The Spanish Second Republic
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The document summarizes the history of the Spanish Second Republic from 1931 to 1936. Key events include the overthrow of the monarchy in 1931 and establishment of the democratic republic, the progressive constitution of 1931, a period of leftist reform from 1931-1933 followed by a conservative backlash from 1933-1936 under the Radical-CEDA government, and rising tensions that led to the Popular Front election victory in 1936 and military coup planned shortly thereafter that plunged Spain into civil war.
The Spanish Second Republic
- 1. (1931-1939) THE SPANISH SECOND REPUBLIC
- 2. CONTENTS • Alfonso XIII’s fall and the beginning of the Second Republic. • The Constitution of 1931 and the “Bienio Progresista” (1931-1933). • The “Bienio Reaccionario o Radical-Cedista” (1933-1936). • The “Frente Popular” (1936)
- 3. • The birth of the Second Republic was the key moment in modern Spanish history. • The democratic project that the Republic was based on aroused great hopes in the nation. • Nevertheless, five years later the country plunged itself into a gory civil war. • The debate over the reasons for the failure of the Republic continues to be one of the most important debates in Spanish historiography today.
- 4. ALFONSO XIII’S FALL AND THE BEGINNING OF THE REPUBLIC. Puerta del Sol, Madrid, 14 April 1931
- 5. • After Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship, Alfonso XIII ordered the general Dámaso Berenguer to form a new government. It was in January-February 1931. • The objective was to return to the Constitution of 1876. • Some months before, the Pacto de San Sebastián was signed in August 1930: Republicans, Socialists and Left Catalanists wanted to finish with the monarchy. Dámaso Berenguer Pacto de San Sebastián
- 6. • It was a time of world crisis and the social tension became higher. • The government of Admiral Aznar (Feb-Apr 1931) convened municipal elections to be celebrated on 12th Apr 1931. • On those elections: victory of the Republicans in the most important cities. • The Republic was declared on 14 April 1931.
- 7. Alfonso XIII, tras desembarcar en Marsella, al inicio de su exilio
- 9. Mapa de los resultados en capitales de provincia
- 14. Llegada del Gobierno Provisional, para la apertura de las Cortes Constituyentes, 14 de julio 1931
- 15. • The provisional government will have to face several problems: • Tense social environment • Delayed modernization. • Critical situation of farm workers (jornaleros). • Debt and world crisis. • Strong oligarchy supported by local landowners, the Army and the Church. • The old sentiment of anticlericalism was flourishing once again and, in May 1931, various churches and convents were burned. • Nationalism. • Educational delay. • Misgivings (untrust) about the new regime.
- 16. • First measures of the Provisional Government: • Call for elections to Cortes Constituyentes. • Alcala Zamora interviews Macià (Catalonia) to recognize the central authority. • Decrees to address urgent issues: • Largo Caballero: on work in the countryside. • M. Domingo: on education. • M. Azaña: about the Army.
- 20. • In June of 1931, a republican-socialist coalition triumphed in the elections of the parliamentary Courts. • The new Constitution, passed in December 1931, reflected the ideas of the majority of the Parliament.
- 21. • Features of the Constitution of 1931: • Popular sovereignty. • Spain was defined as a workers’ republic. • Male and female universal suffrage. • Important bill of rights: • Freedom of meeting, association, and expression. • Civil rights: divorce, the insurance of the equality of legitimate and illegitimate children. • Right to education. • Division of powers, with preponderance of the Cortes: • Legislative: Cortes unicamerales. • Executive: • President of the Republic: with limited powers. • Head of Government (Jefe de Gobierno). • Judicial: Courts of Justice. • Secular state with separation of church and state. Absolute freedom of worship • Regions were allowed to establish their own Home Rule (“Estatutos de Autonomía)
- 23. • A Republican-Socialist government is created, presided over by Manuel Azaña. • Niceto Alcalá Zamora was the President of the Republic. Niceto Alcalá Zamora Presidente de la República Manuel Azaña Presidente o Jefe del Gobierno
- 24. • RELIGIOUS ISSUE: • Church was linked to the state and the dominant groups. • Wealth and influence in teaching. • Opposition to the Republic. • Popular hostility and anticlericalism of the most radical forces caused the burning of convents and churches (May 1931). • The most controversial articles of the Constitution are: • The separation of church and state. • Freedom of worship. • Divorce. • Secularism in teaching. • The budget of the clergy was extinguished.
- 27. • REGIONAL ISSUE: • Catalan and Basque nationalism wanted an answer. • The Constitution speaks of integral state and autonomy of municipalities and regions. • Huge opposition to the approval of the Catalan statute, which could only be approved after the uprising of the general Sanjurjo (August 1932). • The Basque and Galician statutes will be approved during the Civil War.
- 29. • AGRARIAN REFORM: • This reform attempted to redistribute the ownership of land by permitting day labourers to become landowners. • This greatly alarmed many landowners even though in practice very few plots of land were actually redistributed among day labourers
- 31. • SOCIAL ISSUE: • Need for a land reform (reforma agraria) and an improve of the situation of the working class. • Largo Caballero took first steps: 8-hour day, extension of agricultural leases, obligatory cultivation of land, hiring laborers (jornaleros) obligation of the municipality. • Nationalize public services. • After the uprising Sanjurjo, Basic Law of Agrarian Reform. • The slow pace of agrarian reform: land occupation and violent demonstrations. • Hard Intervention of public forces: Slaughter of Casas Viejas, January 1933.
- 33. En total 28 muertos. Excepto tres miembros de la fuerzas de orden público, todos estaban relacionados de una forma u otra con el movimiento campesino anarquista.
- 34. • ARMY REFORM: • Need to reform and modernize the Army. • Azana measures (Oath of the Constitution, reduction of military jurisdiction, annulment of the promotions of the dictatorship, creating Assault Guard) displease the militar. • The military tried to take over power by a failed coup led by General Sanjurjo in 1932. • The repression of the uprising allows the adoption of the Statute of Catalonia and the Basic Law of Agrarian Reform, with opposition from the right.
- 35. En el centro, José Sanjurjo en Melilla, con Franco (a la dcha. del todo), en 1922.
- 36. • EDUCATION REFORMS: • More than 10.000 schools were created. • The budget for education increased more than a 50%. • Mixed groups (girls and boys). • Non-religious education. • Programs to extent theatre in the rural environment. • Programs to learn about our heritage: museums…
- 38. Las Misiones Pedagógicas de la Segunda República española: un proyecto de educación popular.
- 40. • El fin del bienio reformista: • A principios de 1933 se produce un giro hacia la derecha por: • La mala situación económica • La violencia • Frustración y desencanto de la clase trabajadora. • Errores del Gobierno: • Posponer las transformaciones económicas a las puramente ideológicas. • Olvidaron transformar España lentamente y bajo el consenso
- 45. • Elections in November 1933: the government called for elections in which the conservative forces— such as the Lerroux´s Radical Party and Gil Robles´ Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas: CEDA)—came out on top. • After the elections, Lerroux, leader or the Republican Radical Party formed a government that needed the parliamentary support of the CEDA, the main party on the right.
- 48. • The new executive began a policy to reverse the reforms from the previous two years: • It stopped the agrarian reforms, with the consequent expulsion of the few day labourers (jornaleros) who had occupied lands through these reforms. • It halted the military reforms and promoted clearly anti- Republican figures into important military positions. These figures included Franco, Goded, and Mola. • Political concessions to the Catholic Church • The government confronted Catalan and Basque nationalism. It rejected a project of Basque Country home rule in 1934 and clashed with the Catalonian Generalitat, (Catalan regional government).
- 50. • Revolution in October 1934: • Polarization of the country between "right" and "left“. • Most left-wingers considered the CEDA’s presence in the government as the preface to a victory of fascism, since the CEDA’s youth organization displayed an almost fascist propaganda in the country. • The most radical left parties and groups convene a general strike (that ended in an armed uprising) against the government, but it only had success in Asturias. • The General Franco ended the uprisings in Asturias. • Consequences: • There were 1.500-2.000 deaths, double the number of wounded, and 30,000 arrests made (among them were Companys and Azaña, who had not even supported the uprising, as well as the main leaders of the PSOE such as Prieto and Largo Caballero).
- 54. • Shortly afterwards, various corruption scandals in 1935 led Lerroux´s government to call for another elections in February of 1936. • Polls brought a win of the Popular Front (“Frente Popular”), a leftist coalition of parties, led by the Republican Manuel Azaña.
- 58. • The Popular Front, a coalition that brought together the forces of the left, won the elections of February 1936. The militant anarchist came out to vote in large numbers, which they had not done in 1933.
- 59. • Manuel Azaña was named President of the Republic and formed a government which was presided over by Casares Quiroga and which consisted exclusively of leftist republicans. The most moderate sector of the new government was the Popular Front. • Socialists and Communists remained excluded from the government.
- 62. • The new government passed an amnesty of the thousands of prisoners detained in the aftermath of the 1934 uprising. • The new government brought back the agrarian reform, reestablished the Catalonian Home Rule, and they began the debate over new autonomy statutes of Galicia and the Basque Country. • Meanwhile, the social environment was becoming more and more tense. • The workers on the left had taken on a more revolutionary slant and the right was seeking a way to carry out a military coup that would put an end to the democratic system. • The moderates and the democrats were trying to maintain a constitutional and democratic regime but found that they were quite helpless in fighting the current that was carrying the country towards civil war. • From the month of April onwards, a number of violent clashes took place on the streets. • Meanwhile, a great section of the military plotted against the Republic. The democracy lived its last few days in Spain.
- 63. • From the month of April onwards, a number of violent clashes took place on the streets. • Meanwhile, a great section of the military plotted against the Republic. The democracy lived its last few days in Spain.