System Decomposition in Spain: 1917-1923
The Decomposition of the System (1917-1923)
4.1. Political Decay
The regime of the Restoration entered a gradual decay due to the desire for political renewal, weak dynastic leaders, and a heterogeneous and weak opposition.
The dynastic parties, without clear leaders, were split into groups headed by different politicians, so it was not possible to gather a sufficient parliamentary majority to form stable governments. From 1917, they often turned to governments of concentration as a solution. The most important was the so-called National Government, led by Maura in 1918. He set up a cabinet with the participation of dynastic leaders (both conservative and liberal) and Catalan regionalists (Regionalist League). The differences between the coalition members made it impossible to promote reforms, contain inflation, and restore social order.
After the failure of concentration governments, it became dynastic time: between 1918 and 1923, the country saw ten changes of government, and none lasted a year. Although they resorted to electoral fraud, no dynastic party achieved the parliamentary majority needed to govern and they constantly resorted to emergency measures, the suspension of constitutional guarantees, and the closing of Parliament.
4.2. Labor Conflicts and the Rise of Gunmen
The triumph of the Bolshevik Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet state in Russia gave hope to all revolutionary groups. In Spain, the end of the European conflict led to a sudden change in economic conditions: production declined, unemployment rose, and prices went up, which caused labor unrest and a spectacular growth of trade unionism.
The strike movement affected a number of industrial regions, but it was in Barcelona where it became larger. In 1919, a strike began in La Canadiense. The strike lasted a month and a half and ended with an agreement by which the employer accepted the reinstatement of dismissed workers, wage increases, and the eight-hour workday. But the breach of promise to release the detainees made the strike resume, and the employers responded with the closure of businesses and harsh repression against trade unions.
In Andalusia, the poverty of the peasants, reinforced by rising prices, gave way to the Bolshevik Triennium (1918-1921). Anarchists and Socialists, with less intensity, drove peasant revolts motivated by both the “hunger for land” and the deterioration of wages and living conditions. Crops were burned, lands were occupied, and many towns came to be controlled by strike committees. Cordoba became the spearhead of a peasant movement that spread to other provinces in Andalusia, Extremadura, and La Mancha. The declaration of a state of war, the banning of labor organizations, and the arrest of their leaders stopped the rebellion.
Labor protests degenerated into a radicalization of the positions of trade unions and employers, especially in Catalonia. To stop the labor force, employers created the Employers’ Federation, hired gunmen to assassinate worker leaders, and often resorted to the lockout (closing of companies). They also created the Free Trade Union, which was used by employers to encourage violent actions against anarchist syndicalism. Some groups linked to the CNT responded to this situation by practicing violent activism, attacking authorities, employers, and law enforcement. Among these groups, we should mention Los Solidarios, who acted in Barcelona.
The Barcelona Employers’ Federation demanded measures of force, and General Martinez Anido, civil governor of Barcelona, staged a policy of protecting employers’ gunmen. He carried out harsh repression against trade unionists and implemented the Ley de Fugas (Law of Fugitives), whereby the police could shoot prisoners in case of an escape attempt. All this led to the era known as Pistolerismo (Gunmen Era, 1916-1923), during which many people died, including Prime Minister Eduardo Dato, killed by CNT militants in 1921; well-known businessmen; union leaders like Salvador Seguí, El Noi del Sucre (The Sugar Boy), in 1923; and attorney Francesc Layret, in 1920, both killed by hired gunmen.
4.3. The Moroccan Problem: Annual
At the beginning of the 1920s, in the eastern protectorate of Morocco, around Melilla, Rifian tribes harassed the Spanish army permanently. In 1921, a few operations were attempted to control the rebels, and General Silvestre, related to King Alfonso XIII, was named to lead the area. He favored attacking the Rifian Kabylie. The general began an offensive into the territory that ended in a real disaster. The army was defeated at Annual, losing all the occupied territory, and there were many casualties, including Silvestre himself.
In 1923, with unstable governments and serious social tensions, the announcement that Parliament would discuss the Annual case and demand responsibilities that could involve the monarch himself mobilized sectors of the army and the right that, for some time, saw a military dictatorship as the solution to the crisis.