The Tumultuous First Spanish Republic: From Federalism to Presidential Rule
THE FIRST REPUBLIC
The same day that Amadeo left Spain, the congress and the senate proclaimed the First Republic.
The Government is ceded to the Republicans in Figueras. Given the problems facing the young republic, Figueras calls for May elections in which federal Republicans get a clear majority with 346 votes of the members in favor in some cuts of 386.
The new government will lead the federalist Margal
Pi. His first project was to draft a new constitution that embodied the principle of federalism in Spain. Article I stated that the Spanish nation was composed of high states of Andalusia, Andalusia low, Aragon, Asturias, Balearic Islands, New Castile, Old Castile, Catalonia, Cuba, Extremadura, Galicia, Murcia, Navarra, Puerto Rico , Valencia and Basque regions.
Thus, the Senate became a chamber of territorial representation, but the failure of the constitution led to the uprisings began in July choir.
The revolt began in the city of Cartagena, which proclaimed its canton, and so in many cities of the south, east and west part.
Margal Pi and helpless to the plight resigns, leaving the post at the hands of Nicolas Salmeron, but the idea of Spain that has Salmerón Spain is a unitary, therefore, give greater powers to the army, particularly general and Arsenio Martinez Campos and Manuel Pavia, but with the obligation to sign death sentences, Salmeron resigns.
In September, Emilio Castelar ranks of Salmeron, in particular a shift to the right of his predecessor, closing the courts. When they finally were reopened, the parliament opted for a censure motion, which was answered by the army.
On January 3, 1874, General Pavia, together with the Civil Guard stormed the court, dissolving them.
4.2 The Presidential Republic
Serrano
Dissolved the Cortes, Pavia brought together a number of political leaders and generals to hand over power. Serrano, Concha, Topete, Berenguer, together with Rivero, Martos, Sagasta and others, agreed that the Government would be formed to continue calling the Executive Power of the Republic. It was also agreed to appoint President Serrano, that the Government would be chaired by and composed Sagasta Zavala, Martos, Topete, Echegaray, Mosquera, Balaguer, and García Ruiz. Thus the Republic can not be stopped, but took a different form, with a political class formed by the gentry, the aristocracy, the clergy and the middle class and popular sectors that were affected by insecurity and disorder that the country suffered . The desire to concentrate the political forces in support of presidential solution led to enlist the aid Serrano Canovas, representing the solution alfonsina, and Castelar, the most conservative Republicans, but none accepted the offer made to them, to disagree with that exit.
Serrano, who had modeled the French General Mac Mahon and his role in the Third French Republic, gave prominence to the Army disbanded the International. A few days after the last stronghold surrendered Cantonalist, Cartagena. But still there remained the Carlist war hindered any attempt to stabilize the political situation
. Since January, Bilbao was besieged and liberal Army was unable to break the siege. Serrano, who had taken command of the Northern Army, aimed at a victory to strengthen his political position. But if the North were the Carlist conspirators in Madrid alfonsinos, more and more supporters among the military chiefs. Generals Concha Martínez Campos Echagüe and revealed, April 74, strong supporters of the restoration of a monarchy headed by the son of Elizabeth II.
If the government headed by General Zavala was limited to weather the storm military and political, financially had to take a measure of importance. The economic situation that the Revolution had inherited from the Elizabethan monarchy could not be more precarious.
The debt exceeded the annual income and expenditure began to grow after the triumph of the glorious, so the situation was more difficult. Figuerola’s position was to conduct a series of reforms to reach the capping of the budget gradually. For him, the main problem suffered by the economy lay in the obstacles that the protectionist policy of the Elizabethan era had imposed on commercial and industrial development in Spain. As a result, public funds were down and refund requests for tickets increased. There was a banking crisis with serious consequences for the regime headed by General Serrano.
On September 3 Zavala resigned, replaced him Sagasta, which did not stop plotting alfonsinos follow. In late 1874, Spain had reached its highest level of political fatigue. After a revolution, an interim regime, a democratic monarchy and a republic that had undergone in its short duration of two phases, now under General Serrano seemed out of perspective and with little future. The policy conference was about to complete a 360 loop, and again the Bourbon monarchy appeared as the only possible answer to many frustrated attempts to find a new political solution for the country.