Spain’s Second Republic: Rise, Reforms, and Fall (1931-1936)
The Fall of the Monarchy and Rise of the Second Republic
Following the resignation of Primo de Rivera, King Alfonso XIII appointed General Damaso Berenguer as the new head of government. Berenguer faced a difficult task: replacing the liberal constitutional system suspended during the dictatorship and saving the figure of Alfonso XIII by preventing the king from being held responsible for the coup. In early 1931, Admiral Aznar replaced Berenguer and called a general election on April 12. Republican and Socialist candidates won in all major cities and much of the country. These elections became conclusive evidence of rejection against the monarchy. Alfonso XIII decided to accept the national will and left Spain to avoid a bloody showdown. On April 14, 1931, the Second Republic was proclaimed, temporarily presided over by Niceto Alcala Zamora.
Foundations of the New Political System
The new regime was welcomed by the Spanish population with widespread joy and enthusiasm; that day, no one showed up to work in offices, factories, or classrooms. The main elements of the political system of the Second Republic were the political parties and the Constitution of 1931.
Political Parties
- Right-Wing Political Forces:
- JONS (Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista): Fascist organization.
- FALANGE: National-union founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the dictator.
- Carlist: Traditional monarchists who refused to accept the Republican regime.
- Spanish Monarchical Renewal: “Alfonsinos.” Their ideology inspired the Francoist state.
- CEDA (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights): Conservative, defending the Catholic Church, religious education, the army, the state, and the family.
- Center:
- Radical Republican Party: Defended order and feared the revolutionary workers’ movement. Their social support came from the middle and petty bourgeoisie.
- Left-Wing Groups:
- Republican Action: This progressive party repudiated extremism.
- Proletarian Parties:
- PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party): Very powerful in recent years, winning 116 seats.
- Anarchists: Indifferent to democratic republican legality.
- Nationalist Parties:
- Basque Nationalist Party
- Galeguista Party
- Catalan League
Constitution of 1931
The Constitution of 1931 was the first to recognize universal male and female suffrage and the first constitution to renounce war. Key features included female suffrage, autonomy, religious issues, citizen rights, the restriction of the right to private property, and the new organization of power.
The Republican-Socialist Biennium (1931-1933)
After their electoral victory, Left Republicans and Socialists formed a coalition that launched a special reform effort whose purpose was to address the serious, unresolved problems in Spain:
- Military Reform: To bring the army under civilian control and adapt it to the real needs of the country.
- Educational Reform: Considered a key issue to achieve the modernization of Spain.
- Land Reform: In 1932, the Agrarian Reform Law was approved in parliament after slow and intense discussions and debates. Laborers were disappointed with the Republic and were inclined toward revolutionary solutions.
- Religious Reform: The new regime created many enemies, as certain actions, such as the constitutional recognition of divorce, were not acceptable. The religious question became a serious problem that emphasized the clash between the Spanish.
The Right-Wing Biennium (1933-1935)
After their victory in the 1933 general election, the right-wing CEDA and the centrist Radical Party launched a parliamentary collaboration. To rectify the reforms, they took the following decisions: approval of the amnesty law, implementation of a genuine agrarian counter-reform, slowing the construction program in public schools, and suspension of the Catalan autonomy statute following the revolution of October 1934. The October 1934 revolution was an attempt to seize power through an armed insurrection involving allied communists, anarchists, and socialists. This disorganized revolution, with makeshift weapons and insufficient preparation, began on October 5 with a general strike. Many cities throughout the Basque Country and Madrid were paralyzed for a week. In Asturias, thousands of well-armed workers in the mining industry took over large parts of the province. This uprising was brutally suppressed by troops moved from Africa.
The Popular Front (1936)
For the crucial elections of February 1936, the Republican parties of the Left and labor forces presented a united front. This electoral alliance, called the Popular Front, was a circumstantial coalition to defeat the Right. Manuel Azaña was appointed head of a government composed of Republicans and the Left Center. Its most important decisions were the restitution of the Catalan autonomy statute and the declaration of illegality of the Falange, with the imprisonment of its leaders. However, this government faced enormous difficulties: a huge number of unemployed, the extension of public disorder, attacks, and growing political violence.