt led by General Sanjurjo, supported by sectors unhappy with the Republic, failed. This led to two controversial laws: the Statute of Catalonia, granting significant autonomy to the Generalitat led by Francesc Macià (ERC member), and the Law of Bases of Agrarian Reform. This law allowed the state to expropriate various types of land, including jurisdictional domains, poorly cultivated lands, and those belonging to the nobility. The beneficiaries were landless peasants, who could potentially cultivate much of the national terrain, as agriculture remained the engine of the Spanish economy. However, the law faced implementation challenges due to bureaucratic hurdles.
Reforms were also carried out in education and the military. The number of students in schools increased dramatically, leading to the creation of over 13,000 new classrooms. Pedagogical missions were extended to rural areas and transformed into the Institute for Scientific Research. However, educational policy was severely affected by the economic crisis. In the army, the early retirement of senior officers who supported the Republic and its modernization backfired. Efforts to establish autonomous regions for the Basque Country and Galicia began. However, reforms faced numerous obstacles due to the international economic crisis, pressure from the Church (whose influence was reduced by the Congregations Act prohibiting teaching in schools), and social unrest from the CNT and discontented peasantry due to slow reforms. This led to the dissolution of Parliament by the President and the call for new elections on November 19, 1933. The right unified around the CEDA, led by Gil Robles, who formed a coalition with the Radical Party of Alejandro Lerroux, securing victory. A new government was formed, reversing the previous biennium’s work. The Congregations Act and the Bases of Agrarian Reform were suspended or paralyzed.
Following the conservative victory, several uprisings against the new government, prompted by the PSOE’s opposition to CEDA’s inclusion, occurred. Numerous workers’ revolutions in the northern coalfields, involving socialists and anarchists, were met with severe repression by the army. These conflicts led to the separation of a far-right faction from CEDA and a rapprochement between the PSOE and PCE, modeled on the French Popular Front. Successive scandals toppled Lerroux’s government, followed by brief governments led by the centrist Portela Valladares until the elections of February 16, 1936, which the Popular Front won. A government led by Azaña was formed, restoring the Statute of Catalonia, decreeing an amnesty, and reactivating land reform. However, political unrest continued, with UGT and CNT unions promoting strikes. Violent actions, such as church burnings and murders, became tools against the government. After the elections, some senior military and right-wing leaders attempted to prevent the Popular Front government’s entry, ultimately launching a coup on July 17, 1936. This coup, lacking sufficient support, sparked the Spanish Civil War.
Note: The last paragraph was a duplicate and has been removed.