The Second Spanish Republic: Reforms, Unrest, and the Path to Civil War
Social and Educational Reforms
Largo Caballero, from the Ministry of Labor, proposed a series of reforms to improve working conditions. The Employment Contracts Act established the 40-hour workweek, stimulated wage increases, and promoted social insurance. These measures led to employer opposition.
Educational reform focused on primary education, with a 50% budget increase.
These reforms polarized Spanish politics, facing resistance from the Church, Army, landowners, and employers’ organizations. Worker impatience and disappointment with the slow pace of reforms fueled unrest, particularly in rural areas.
Rise of Right-Wing Opposition
In late 1932, the CEDA (Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights), a right-wing, authoritarian Catholic party led by José María Gil Robles, was formed. The following year, José Calvo Sotelo founded Renovación Española, openly advocating for a coup against the Republic.
Small nationalist and fascist groups, the JONS (Juntas of the National Syndicalist Offensive), merged with the Falange Española, founded in 1933 and led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The Falange promoted anti-democratic ideology and Spanish nationalism, inspired by Italian Fascism.
In August 1932, General Sanjurjo’s coup attempt (the “sanjurjada”) to shift the Republic to the right failed.
Political Landscape of the Left
The CNT (National Confederation of Labor), with a million members, was divided:
- A moderate trend, led by Ángel Pestaña and Juan Peiró, advocated for syndicalism and supported the Republic.
- A radical sector, influenced by the FAI (Iberian Anarchist Federation) and led by figures like Juan García Oliver and Buenaventura Durruti, gained increasing control.
The UGT-affiliated Federation of Workers of the Earth, with over 450,000 members, also radicalized. The Communist Party grew in membership.
Strikes, peasant uprisings, and land occupations increased. These revolts involved seizing town halls, burning land registries, and redistributing land, often ending in bloody repression by the Civil Guard and Assault Guard.
The 1933 Elections and the Popular Front
By 1933, the Republican-Socialist government faced a growing crisis, losing middle-class support. Azaña resigned, and President Alcalá-Zamora dissolved Parliament, calling for elections in November 1933.
The Popular Front and the Road to War
The Popular Front’s victory was rejected by anti-Republican reactionaries. Manuel Azaña became President, opposed by the right and much of the military. Casares Quiroga was appointed Prime Minister, leading a government of left Republicans supported by Socialists. The government granted amnesty to Asturian prisoners, reinstated dismissed workers, and restored the Catalan government and Statute of Autonomy.
The government resumed reforms, creating social tension. Landowners and industrialists resisted, leading to factory closures and capital flight. Left-wing parties and unions mobilized, and land occupations continued.
The Falange escalated street violence. Clashes between right and left intensified.
General Emilio Mola organized a military conspiracy, aiming for simultaneous uprisings in military garrisons. General Sanjurjo was intended as the uprising’s leader. The conspiracy had right-wing political support.
Mola envisioned a “republican dictatorship,” potentially transitioning to either a republic or monarchy. The assassination of José Calvo Sotelo on July 14, following the murder of Lieutenant Castillo, triggered the uprising in Morocco on July 17, spreading to mainland Spain on July 18. The failed coup ignited the Spanish Civil War.