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07 THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC - Coggle Diagram
07 THE SECOND SPANISH REPUBLIC
Proclamation and constitution
14 April 1931
Second Spanish Republic was declared
new regime was established, provisional republican government
undertook urgent reforms established at the Pact of San Sebastián
freedom of worship and secularisation measures
an agreement to draw up a statute of autonomy in Cataluña
improvements in working conditions and the hiring of day labourers
modernisation of the army and total submission to civil power
clergy received the Republic with distrust
regime’s secular ideas harmed the Catholic Church
false rumours about clergy conspiracies against the republic spread among republican opinion
this resulted in attacks against Church property in Madrid
The provisional government lacked initiative and failed to prevent public order problems
led to religious buildings being burned down in several Spanish cities
Constitution of 1931
Elections to Cortes Constituyentes were called in
true modern democratic regime, with freedom and social justice
constitutional principles
Universal suffrage starting from the age of 23
Spanish women’s right to vote was recognised.
exercised it for the first time in the elections of November 1933
Extensive declaration of rights and freedoms
Civil rights which had previously been non-existent were recognised (such as divorce, civil marriage)
equal rights for legitimate and illegitimate children
the right to free and secular public education.
Social rule of law
Spain declared itself a ‘Republic of workers from all classes’.
Division of powers
Legislative power was in the hands of a single-chamber Cortes
executive was ruled by a mainly representative head of state or president of the Republic and head of government with genuine powers
law courts were in charge of judicial power.
Right of the regions to establish statutes of autonomy
first time in Spain’s history
Separation between the Church and the state
The Cortes selected Niceto Alcalá-Zamora as the first president of the new Republic and Manuel Azaña as prime minister
The reformist biennium (1931-1933)
During this first period
socialists formed a coalition government under Prime Minister Manuel Azaña
undertook the main reforms set out in the Constitution
Agricultural reform
Land was redistributed, particularly in areas with large landowners
The aim was to provide day labourers and poor peasants with land
Religion
separation between Church and state was addressed to establish a secular society
civil marriage and divorce, were approved
public funding of worship and the clergy ended
the Jesuits were expelled, their promise of obedience to the pope contradicted the Constitution
Army
Active military officers had to swear allegiance to the Republic
police force, Guardia de Asalto,created to maintain public order
Social reforms
intensive social legislation to improve working conditions,wages and social security for the working class
workers’ retirement insurance was increased
insurance against accidents at work was established
the right to strike was guaranteed
dismissal conditions were regulated and workers’ right to paid holidays was approved
The Statute of Autonomy of Cataluña
approved by the Cortes in 1932, with the reestablishment of an autonomous government,Generalitat
Procedures began to approve statutes in the País Vasco and Galicia, not finalised during the reformist biennium
first steps were also taken in Aragón, Andalucía, Valencia and the Islas Baleares
Education
one of the Republic’s priorities
improve the cultural level , opportunities of the lower classes and modernise the country
teacher training and salaries were improved to recognise their social role
1932 José Sanjurjo staged a coup d’état
which was suppressed by the government
worrying symptom of resistance among conservative sectors of society to the Republic’s reforms
The clergy, opposed to secularisation, and other sectors were also unhappy
In turn, many Spanish people did not accept the granting of autonomy statutes
the anarchists were also hostile to the new regime
MANUEL AZAÑA (1880–1940)
one of the most important Spanish politicians of the Second Republic
He was a superb orator, which led him to become one of the main republican leaders
After the fall of Alfonso XIII, he served as prime minister in two periods (1931–1933 and 1936–1939)
When the Spanish Civil War ended, he went into exile in France, where he died in 1940
Victory of the popular front 1936
economic corruption meant the end of the right-wing government
elections were called in February 1936
the constitution of the Popular Front
This broad formation was made up of
republican parties from the left
peripheral nationalists
socialists
communists
Manuel Azaña was appointed president of the Republic
reintroducing the reforms put in place between 1931 and 1933, (most conservative laws from the previous biennium)
Restoration of Catalan autonomy and its autonomous institutions (Lluís Companys as president)
Reintroduction of the Agricultural Reform of 1932
Strengthening the educational, social and religious reforms
Amnesty for political prisoners
during this new constitution
The most extremist sectors of anarchism occupied land and set fire to religious buildings
members of the Falange carried out terrorist attacks and continued their assaults
Basque and Catalan workers’ and nationalist organisations, which responded to their violence
member of the PSOE, was killed in Madrid on 12 July 1936
José Calvo Sotelo was later killed as a form of retaliation
military uprising
military and far-right organisations opposed to the Popular Front’s reforms
conservatives tried to form a coalition, the National Front
this was not done in all electoral districts, so CEDA, monarchists and other parties were not totally united at the election
the left changed its strategy
concerned about fascism and the breakdown of the achievements of the reformist biennium
It abandoned the failed revolutionary strategy of 1934 and dealt with the lack of unity seen in the 1933 elections
all factions tried to reach an agreement to achieve consensus
The black biennium (1933–1936)
The rejection of the Azaña government’s reforms by broad conservative sectors of society
led to the founding of the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights (CEDA) 1933
This party was made up of Catholic groups which declared their sympathies with the fascist model
the anarchists’ demands did not cease and a violent climate of opposition to the government developed
Casas Viejas Incidents
discredited the government, and led to Azaña’s resignation
New elections were called
Casas viejas incidents
January 1933
the village of Casas Viejas (Cádiz)
Civil Guard and Guardia de Asalto brutally suppressed an anarchist uprising, killing many people
The incident led to the fall of Manuel Azaña’s government.
November1933 elections
won by right-wing parties
Radical Party led by Alejandro Lerroux took power
CEDA had received most votes so its leader, José María Gil Robles
became the arbiter of the political situation
main political objective was to stop or reverse the reforms undertaken during the previous biennium
amnesty was offered to those who planned the Sanjurjada coup d’état.
Counter-reformist policies and fear of fascism like in Italy or Germany
led trade unions and socialists to start a revolutionary movement when the CEDA became part of the government
October Revolution of 1934
insurgents took towns and mining areas in Asturias
Asturias was suppressed
Cataluña, Catalan nationalists took advantage of the general strike to establish an autonomous federal government
Cataluña lost its autonomy and the statutes in place were blocked
the rest of Spain, the general strike failed because of a lack of coordination
army brutally repressed the revolutionaries
José Antonio Primo de Rivera, son of the dictator Primo de Rivera
founded the Falange Española in 1933
minority fascist party that began a violent campaign of aggression against workers’ organisations
CLARA CAMPOAMOR (1888–1972)
came from a working-class family
became a lawyer and fought for women’s rights, paticurlarly vote
She was one of the first female members of parliament in the Second Republic, along with Victoria Kent and Margarita Nelken
Spanish Civil War, she lived in exile in Switzerland and wrote her memoirs.
