Spanish Civil War: Key Events and Political Landscape 1936-1939
Popular Front Government
The Popular Front government implemented a reform program that included amnesty, restoration of status, and encouragement to others. On May 10, a change in the Republican government led to Azaña and Casares Quiroga taking power. This period saw the beginning of political disorder, violence in the countryside, labor disputes, the burning of convents, and political assassinations.
Radical Social Spain
Radical Social Spain was characterized by violent acts, such as those committed by the Phalanx. Primo de Rivera’s defense policy led to arrests. The PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party) was divided between moderate and radical factions, the latter led by Largo Caballero. Within the socialist movement, there were differences between the PSUC (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia) and POUM (Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification). The CNT (National Confederation of Labor) adopted a radical anti-republican position.
Military Insurrection
The military insurrection had its roots in a previous attempt in 1932 led by Sanjurjo. In 1936, after the Popular Front’s election victory, Franco proposed a state of war. Various conspiracies were prepared in March and April of 1936. The conspirators were determined to use any necessary degree of violence. The government’s action to send suspected individuals to the periphery did not stop the insurrection. Yagüe in Melilla revolted against the Republic, and the uprising spread throughout Morocco. On July 17, 1936, Franco, after ensuring control of the Canary Islands, went to the peninsula to lead the Army of Africa. On July 18, 1936, Queipo de Llano rose up in Seville, and on the night of July 18-19, General Mola rose up in Pamplona.
Developments in Madrid
The government of the Republic did not react initially, and Quiroga refused to give arms to the workers’ organizations for the defense of Madrid. Quiroga resigned on July 19 and was replaced by Martínez Barrio, who tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with General Mola. On July 20, José Giral replaced him and authorized the distribution of arms to the population. The Civil Guard and the Assault Guard remained pro-Republican. Only the Montaña Barracks, which had been the center of the conspiracy, resisted.
Evolution in Catalonia
The Civil Guard and the Assault Guard remained faithful to the Republic. By July 19, the government controlled all points where the rebels had become strong. General Goded was in charge of succeeding in Barcelona, but the coup failed. He was taken prisoner and forced to make a radio broadcast acknowledging defeat. In response to the revolt, workers, especially those organized in the CNT-FAI, assaulted some barracks and obtained weapons.
May Days
The May Days were a confrontation between the POUM and CNT against the ERC and PSUC. On May 3, 1937, the Telephone Exchange building, which was under the control of the CNT-FAI, was evacuated by the Public Order Commissioner of the Generalitat because the anarchists were interfering with telephone communications between the Generalitat and the Republic. An attempted eviction led to a firefight. The CNT-POUM rebelled against the government, and street barricades were erected. Not all CNT leaders supported the uprising. The confrontation lasted four days.
Consequences
The May Days resulted in deaths and injuries, government intervention with the deployment of Assault Guards, a decrease in anarchist influence, and an increase in communist influence. The POUM was outlawed, and its leaders and followers were arrested. Andreu Nin was assassinated. A new government was created, led by the Generalitat and with the presence of the ERC and PSUC.
Collectivizations
Collectivization largely affected agrarian and industrial property. Two models emerged: in one, workers took the lead in companies because the owners had fled or been assassinated. Workers took over the management of these companies in a self-management regime. In Catalonia, in 1936, an Economic Council was created to design a plan for the reorganization of the socialist economy. In October 1936, the Collectivization Decree was promulgated to regulate the collectivization process. Collectivizations in the countryside were significant in Aragon, Andalusia, and Valencia. A War Industries Commission was created, composed of companies and employees, which were expropriated by the government of the Republic in August 1938.
Regarding the necessity of creating a strong government to concentrate efforts on winning the war, putting an end to the experiences of self-management and the autonomy of the militia columns on the war fronts, and ending revolutionary terror, on September 5, 1936, Largo Caballero formed a Republican government with socialists and communists. Later, four anarcho-syndicalist ministers were incorporated.
Objectives
- Create an alliance between workers and bourgeois republican forces.
- Reorganize the state to win the war.
- Militarize the militias and create a Popular Army.
Negrín Government (May 1937 – March 1939)
Largo Caballero’s refusal to outlaw the POUM led to a government crisis and his resignation. Azaña ordered the formation of a new government under Juan Negrín. Negrín’s policies included political and military centralization, strengthening central power, unifying war efforts, integrating all militias into the Popular Army, and controlling industrial and agricultural production. In November 1937, the government of the Republic moved to Barcelona. Tensions arose between the two governments because the government of the Republic wanted to assume the Generalitat’s competencies in public order, management of water supplies, administration of justice, and control of war industries. Negrín proposed a negotiated solution to the war in May 1938, releasing a program with thirteen points outlining the proposed conditions for ending the armed struggle. These were rejected by Franco. Negrín favored extreme resistance, believing that the war in Spain might coincide with a European war.
Creation of a Totalitarian State under Franco
After the death of Sanjurjo, a National Defense Board was created in Burgos, led by Cabanellas. The liberation of Toledo and the Alcázar made Franco the new head of the revolt and the interlocutor with Hitler and Mussolini. On September 30, 1936, the military elected him head of the uprising. On October 1, 1936, a decree was published appointing him head of state and Generalissimo of the armies. The National Defense Board was replaced by the Technical Board of the State. In April 1937, Franco announced the Unification Decree, which joined Falangists and Carlists into a single party: the Traditionalist Spanish Phalanx and of the JONS. Manuel Hedilla, the new party’s leader, opposed the fascist leader and was falsely accused and imprisoned, as was Count Rodezno. In the first government of the national zone in 1938, Franco was appointed “Caudillo of Spain.” The new state was inspired by fascism and defended a new model based on conservatism and Catholicism. It gave privileged treatment to the Catholic Church. The Labor Charter of 1938, inspired by Italian fascism, banned strikes and worker demonstrations.