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Period: to
Pre-Spanish Civil War
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Effects of Reforms
The Agrarian Reform Law angered the landowners and peasants. ▪ Primo’s Labour Arbitration Scheme was extended and improved with the help of the UGT (Left Wing group which increased members during this period)
▪ The Jesuits were no longer allowed to operate as a religious group
- the state withdrew support to the Church
- civil (public) marriage and divorce were permitted -
The Left Republic of 1931-33
▪ Republican government granted independence to the region of Catalan
- Right -not happy(felt it was a threat to Spain’s overall level of power)
▪ The Agrarian Reform Law allowed the state to nationalise (control) the latifundia (large areas of land owned by the wealthy) and then hand them over to the peasants
- however, compensating the landowners was complicated and expensive
- not everyone in the government agreed on the plan to take over the latifundia
-never implemented on a large scale -
1931-33
▪ Half of the officer corps were made to retire at full pay
- Azana told the army they had no right to challenge the government;
- a military revolt by General Sanjuro in 1932 was crushed ▪ The government’s decisions led to the foundation of the right-wing Catholic CEDA party led by Gil Robles.
- At the same time a fascist party – the Falange was established by the son of Primo de Rivera, Jose Antonio. -
The Right Republic of 1933-35
▪ In 1933 government troops shot dead anarchist (rebels) prisoners in Cadiz.
- crisis led to elections being called for November 1933 ▪ A right-wing coalition government had power after the elections.
- It reversed the process of reform and cancelled the measures against the Church
- This period “two black years” by those on the Left, who became divided between socialists (led by Prieto ) who wanted to work with the coaltion and the UGT (led by Caballero ) who wanted violent opposition to it -
Asturias Uprising
- opposition to the government exploded into violence in the Asturias Uprising, an anarchist miners’ revolt
- lasted two weeks -stopped after much fighting by the troops of General Franco
- It pushed the Left (especially UGT) towards a revolution
- Convinced the Right that the Fascism promoted by Rivera’s Falange was the only way to control the workers.
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Politics' both sides
▪ The international situation strongly influenced the development of opposite ideas in Spain:
- the growing power of Fascism and Communism in Europe convinced many on both sides of politics that moderate politics would mean disaster. -
Left and Right Wing
- Election called
- Popular Front of Communists, Socialists, Republicans and Separatists-formed to oppose the government. ▪Right Wing-National Front. ▪Increasing tension meant that the Left now regarded the Right as Fascists; the Right regarded the Left as Communists.
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Popular and National Front
▪ The Popular Front won only slightly more votes than the National Front, but the voting system made this into a large majority of seats in Parliament. ▪ However, Caballero’s socialists, still bitter about the failures of Azana’s earlier government, refused to join.
- This weakened not only the government but also the Left wing of Spanish politics as a whole.
▪ the government immediately reintroduced the reforms of the 1931-3 government
- banned the Falange
- sent Franco to Morocco -
Right Before the Civil War
▪ The anarchist CNT encouraged the peasants to take over the land
▪ The socialist UGT called a general strike among the proletariat
▪ The fascist Falange started to grow dramatically
▪ the army began plotting (led by General Mola) to overthrow the weak new government ▪ On July 13 the monarchist politician, Calvo Sotelo, was assassinated by Republican police
- Military Revolt- July 17, Spanish Morocco, led by General Franco