Section 2: Years of Reform 1931-33

Question 1

What government came to power after the dictatorship collapsed?

Answer 1

A provisional government

Question 2

What was the priority for Spains provisional government in 1931?

Answer 2

it was to have elections for the constituent Cortes, which would establish a new constitution for Spain

Question 3

When were elections for the new constituent cortes held? And what were the results?

Answer 3

in June 1931. The election was a huge win for the left - the Spanish Socialist Party (PSOE) gained 116 seats and became the largest party in the cortes

Question 4

When was the final version of the new Spanish constitution ratified? In essence, what did the constitution create?

Answer 4

in December 1931. In essence, the constitution created a democratic republic, with protections for individual rights and provisions for regular elections based on universal suffrage.

Question 5

What is meant by universal suffrage?

Answer 5

The right to vote for all adult citizens

Question 6

What did leading members of the provisional government argue about the relationship between the Catholic Church and the gov? And how did it make the conservatives fee?

Answer 6

They argued that it was in need of radical reform. This frightened many conservatives and moderate Spaniards who feared that the new republic would undermine and ultimately destroy the Church

Question 7

What did leading members of the Catholic church urge their supporters to do? Give an example of a name

Answer 7

leading members such as Cardinal Segura, urged their supporters to vote against radicalism in the June 1931 elections. This action resulted in Cardinal Segura’s exile from Spain.

Question 8

during election campaigns what was happening to church property?

Answer 8

there were widespread attacks on Catholic Church property during the election campaign

Question 9

What were the new church reforms under the new constitution?

Answer 9

-article 3 stated that the Spanish state had no official religion
-article 26 ensured the state no longer gave economic aid to the church
-article 27 banned funeral processions and church bells
-article 44 gave the state the right to take away the property of the church in return for compensation

Question 10

How did the church reforms make Catholics feel?

Answer 10

the church reforms angered the Catholics and alienated them from the new regime. Priests who had initially spoken out in support of the republic began to criticise the new constitution

Question 11

Which church reform angered the Catholic right the most and why?

Answer 11

it was article 3 (no official religion), since the Catholic right believed that Spain was, and should remain, an essentially Catholic country

Question 12

What happened in October 1931 as a result of gov support for anti-clerical policies?

Answer 12

As a result of government support for anti-clerical policies, Niceto Alcala-Zamora resigned as prime minister. He was a committed Catholic.

Question 13

What did the resignation of Alcala-Zamora do?

Answer 13

it convinced many within Spain, particularly the conservative right, that the new government was heading in a dangerously radical direction

Question 14

Who led the opposition to the reform of the Church?

Answer 14

It was led by the Agrarian Minority, a small group of right-wing deputies within the cortes. In alliance with Catholic deputies from the Basque Country, the Agrarian Minority opposed all Church reform, particularly articles 26 and 44 of the new constitution

Question 15

Did the Agrarian Minority fail or succeed in preventing the anti-clerical aspects of the constitution from becoming law? and what did they do as a result?

Answer 15

they failed. Therefore they withdrew from the cortes in protest and started a campaign to change the constitution

Question 16

was the campaign for changing the constitution successful?

Answer 16

the Agrarian Minority and Jose Maria Gil-Robles, founder of CEDA, did succeed in whipping up a vigorous press campaign against the new constitution.

Question 17

what did right-wing papers present the anti-clerical reforms as? and what did they claim about them?

Answer 17

right wing papers, such as El Debate, presented anti-clerical reforms as ‘satanic’, claiming that the new government was controlled by freemasons, nun-haters and violent animals who belonged in zoos rather than parliaments

Question 18

What position did Gil-Robles argue for? and what did he claim about the monarchy and republic?

Answer 18

He argued for a position knows as ‘accidentalism’. In essence, he claimed that he did not oppose the abolition of the monarchy and the founding of the republic. Rather, her argued that the key issue was the nature of the constitution

Question 19

What did Gil-Robles and other associated with ‘accidentalism’ believe? and therefore what did Gil-Robles campaign for?

Answer 19

they believed that the constitution should reflect the traditional principles on which Spain was based: love of the church and respect for the army. Therefore Gil-Robles campaigned for constitutional reform, not to bring back the monarchy but to bring the constitution into line with what he claimed were traditional Spanish values

Question 20

What role did Azana have during the army reforms?

Answer 20

he was Minister for War and then later on became prime minister after Niceto Alcala-Zamora resigned

Question 21

why did Azana take army reform very seriously?

Answer 21

his view was that the army was too big, too powerful and too inefficient for Spains needs. Its inefficiency, he argued, meant that the army would be incapable of protecting Spain from a powerful foreign enemy. At the same time, the size and status of the army meant that military leaders were able to interfere in Spains domestic politics.

Question 22

Therefore, what did Azana design army reforms for?

Answer 22

he designed them to make the army more effective against foreign enemies and less powerful as a political force in Spain

Question 23

what were the army reforms aimed at stopping military leaders from interfering in politics?

Answer 23

-officers were required to take an oath of loyalty to the republic. This, Azana hoped, would persuade many of the officers to refrain from undermining the new republic
-army officers were allowed to take early retirement on full pay. This offer was taken up by 8,000 Spanish officers. This removed a significant section of the officer corps who had supported Spains military dictators before the republic.
-officers involved in criminal activities in the period 1923-30 were arrested and tried. This, too, purged conservative officers from the army
-the Review of Promotions gave the government the power to revoke the promotion of military officers awarded by Primo de Rivera. This allowed the new gov to purge supporters of the former dictator. Around 500 officers were investigated as part of the review

Question 24

What were the reforms that aimed at reducing the size of the army and cutting back the military budget?

Answer 24

-military service was reduced to one year
-many military academies were closed, such as the one as Saragossa

Question 25

What was the impact of the army reforms?

Answer 25

-almost half of Spain’s generals and 40% of army officers agreed to retire early.
-the purges also removed a number of right-wing officers from their posts, including general Emilio Mola, who would later player a leading role in unleashing the civil war

Question 26

What was the negative impacts/failure of the army reforms?

Answer 26

-they undermined support for the republic since many right-wing newspapers presented the reforms as a campaign to ‘crush the army’
-significantly, the purge of the army did not remove all of the officers who had supported Primo de Rivera. Notable, Francisco Franco remained in his post. He had been the commanding officer at the Saragossa Military Academy since 1928 and when it closed down he became a fierce critic of the the new gov.

Question 27

What were the two key purposes agricultural reform served?

Answer 27

1) socialists hoped that agricultural reform would help deal with rural poverty
2) government ministers believed that modernising agriculture was an essential step towards the reform of the whole economy
-therefore, in 1931 the provisional government embarked on a series of reforms designed to transform the Spanish agricultural problem

Question 28

Who produced the initial agrarian reforms of 1931?

Answer 28

produced by the socialist minister of labour, Largo Caballero

Question 29

What did the initial agrarian reforms of 1931 establish ?

Answer 29

• a maximum eight-hour working day for agricultural workers
• a legal right to overtime pay
• wage disputes would be settled by committees which consisted of representatives from both the landowners and workers
• small tenant farmers could no longer be evicted from the their farms
• the law of Municipal Boundaries (April 1931) required landowners to recruit workers from the surrounding area/municipality instead of recruiting cheaper migrant workers
• the Law of Obligatory Cultivation (May 1931) aimed to increase employment by forcing landlords to use their land for arable purposes. Landlords who failed to comply risked having their land confiscated.

Question 30

How did landowners respond to the initial agrarian reforms of 1931?

Answer 30

the reforms proved unpopular with the landowners. Many responded by simply ignoring them. Some landowners went further and joined right-wing groups that opposed the second republic

Question 31

What could agricultural workers do in situation where landowners ignored the reforms?

Answer 31

They could join the Socialist Landworkers’ Federation (FNTT), which was affiliated to the UGT socialist trade union.

Question 32

What did the FNTT do?

Answer 32

it helped farm labourers defend their rights

Question 33

What did the agrarian reform law of 1932 aim to do?

Answer 33

it aimed to address the problems of rural inequality through the redistribution of land. The government established an Institute of Agrarian Reform, which was empowered to confiscate some of the land belonging to large landowners and redistribute it to property-less peasants, mainly in the south of the country

Question 34

What did the Agrarian Reform Law of 1932 allow for?

Answer 34

It allowed large landowners to keep 23 hectares of land, but any land they owned over that amount could be bought by the government and redistributed to provide peasants farmers with smallholdings that could generate an income to help lift them out of poverty

Question 35

Why did the Agrarian Reform law of 1932 fail?

Answer 35

the scheme failed to have a major impact.
-the failure of the scheme was due, in part, to the director of the Institute of Agrarian Reform, who proved to be incompetent.
-moreover, the Institute acted slowly, was indecisive and lacked funding. It had a budget of only 50 million pesetas to carry out the reform. Consequently, the Agrarian Reform law succeeded in resettling only 4,400 peasants during its first year, less than 10% of those the gov believed were in need of help
-finally, the reforms failed because the government had no way of enforcing the new rights, such as the 8-hour day

Question 36

How did landowners react to the Agrarian Reform law of 1932?

Answer 36

they were hostile to the new law, which they believed was an infringement of their property rights. Consequently, the new law alienated the large landowners, who turned away from the new republic and began to support right-wing groups that demanded radical changes to the gov

Question 37

What was the consequence of the agrarian reform in terms of opposition from the left?

Answer 37

-the failure of the scheme resulted in criticism of the government from the FNTT agricultural union.
-the gov had raised expectations among Spanish peasants but the reforms failed to deliver effective reform. In response, socialist and the UGT became more radical, demanding new reforms that would lead to genuine redistribution of land

Question 38

what was the consequence of the agrarian reform in terms of opposition from the right?

Answer 38

-agrarian reform led to vigour opposition from the right.
-Specifically, the gov’s reform programme led to the creation of CEDA, a mass political party of the right. CEDA began a campaign for an increase in the minimum price of wheat. Support for CEDA grew rapidly in those areas affected by agricultural reforms, such as Castile, Aragon and parts of Andalucía.
-right-wing press began a campaign against the agricultural minister, Marcelino Domingo. According to the press, Domingo’s polices, not the long-term problems facing Spain, were to blame for the poverty of small farmers
-The right-wing campaigns were highly successful and a key reason for growth of support for CEDA in the elections of November 1933

Question 39

What did CEDA claim about the reforms?

Answer 39

claimed that the reforms would drive down the price of wheat and in so doing plunge small farms even deeper into poverty. Therefore the party campaigned for an increase in the minimum price of wheat. In reality this would lead to higher profits for the landowners and make almost no difference to the income of small farmers.

Question 40

When did Azana become prime minister and when did he get dismissed?

Answer 40

he served as prime minister from October 1931 until his dismissal in September 1933

Question 41

Which party was Azana the leader of?

Answer 41

he was the leader of the Republican Action Party, which presented middle-class reformers, many of whom were supporters of anti-clerical policies

Question 42

Why was Azanas government controversial?

Answer 42

in part because it was based on the constituent cortes, which had been elected to draw up the constitution. Many people had expected the constituent cortes to dissolve itself after the constitution was finalised. However, Azana continued as prime minister after the ratification of the constitution without calling new elections

Question 43

What was a key reform supported by Azana?

Answer 43

it was the establishment of more autonomy for Catalonia

Question 44

Explain how the reform of more autonomy for Catalonia came about?

Answer 44

-a plebiscite was held on this issue in 1931 and more than 99% of the population voted for more powers to be granted to allow Catalonia self governance.
-as a result, the Catalan Statute of 1932 was passed, which devolved further powers in relation to domestic policies within Catalonia

Question 45

What was a good thing about the Catalan Statute?

Answer 45

the reform of giving Catalonia more autonomy gained the republic the support of one of the wealthiest regions within Spain

Question 46

What was the failure/ opposition of the Catalan regional reform?

Answer 46

-Spanish nationalists and many members of the armed forces saw this reform as a threat to the unity and very existence of Spain.
-this reform also stimulated further demands for independence from the Basque region of Spain. However, these were not fully supported by Azana and resulted in further tensions within the Basque area

Question 47

What did Azana fear about granting independence to other areas?

Answer 47

he feared it would result in the break-up of Spain as a nation and in return create further political instability

Question 48

what were the industrial reforms passed by the gov?

Answer 48

-enforced salary increases, which in real terms meant salaries increased by approximately 16% for workers between 1931 and 1933
-legal entitlement to seven days paid leave per annum
-the working day was restricted to 8 hours unless overtime was paid
-the gov introduced some social security benefits but these were restricted to areas such as maternity, retirement and insurance against accidents in the workplace
-the freedom to strike without fear of dismissal from employment

Question 49

were the urban/industrial reforms a failure or a success? and why?

Answer 49

they were a failure, since they failed to improve the harsh conditions of many workers.
-urban poverty was exacerbated by the ongoing effects of the Great Depression. In Madrid, for example, the boom in construction, which had led to the migration of many low-skilled labourers to the city in the preceding decades, came to an end, leading to a rise in unemployment.
-moreover, the unemployed benefited little from the reforms of Azana’s gov since there were no social security benefits for those out of work

Question 50

As a result of the failure of the urban/industrial reforms, what happened?

Answer 50

-economic depression and poverty led to urban strikes and protests.
-the reforms and strike action led to an increase in right-wing support as middle-class Spaniards feared a revolution

Question 51

What were some of the measures that the PSOE proposed to introduce which the left welcomes?

Answer 51

-nationalisation of the banks and railways, mines and forests
-the legalisation of divorce
-legal protection for civil rights
-separation of the Catholic Church from the state

Question 52

What was the left wing response and repression to the governments failed reforms and actions?

Answer 52

-many on the left believed that a parliament democracy was an essentially bourgeois form of government and therefore incapable of truly radical action
-the conflict became more apparent during the PSOE-led coalition. Frustrated as the slow pace of change, radical unions such as the UGT and the FNTT, as well as the anarchists CNT, initiated strike action

Question 53

What was the first major strike?

Answer 53

-the first major strike was initiated by dockworkers in Pasaia, a port town in the Basque country, in May 1931
-representatives of the PSOE asked the striking workers to be patient and wait for the reforms to have an effect. However, the CNT argued that waiting was pointless, as the new republic was little better than the old military dictatorship
-after persuasion failed, the gov sent in the Civil Guard to break up the strike. As a result, 8 workers were killed in fighting between union members and government soldiers

Question 54

as a result of the dockworkers strike what happened?

Answer 54

-the UGT became more radical
-the influence of the anarchists grew within the union movement

Question 55

Explain the other strikes that occurred in the summer of 1931

Answer 55

-strikes spread in the summer of 1931 to Madrid, Barcelona and Seville.
-the telephone workers strike of July 1931 divided the left. Anarchists and communists supported the striking workers, while PSOE ministers in the gov ordered the police to break up the strike
-a CNT-organised general strike in Seville led to further violence, as workers engaged in gun battles with police. The strike was only brought to an end by military action against the CNT headquarters in the city.
-in Badajoz, a city in central Spain, where local landlords and police workers together to deny peasants’ rights, the FNTT called a strike. The civil guard responded by opening fire on unarmed, peaceful protesters.

Question 56

What led to a decline in the number of strikes at the end of 1931?

Answer 56

violence and divisions among the unions led to a decline in the number of strikes

Question 57

When were divisions on the left obvious in 1932?

Answer 57

they were obvious in 1932 when the CNT called a general strike but the UGT refused to collaborate. Moreover, the leaders of the UGT condemned the strike, arguing that the new republic should be given time to consolidate and to deliver the promised reforms.

Question 58

What was the right-wing response to the reforms and gov?

Answer 58

-Asanas reforms alienated conservative forces in Spain. Consequently, Azana made enemies of senior figures in the army, the Church and among landowners.
-the conservative right saw the reforms as a threat to traditional social and religious order. They believed the reforms would unleash forces of social revolution that would lead to communism and the wholescale destruction of the institutions they valued.

Question 59

How did landowners respond to the agrarian reforms? (mention the Bloque Agrario of Salamanca)

Answer 59

-responded by refusing to allow workers to plant or harvest crops. Consequently, unemployment rose significantly in the southern agricultural regions as large landowners laid off workers
-other landowners simply ignored the new regulations; they discovered quickly that the gov had no way of enforcing the new rights
-the Bloque Agrario of Salamanca co-ordinated a campaign to encourage landowners to not grow crops on their land. The Bloque argued that gov policies were increasing the costs of crop production so much that it was no longer profitable for landowners to produce food. The gov responded by arresting leading members of the Bloque, which prompted protests from Gil-Robles and other right-wing politicians. The FNTT argued that they should take over the land and produce food for the the good of its members, since the landowners were refusing to cultivate the land. However, landowners employed armed gangs which forced peasants off the land. And therefore throughout the province of Salamanca land remained uncultivated for much of 1932 and 1933

Question 60

Explain Sanjurjo’s uprising in Seville

Answer 60

-General Jose Sanjurjo was a lieutenant in the army, however, as a result of Azana’s military reforms he was demoted to the post of chief of the Civil Guard.
-In 1932, army officers enraged by the military reforms and autonomy statute given to Catalonia were joined by monarchist plotters in persuading General Sanjurjo that the country was on the verge of anarchy and ready to rise at his bidding.
-General Sanjurjo’s attempted coup took place on August 10th 1932, badly planned it was easily defeated and put down both in Seville where he received neither the support of the people or the army and Madrid where the government knew in advance and quickly
rounded up the conspirators.
-The government had responded with minimum force and was able to put down the revolt rather easily.

Question 61

What were the consequences of Sanjurjo’s uprising?

Answer 61

-proved that the right who had presented themselves as respectable guardians of peace and order before the uprising were willing to use violence to change the course of the republic
-The attack of the Republic by one of the heroes of the old regime, a monarchist general, benefitted the government by generating a wave of pro-Republican
fervour. Workers in Seville responded with a general strike in support of the republic
-The ease with which the ‘Sanjurada’ was defeated enabled the government to generate enough parliamentary support to get the second agrarian reform bill and the Catalan statute through the Cortes that September.
-Not all the conspirators were arrested and even those who were, were later released and at liberty and with plenty of time to repeat their exploits in 1936.
-The Sanjurada showed the hostility with which the army and the extreme right regarded the Republic.

Question 62

When did the biggest threat to the government from the left occur? Explain the first part of Salamanca

Answer 62

in the winter of 1932-33, culminating in an anarchist uprising in Barcelona in January 1933.
-the unrest was caused by problems in the countryside where thousands of agricultural workers had not been paid by landowners. Moreover, in spite of new laws protecting peasants’ rights, the gov had not acted to compel the landowners to pay.
-This led to a general strike in Salamanca in December 1932 in protest at the actions of the landowners and the inaction of the gov.
-the strike brought Salamanca to a standstill for ten days before it was broken by gov forces
-the strike led to further divisions between the socialist gov, which called for an end to strike action, and union radicals, who believed it was their only way of getting justice.

Question 63

What happened after the uprising in Salamanca in December 1932? Explain the event

Answer 63

further resistance broke out in January 1933, with an anarchist uprising across Spains major urban centres. The uprising was quickly suppressed in Catalonia, Seville, and Madrid, but fighting continued for days in Casas Viejas, a city in Cadiz.
-unemployed, impoverished and hungry, the people of Casas Viejas began a peaceful protest, appealing to the Civil Guard and the landowners to co-operate with them and help end poverty in the region.
-however, the civil guard opened fire on the unarmed protesters and burned their huts, putting down the revolt with brutal violence and 24 people died

Question 64

What was the poverty like in Casas Viejas?

Answer 64

-4 out of 5 workers were unemployed for most of the year.
-they were dependent on charity and scouring the countryside for food.
-the poverty was so intense that they were forced to live in mud huts covered in branches

Question 65

What were the consequences of Casa Viejas?

Answer 65

-The government who had not ordered the violence, was blamed for the brutality and became increasingly unpopular with the extreme left.
-The anarchists accused Azana of ruling for the benefit of the ruling classes, they accused him of ignoring the demands of the masses of working people.
-The event led to the death of the coalition as the Socialists rejected collaboration with left-wing Republicans and would contest the 1933 election
independently.
-The right took advantage of the situation. Right-wing papers engaged in a smear campaign in which they howled that the Republic was as barbaric, unjust and
corrupt as all previous regimes.
-Right-wing groups also exploited the event to strengthen their own position and became more united as a group to contest the next elections held in November 1933.