Section 4: The failure of the Popular Front, 1936

Question 1

At the end of 1935 what did president Alcala-Zamora do? and what were the results of the election?

Answer 1

he dissolved the cortes and called for an election for February 1936.
-the election saw the Popular Front, a coalition of left-wing groups, emerge victorious

Question 2

What did the left-wing victory of the February 1936 election intensify?

Answer 2

-the left-wing victory intensified middle-class fears that Spain would become an irreligious, lawless, and socialist country.

Question 3

How did leading members of the military feel about the left-wing victory?

Answer 3

-leading members of the military felt the new government posed a direct threat to Spains national security.
-specifically, they feared that a republic was not strong enough to stand up to what they considered to be the growing threat of a communist revolution, or determined enough to keep Spain unified in the face of demands for autonomy from the Spanish regions
-in this sense, some military leaders believed that that it was not simply the new gov that was a threat to Spain, but the Republican constitution also needed to be overthrown

Question 4

Right wing fears increased when Azana did what? and what did this result in?

Answer 4

right wing fears increased as Azana agreed to grant more autonomy to Catalonia and failed to stop peasants form seizing land illegally.
-these tensions resulted in an attempted coup d’état in July 1936, which led to the Spanish Civil war

Question 5

What did the February 1936 election reveale?

Answer 5

revealed the extent of political division in Spain.

Question 6

What were the results of the February 1936 election?

Answer 6

Popular Front: 267 seats in the cortes
Centre Republicans: 57 seats in the cortes
CEDA: 131 seats in the cortes

Question 7

What were the fresh reforms that the new Popular Front gov initiated? and what did right-wing groups think of these measures?

Answer 7

-the restoration of Catalan autonomy
-the beginnings of draft legislation to give similar independence to the Basque Country
-the resumption of agrarian and military reforms
– right-wing groups denounced these measures as an attack on the nation

Question 8

How radical was the right wing opposition to this new government compared to the right wing opposition faced by the left-wing gov of 1931-32?

Answer 8

right-wing opposition to the new government was more radical than the opposition faced by the left-wing government of 1931-32
-some groups on the right had rejected legal methods and resorted to achieving their aims by force

Question 9

When did the extremist nature of some right-wing groups become obvious?

Answer 9

during the February 1936 election
-prominent right wingers engaged in a plot to prevent the Popular Front Government from taking power.

Question 10

Who did Gil-Robles and other right-wing leaders put pressure on and for what?

Answer 10

-they put pressure on Manuel Portela Valladares, prime minister at the time of the election, to proclaim martial law and declare the results of the February election invalid.
-declaring martial law would effectively pass power to the army.
-the plan failed, as senior generals did not believe the army was ready to take power, but the attempt was a clear indication of the seriousness of right-wing opposition to the Popular Front.

Question 11

during the 1936 election campaign, what happened to extreme right-wing groups? and what was there a rise in?

Answer 11

they attracted more members.
-there was a rise in Spaniards joining the Falange.

Question 12

What was the Falange?

Answer 12

a fascist group that explicitly advocated destroying democracy and creating a dictatorship backed by the military.

Question 13

Who established the Falange? and what year was it established?

Answer 13

the Falangist was established by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, the son of Miguel Primo de Rivera.
-it was established in 1933

Question 14

Who did the Falange praise the methods of?

Answer 14

praised the methods of the Italian Fascists and German Nazis, particularly their use of propaganda, their creation of paramilitary groups and their emphasis on extreme nationalism

Question 15

By July 1936, how many members did the Falange have?

Answer 15

by the end of July 1936 it had 40,000 members.

Question 16

what is was it that increased in the streets from February? and what was this a clear sign of?

Answer 16

right-wing violence on the streets increased from February. This was a clear sign that violence was becoming an increasingly central part of Spanish politics

Question 17

What also increased after the election? (hint: its on politicians)

Answer 17

attacks on left-wing politicians increased after the election.
-for example, Largo Caballeros house was was attacked on 16 March 1936

Question 18

What did the formation of the Popular Front fail to end?

Answer 18

it failed to end political instability. Rather, political division continued to deepen.
-some on the left renewed their calls for a socialist revolution, while right-wing opposition to the new government became increasingly violent

Question 19

With the new Popular Front in government, what was the extreme left, in part, motivated by? What did the FNTT encourage peasants to do? and what did Azana do about such actions?

Answer 19

they were in part, motivated by the opportunity to exact vengeance against landlords and employers who had used the two years of right-wing government to exploit and supress workers.
-the FNTT encouraged peasants who had been victims of eviction to undertake illegal occupations in order to reclaim land. On 25 March 1936, 60,000 peasants in the region of Extremadura seized 3,000 farms.
-instead of stopping this action, Azana actually legalised the peasants’ actions, which enraged landlords

Question 20

What was the increased militancy of the left also due to?

Answer 20

-due to worsening conditions caused by poor harvests. Almost constant rain between December 1935 and March 1936 had severely damaged crops. Poor harvests meant even lower living standards for peasants, and continued unemployment

Question 21

What did left-wing militancy increase?

Answer 21

it increased conservative fears of social revolution, which were further fuelled by the militant rhetoric of the more left-wing elements of Largo Caballero’s PSOE
-Caballero advocated social revolution, and although this prospect was far from a reality, and far from the intention of the PSOE as a whole, it alarmed conservative opinion

Question 22

Why was the Popular Front government weakened?

Answer 22

-it was weakened by the refusal of Caballero and his supporters in the PSOE to participate in the cabinet
-it was also weakened because Largo Caballero and his supporters also vetoed Indalecio Prieto’s appointment as PM which resulted in Santiago Casares Quiroga becoming PM. This weakened the gov as it seemed to confirm the rights view that the left was ineffectual and divided. It also deprived the Popular Front of effective leadership given Prieto’s strong leadership credentials

Question 23

Why did the PSOE refuse to enter the government?

Answer 23

it refused to enter the government on the grounds that any coalition government would dilute the social reform agenda the PSOE wished to pursue

Question 24

In April 1936, what were the important changes at the top of the government?

Answer 24

-Azana replaced Alcala-Zamora as president and Santiago Casares Quiroga became the new prime minister

Question 25

How was the appointment of Azana as president interpreted by many on the right?

Answer 25

it was interpreted by many on the right as a first step towards the establishment of a Marxist regime in Spain

Question 26

Within the cities, what continued to be organised?

Answer 26

-within the cities, the UGT and the CNT continued to organise strikes to protest against low wages.
-the strikes often led to violent clashes between the Falange militia and striking workers

Question 27

On the streets, what did right-wing militants frequently do?

Answer 27

they frequently used violence to provoke left-wing reprisals in order to add further credence to claims of left-wing lawlessness and the powerlessness of the Popular Front government.
-the right-wing argued that the new government had lost control of the country

Question 28

What did right-wing propaganda focus on?

Answer 28

it focused on the dangers of a Marxist revolution and the break-up of Spain if the Popular Front remained in power
-this theme was taken up by the right-wing press. While there was clearly disorder, the extent was exaggerated significantly by the right-wing press, as was the danger of a left-wing revolution.

Question 29

What did Gil-Robles use his position in the cortes to do?

Answer 29

he used his position in the cortes to make inflammatory speeches about the forthcoming revolution, arguing that a right-wing uprising was the only way to save Spain.
-according to his figures there had been 300 large-scale strikes, 269 murders and the destruction of 251 churches in the first months of the new government.
-these statistics may well have been inflated, but they served their purpose and created panic in Spain’s middle class
-Gil-Robles used them as an excuse to call for a military takeover to restore order
-Notable, this was all part of a campaign to justify a military uprising that was already being planned in the highest ranks of the army.

Question 30

Behind the scenes, what was Gil-Robles doing?

Answer 30

-he was negotiating with leading figures in the army and the Falange in order to create an alliance in support of a new authoritarian government

Question 31

What did Gil-Robles do in May?

Answer 31

he publicly abandoned Democracy.
-he argued that democracy in Spain had led to a complete breakdown of law and order.
-therefore, he claimed that the only way to prevent a communist takeover was to create a strong fascist regime with the support of the Falange and the army

Question 32

What gave general Emilio Mola, the military commander of Pamplona in northern Spain, the pretext to launch his coup?

Answer 32

the assassination of Jose Calvo Sotelo in July 1936

Question 33

What was the reason behind the assassination of Calvo Sotelo?

Answer 33

it was a revenge murder for the murder of Jose Castillo, a prominent left-wing member of the Assault Guard. His colleagues in the Assault Guard retaliated by targeting right-wing figures. Their initial target was Gil-Robles, but they were unable to locate him. Instead, they arrested and killed Sotelo.

Question 34

What were the consequences of Sotelo’s assassination?

Answer 34

• Gil-Robles blamed the government for ordering the assassination.
• It convinced the middles classes that the government had begun murdering its own citizens and they had lost control of the country.
• It made General Emilio Mola, a military commander in the north of Spain (Pamplona) to launch his coup arguing that the
  assassination was the first step from the state to start a Marxist revolution.
• Mola’s accusations, although false, were widely believed and it also convinced Franco to take part in the coup.

Question 35

What did Mola assume about the military coup?

Answer 35

he assumed that it would be successful.
-he believed that the army would be able to crush any resistance swiftly and overthrow the government

Question 36

Who could Mola count of for support?

Answer 36

he could count on the support of the army’s middle-ranking officers to support the military coup
-the Spanish Military Union (UME) was a secretive organisation of more than 3,500 officers that played a key role in the establishment of cells of conspirators throughout the country

Question 37

Prior to the attempted coup, what had Mola arranged?

Answer 37

he had arranged an alliance with the Carlists and the Falange to ensure their participation in the uprising.
-he also sought the support of political groups to give the impression his actions had public support

Question 38

Was Gil-Robles involved with the plot?

Answer 38

yes.
-there had been frequent meetings between prominent CEDA members and the military conspirators in the months before the uprising.
-Gil-Robles donated 500,000 pesetas to the army and instructed provincial CEDA leaders to join with the military in the event of an uprising against the government

Question 39

What did the uprising begin with? and what was it followed by?

Answer 39

began with the revolt of the army garrison in Morocco on 17 July 1936. This was followed by the uprising of garrisons throughout mainland Spain.

Question 40

Did the uprising face resistance?

Answer 40

yes, a considerable amount, particularly in areas where left-wing unions were strong, such as the rural south and in major cities such as Barcelona and Madrid

Question 41

In response to the uprising, what did trade unions quickly do?

Answer 41

they quickly mobilised civilians into militia units and joined with troops and Civil Guards loyal to the republic to resist the military rebels.

Question 42

What was the result of the uprising?

Answer 42

the result was that the uprising was unable to overthrow the government and only able to take control of parts of Spain.

Question 43

With control of Spanish territory divided, what was set?

Answer 43

the stage was set for a civil war as both sides sought to establish ultimate authority