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The new constitution established universal suffrage for both men and women. proclaimed Spain a non-confessional (secular) state. All religions and beliefs would be respected. Civil marriage and divorce were legalised. -
On 14 April 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and a provisional government made up of the winning Republican-socialist coalition took over. -
During the Second Republic, 13000 new primary schools and 30 new secondary schools were opened and many teaching positions were created. Almost all of them were occupied by women, whose access to teacher training courses was growing considerably. -
Because an initiative included in the Constitution was the separation of Church and state. Reforms attempted to reduce the Church's influence on public life and education. -
The UGT was radicalized and anarchist groups, especially those affiliated with the FAI, openly called for armed insurrection. They organized uprisings such as those at Alto Llobregat. -
Republican victory in large cities and in industrial regions showed a desire for political change. -
Left-wing Republicans appeared divided in the run-up to the elections, while the conservatives joined the Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA). The victory of the centre-right (Radical Party and CEDA) resulted in a new government headed by Lerroux, which paralysed much of the reform process. -
The military opposition to the Republic (Emilio Mola in Navarre, Francisco Franco in the Canary Islands and José Sanjurjo in Portugal) made contact with extreme right groups and began to organize a coup. -
Not only were women given the vote, but legal and social barriers were also removed that had previously prevented women from participating in social, political and economic life. -
In Catalonia, the Generalitat proclaimed the Catalan state within the Spanish Federal Republic. -
The entry of CEDA ministers into government in October 1934 provoked strong opposition from left-wing parties and unions. -
The Popular Front's election triumph was badly received by the most conservative sectors of society, who opposed the process of democratisation. Some unions and left-wing groups defended the idea of staging a social revolution. -
The Popular Front won the elections by a narrow margin. The government was taken over by Azaña's Republicans and he was appointed prime minister in May. Santiago Casares Quiroga took over as head of the government.