The Second Spanish Republic: From Monarchy to Civil War

Posted on Oct 27, 2024 in History

Fall of the Monarchy and the Second Republic (1931-1936)

Development of the Republic

The advent of the Second Spanish Republic was met with widespread enthusiasm. The political landscape, however, was complex, featuring numerous parties:

  • Fascist Groups: JONS (Juntas of the National-Syndicalist Offensive), Falange
  • Right-Wing: Carlist, Renovación Española
  • Center: Radical Republican Party
  • Left-Wing: Radical Socialist Party, Republican Action, Left Republican
  • Proletarian: PSOE, PCE, Anarchist
  • Nationalist/Regionalist: Basque Nationalist Party, Partido Galeguista, Lliga Catalan, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya

June elections for the Constituent Cortes saw universal male suffrage, with women participating as candidates for the first time, and two being elected. Left Republicans and Socialists triumphed. The following month, a 15-member committee chaired by Jimenez de Asua was formed to draft the Constitution.

The Constitution of 1931

The Constitution aimed to establish a true democracy, recognizing universal suffrage for both men and women. Key points included:

  1. Women’s Suffrage: Despite opposition citing economic dependence and illiteracy, women gained the right to vote.
  2. Autonomy: A process involving municipal initiative (requiring a majority of municipalities in a region) and a plebiscite (needing a two-thirds majority vote) was established.
  3. Religion: The Republic maintained a secular stance, ceasing economic aid to the Catholic Church.
  4. Citizen’s Rights: Individual rights were recognized alongside social rights to work, education, healthcare, and housing.
  5. Property Rights: Expropriation for nationalization and socialization was permitted in the general interest.
  6. Power Structure: Legislative power resided in a unicameral Parliament.

The Republican-Socialist Biennium: Reforms (1931-1933)

Key reforms were implemented:

  • Military Reform: Aimed to bring the military under civilian control and reduce officer numbers.
  • Educational Reform: Focused on modernizing education, with compulsory, free, and mixed primary education. Funding increased, schools were built, and university research was strengthened.
  • Agrarian Reform: Addressed landlordism and landless laborers with social (land redistribution), political (reducing landowner power), and economic (increasing production) objectives.

The 1932 Agrarian Reform Law:

  1. Expropriated land from Grandees of Spain without compensation.
  2. Expropriated leased and uncultivated land with compensation.
  3. Transferred expropriated land to the state for collective farming.

Religious Reform: Aimed to curb the Church’s power, but created powerful enemies who opposed secularization, divorce, and the removal of religious education and symbols from schools.

The Right Biennium (1934-1936)

Following CEDA and Radical Party election victories, the government focused on reversing previous reforms:

  • Amnesty Law: Favored those imprisoned for the 1932 anti-republican coup.
  • Agrarian Counter-Reform: Blocked previous reforms, increased compensation for landowners, and returned confiscated properties.
  • Suspension of Catalan Autonomy: Catalonia’s autonomy was revoked.

The October 1934 Revolution

Communists, anarchists, and primarily Socialists launched an armed insurrection against perceived fascism. The disorganized and poorly equipped uprising began with a general strike. While the Basque Country and Madrid were paralyzed, the strongest resistance occurred in Asturias, where miners controlled large areas. The revolt was brutally suppressed by troops from Africa led by Franco.

The Popular Front (1936)

Left-wing and labor forces formed the Popular Front coalition, winning the 1936 elections due to right-wing disunity. Key decisions of the new government included:

  1. Amnesty for those arrested after the 1934 uprising.
  2. Restoration of Catalan autonomy.
  3. Outlawing the Falange and arresting its leaders.
  4. Accelerated agrarian reform, distributing over 230,000 hectares to 150,000 farmers.

The government faced significant challenges:

  1. High unemployment.
  2. Civil unrest.
  3. Right-wing violence.
  4. A military coup on July 17, 1936, marking the start of the Spanish Civil War.