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Primo de Rivera - Coggle Diagram
Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era.
He deeply believed that it was the politicians who had ruined Spain and that by governing without them, he could restore the nation.
His slogan was "Country, Religion, Monarchy." Historians depict him as an inept dictator who lacked clear ideas and political acumen, and who alienated his potential supporters such as the army.
He did not create a base of support among the voters, and depended instead on elite elements. His actions discredited the king and ruined the monarchy, while heightening social tensions that led in 1936 to a full-scale Spanish Civil War.
On the death of his uncle in 1921 he became Marquess of Estella. With the support of King Alfonso XIII and the army, Primo de Rivera led a Mussolini-inspired military coup on 13 September 1923.
He was appointed Prime Minister by the King. He promised to eliminate corruption and to regenerate Spain. In order to do this he suspended the constitution, established martial law, imposed a strict system of censorship, and ended the turno (spoils) system of alternating parties.
Primo de Rivera initially said he would rule for only 90 days, however, he chose to remain in power.
Little social reform took place, but he attempted to reduce unemployment by spending money on public works.
To pay for this, Primo de Rivera introduced higher taxes on the rich. When they complained he chose to change his policies and attempted to raise money by public loans.
This caused rapid inflation and—after losing support of the army—he was forced to resign in January 1930.
After his death, his son, José Antonio Primo de Rivera, played an important role in the development of fascism in Spain. It was under Primo de Rivera's rule that Francisco Franco was promoted to general, the youngest person holding this high rank in Europe.
Political Divisions
General Primo de Rivera, in September 1923, declared a proclamation and overthrew the Liberal government of Garcia Prieto. Primo de Rivera ruled until January 1930 and his dictatorial style of rule has been termed the Dictadura.
Primo De Rivera tried to establish an authoritarian right-wing regime, similar to the Italian Fascist model. King Alfonso’s description of him was ‘My Mussolini’. Primo de Rivera set up a military dictatorship but the king was retained and the monarchy supported the regime.
He was seen as a ‘savior’ by many people in Spain, leading a crusade against social problems, political corruption and imperial humiliation.
Primo de Rivera closed down the Cortes, suspending the constitution and banning all political parties. He suspended elections and trial by jury.
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He set up his own political party, the Patriotic Union but never achieved much popular support.
The dictatorship formally ended in 1925, but Primo remained prime minister.
Economic Problems
Primo de Rivera’s regime was relatively successful up to the Wall Street Crash in 1929, and the global Great Depression that followed.
He wanted to address Spain’s problem of violent and militant industrial disputes and he was able to gain some tacit support from Socialists and the UGT by establishing a system of arbitration for labor disputes and some government subsidies for housing and healthcare.
He was able to play on the divisions between the socialists and the anarchists by working with the former and persecuting the latter.
Primo was able to maintain some support from the Basques as although he abandoned the idea of more autonomy for the region he kept conservative Basques in their posts.
Primo also started various infrastructure programmes for railways, roads, and electrification, as well as irrigation schemes in Spain.
Primo de Rivera also ended the costly war in Morocco in 1925, with assistance from the French.
Social Tensions
2,000 new schools and modernized 2,000 old schools. The education system became highly regulated.
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The regime ran up massive debts that put Spain into a dreadful situation when the global downturn came.
Finance Minister, Calvo Sotelo, was unable to reform the tax system and his public works had to be financed using government deficits and loans.
His strict censorship of the press, freedom of speech led to widespread opposition, and his withdrawal of concessions to Catalonia (and the banning of the Catalan flag and language)
Catalan support for the anti-clerical and separatist party, Esquerra, grew.
He alienated most of the powerful elements of society, including the landowners who had lost influence under his regime, and the army by changing the promotion system and closing down the artillery corps.
Primo did not address the demands of the military for better wages and weapons. The cost of the war against the Riff and Jabala rebels in Morocco was another key issue for the regime.
When the Great Depression took hold, and despite the fact that Spain had a large self-employed agricultural sector and had high protective tariffs, food prices and exports fell and unemployment increased. De Rivera resigned in 1930, having not resolved Spain’s economic problems, nor brought about long-term political stability.