Spain’s Second Republic: Reforms, Challenges, and Regional Autonomy
The Second Republic (1931-1933)
Once proclaimed, the Second Republic (April 14, 1931) saw the Provisional Government, headed by Alcalá Zamora, implement initial reforms. Minister Largo Caballero reformed working conditions: an 8-hour day, worker priority for employment, and the obligation to cultivate land, with the possibility of expropriating unproductive land. Education Minister Marcelino Domingo created 6,750 new schools, 7,000 teaching posts with increased salaries, and a wide library network. War Minister Manuel Azaña offered retirement with full pay to generals and senior officers to gain army support, closing the Zaragoza Military Academy and promoting based on merit rather than wartime favoritism. He created the Assault Guards, a city police force loyal to the Republic.
Church-State Relations
The Church, historically linked to the monarchy, was wary of the new regime. While the Vatican called for respect for the Republic and Catholic unity in elections, events complicated matters. Cardinal Segura’s pro-monarchy pastoral led to his exile. Monarchist riots and church burnings followed, causing Catholic distrust. Conflicting agreements arose regarding civil marriage, divorce, and cemeteries. The Law of Religious Confessions made temples and monasteries public property managed by the clergy, leading to Church opposition.
Constitution of 1931
Elections on June 28, 1931, resulted in a center-left coalition victory. Spain was defined as a democratic republic of workers, organized with freedom and justice, with an extensive bill of rights.
- Representation System: Cortes (Congress) elected by universal suffrage with legislative power.
- Executive Power: Prime Minister and ministers, responsible to the Cortes.
- Judiciary: State-executed by judges, creating a Constitutional Tribunal.
- President of the Republic: Power to dissolve the Cortes, initially without explanation, later requiring justification.
- Subdivisions: Centralized state allowing for potential autonomies.
- Church-State Relations: Secular state with religious freedom; the Catholic Church could not engage in industry, commerce, or teaching.
- Education: Free and compulsory primary education for all.
The Constitution subordinated private ownership of production means to national economic interests, allowing for nationalization.
First Government and Reform Biennium (1931-1933)
The December 1931 elections reaffirmed the Republican-Socialist coalition, with Alcalá Zamora as President and Manuel Azaña as Prime Minister. The Reform Biennium continued the Provisional Government’s reforms. The Agrarian Reform Law aimed to make land available, but progress was slow due to landowner resistance, leading to peasant disappointment and landowner hostility.
Regional Autonomy
Statutes of autonomy were addressed differently across regions:
Catalonia
After Macià proclaimed the Catalan Republic, an Autonomy Statute was approved in 1932, granting powers in finance, economics, education, culture, transport, and communications, while the central government retained foreign policy, defense, and social reforms. Macià became the first president of the Generalitat.
Basque Country
Agreement was difficult due to differing views on self-government and the secular nature of the state. A statute was eventually approved in 1936 during the Civil War to secure Republican loyalty, with José Antonio Aguirre as the first lehendakari.
Galicia
A draft Statute was approved but delayed until June 1936. Due to Galician support for the coup, it never took effect.
Other Regions
Andalusia and Valencia did not achieve autonomy in this period.
End of the Reform Biennium
General Sanjurjo’s attempted coup in August 1932 revealed government opposition. Peasant revolts, notably in Casas Viejas (Cádiz), discredited Azaña and led to the dissolution of Parliament by the President.