Spanish and Catalan Economic and Social History: 19th and 20th Centuries

Posted on Feb 3, 2025 in History

Industrial Economics in the 1980s

The years 1982 to 1986 saw a time of crisis.

  • Spain: In the 1980s, the iron and steel industry consolidated in the Basque Country, and the benefits were reversed.
  • Catalonia: The textile crisis was suffered in the 1960s. Older than 70, there is a phase of expansion and industrial growth. In the 1980s, textiles also grew.

20th Century Economy

  • Spain: Expansion 1900-1907; Crisis 1908-1912, Expansion 1913-1918; Crisis 1919-1923, Expansion 1923-1929, Crisis 1930 onwards.
  • Catalonia: Growth slowed in 1900-1913, Expansion 1913-1919; Crisis 1919-1923, Expansion 1923-1930, Crisis 1930 onwards.

Workers’ Movement in the 19th Century

  • Marxists: In 1889, Marx founded the Second International Workingmen’s Association. At the end of 1876, the First International Workingmen’s Association stated that the Marxist parties should organize independently with respect to other countries and parties. In 1879, Pablo Iglesias caused a schism in the Democratic Party. In complete secrecy, he created the Socialist Workers’ Democratic Party (May 2, 1879). In 1881, he formed the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE).
  • Anarchists: The ideas of anarchism—a free society without hierarchy, and harmony—made the workers, who had been in miserable conditions, easily accept these ideas. It easily took root among workers. In 1881, the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region was established (thanks to freedom of association), although it dissolved in 1886.

Workers’ Movement in the 20th Century

  • Socialism: Socialists gained increasing social support. In 1910, Pablo Iglesias was elected to the Spanish Courts. Socialism attempted to break the caciquismo (political boss system). In 1921, the Socialist Party suffered a split. The first group were the Socialist Youth, who founded the Spanish Communist Party. The other group was the Spanish Communist Workers’ Party.
  • Anarchism: In the early 20th century, there was an attempt to recover the Federation of Workers of the Spanish Region. In 1900, the Spanish Region of Labor was created, based on the aforementioned Federation. Later, in 1907, Workers’ Solidarity was formed, which in 1911 became the National Confederation of Labor (CNT). The CNT defended anarcho-syndicalism. Following pressure from Primo de Rivera and the moderation of the CNT, the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) was created, which reformulates and monitors the CNT.

Dictatorship and Republic

A return to the previous dictatorial regime was impossible for several reasons:

  1. Dynastic parties were discredited and disorganized.
  2. The king was unpopular.
  3. Anti-dynastic forces took a united initiative that culminated in the Pact of San Sebastian (August 17, 1930).

On June 28, 1931, the elections gave victory to the left and center. The PSOE won 116 seats over the Radical Republican Party (PRR) and the Republican Socialist Radical Party (PRRS). The coalition led by the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) should also be highlighted.

The Cortes that emerged on June 28 took charge of drafting a new constitution. This reflected the values and secularism of the left.

Demographic and Economic Trends

There was a decline in births and deaths, a process of urban concentration, and a sudden slowdown of migration both outside and inside the country. The Spanish economy suffered the consequences of the crisis of 1929, with a decrease in exports and foreign capital investments. The crisis was not as important in Catalonia since production was absorbed by domestic consumption and not exported. The end result was an increase in unemployment, which affected 30% of the population.

Biennium Reformer (1931-1933)

In Catalonia, the ERC was the dominant party that obtained the Statute of Autonomy.

  • Provisional Government: President Niceto Alcalá-Zamora called elections on June 28, 1931. There were 8-hour workdays in the countryside, with pay, and retirement integrated into the army. The Church was linked to the monarchy.
  • The Republican Constitution: In the elections, the PSOE won. The Cortes drafted a new constitution.
  • Constitutional Government: Zamora enacted the agrarian reform law, which made many hectares of land available to the state. The Republic was threatened by the Catholic sector, the anarchists, and the attempted coup of General José Sanjurjo.

Conservative Biennium (1933-1936)

Zamora dissolved the Parliament and called elections for November 19, 1933. When in power were the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista, the Falange Española, and the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights. In the 1933 elections, candidates from the right and center won. In Catalonia, the coalition led by the Regionalist League won.

The President of the Republic ordered the formation of a government under Alejandro Lerroux after the elections.