Early 20th Century Spain: Social and Political Upheaval
CNT:
At the beginning of the twentieth century, anarchist-inspired societies and workers’ unions emerged. In 1907, Workers Solidarity, a federation of apolitical workers’ associations advocating for revolutionary struggle, was founded. It established its own press in 1910 and promoted the creation of the National Confederation of Labour (CNT).
The CNT aimed to expand throughout Spain and provide stability to the anarchist movement. This revolutionary union was based on three principles:
- Independence of the proletariat from the bourgeoisie and its institutions (making it apolitical).
- The need for unity among workers.
- Overthrowing capitalism through the expropriation of the bourgeoisie.
Revolutionary action was to be carried out through strikes and boycotts, culminating in a general strike. The union was banned until 1914. In the years following World War I, CNT membership surged from 15,000 in 1915 to 700,000 by the end of 1919. This period also saw the rise of its prominent leaders, including Salvador Seguí, Angel Pestaña, and Juan Peiró.
Governments of Concentration:
The first attempts to democratize the government involved the creation of concentration governments, proposed by the king after the resignation of Eduardo Dato in October 1917. Two such governments were formed (one chaired by the liberal García Prieto and the other by the conservative Maura), composed of liberals, conservatives, and reformists. For the first time, the Regionalist League joined the state government.
This marked a break from the two-party system, but the alliance between the liberal-conservative oligarchy and the regionalists was a desperate attempt to maintain power and contain the revolutionary threat. These governments implemented reforms. For example, under the liberal García Prieto, attempts were made to appease the army with wage increases and promotions based on seniority. During Maura’s 1918 government, with the regionalist Cambo as Minister of Development, progress was made in agriculture, public works, railways, and cultural development.
The failure of the concentration governments (a third was formed in 1921 after the Annual Disaster) led to the return of the dynastic system in 1919.
Bolshevik Triennium (1918-1921):
The triumph of the Bolshevik Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet state in Russia inspired revolutionary groups worldwide. In Spain, the end of World War I brought about a sudden shift in economic conditions. Production declined, unemployment rose, and prices soared, leading to worker mobilization and significant growth in trade unionism.
In Andalusia, rural poverty, exacerbated by rising prices, led to the Bolshevik Triennium (1918-1921). Anarchists, and to a lesser extent socialists, spearheaded peasant revolts driven by land hunger and deteriorating living conditions. Crops were burned, lands were occupied, and strike committees controlled many towns. Cordoba, with 23 strikes involving over 30,000 agricultural workers, became the epicenter of a peasant movement that spread to other provinces in Andalusia, Extremadura, and La Mancha. The government responded by declaring a state of war, banning trade unions, and arresting their leaders.
Pistolerismo:
Labor protests escalated into radical actions by both trade unions and employers, particularly in Catalonia. To counter the growing strength of unions, employers formed the Employers’ Federation and hired gunmen (pistoleros) to assassinate union leaders and workers. They also resorted to lockouts (closing factories). Additionally, they created the Free Trade Union, a company-controlled union used to promote violence against the anarchist CNT.
Some groups linked to the CNT responded with violent activism, attacking authorities, employers, and law enforcement. The Barcelona Employers’ Federation demanded forceful measures, and General Martínez Anido, civil governor of Barcelona, implemented a policy of protecting the employers’ gunmen. He launched a harsh crackdown on trade unionists and enforced the Law of Fugitives, which allowed police to shoot prisoners during escape attempts.
This period, known as the Pistolerismo (1916-1923), witnessed over 800 attacks resulting in 226 deaths, including that of Prime Minister Eduardo Dato, assassinated by CNT militants in 1921. Prominent businessmen and union leaders were also targeted, such as Salvador Seguí (known as El Noi del Sucre) in 1923 and the labor lawyer Francesc Layret in 1920, both killed by hired gunmen.
Annual Disaster (1921):
In the early 1920s, Rif tribes in the eastern protectorate of Morocco, near Melilla, constantly harassed the Spanish army. In 1921, several operations were launched to control the rebels. General Manuel Fernández Silvestre, a close associate of King Alfonso XIII and a supporter of advancing into the Rif, was appointed to command the army in the area.
Silvestre initiated an offensive into the territory that culminated in the Annual Disaster. The Spanish army was defeated, losing all occupied territory and suffering around 13,000 casualties, including Silvestre himself. The year 1923 brought unstable governments and heightened social tension. The announcement that the Annual Disaster would be debated in Parliament and that the army and even the monarch could be held responsible mobilized right-wing sectors who had been advocating for a military dictatorship as a solution to the crisis.
National Consultative Assembly (1927):
By 1926, the idea of a temporary dictatorship was abandoned, and Miguel Primo de Rivera sought to institutionalize his regime, aiming for continuity and permanence. The path towards an authoritarian regime began with the establishment of a National Consultative Assembly in 1927. This body had a corporatist character, as its members were not elected but appointed from among citizens belonging to major public institutions (municipalities, universities, government bodies, employers’ associations, and workers’ representatives). Universal suffrage was completely disregarded.
Patriotic Union:
To foster support for the new system, a single party called the Patriotic Union was created. This was a government party without an ideological program, whose primary purpose was to provide social support for the dictatorship and follow the directives of those in power. The new party’s members came mainly from the ranks of Catholicism, government officials, and rural landowners. The Somatén (a volunteer militia) was also reactivated and placed under government control to assist in maintaining public order.