Joaquín Costa’s Critique of Oligarchy in Spain
Oligarchy and Despotism: A Critique by Joaquín Costa
The author of this text is Joaquín Costa, the greatest exponent of Regeneracionismo, an intellectual movement of the 19th and 20th centuries that arose from the crisis and Spanish decline. This movement sought to find the reasons for this failure in political, social, and economic systems. In particular, Joaquín Costa seeks the causes of the crisis in the political arena.
The Bourbon Restoration and the Two-Party System
We find ourselves during the Bourbon Restoration, initiated by Alfonso XII following the recent First Republic, and precisely during the reign of Alfonso XIII. The political system was promoted by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and based on a two-party system with two official parties who supported the regime and took turns in power. It was a centralized system, promoting government from the center and possessing all powers.
Importantly, this text was written close to the disaster of 1898, the loss of the colonies of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines.
Critique of the Canovist System
The text is based on a critique of the Canovist system, labeling it as the cause of the Spanish crisis. It tries not only to criticize but also to find a solution. This text was read as a cultural memory during a meeting.
The author begins by presenting the major components of the Canovist system, focusing on the oligarchs, the chiefs, and the provincial governors.
- The Oligarchs: These were people who, as the author says, “ordinarily resident in the center,” referring to the power brokers and people living in Madrid. They held a privileged position economically and struggled to preserve and promote their own rights. They were a conservative class, opposed to the lower working class.
- The Chiefs: They had great administrative power and were able to control large masses of people. They held major importance in rural areas and aimed at ensuring that the election results were those desired by the government and their own interests.
- The Civil Governors: Costa criticizes the civil governors, referring to them as a “foreign body” or “foreign.” They acted as instruments for carrying out government expectations and did not represent the people’s needs.
How the System Worked
The system worked as follows: The King, faced with a crisis, would choose a Prime Minister who was in charge of forming a government. The Prime Minister would then elect a Minister of Government, who was in charge of creating the electoral lists containing all candidates for the post of deputy, both from the official and non-official parties. This list was then communicated to the Civil Governor, who in turn communicated with the chiefs to obtain the expected election results.
Electoral Fraud and the Illusion of Democracy
However, they resorted to fraudulent activities such as the simulation of elections, the falsification of records, or manipulation in the counting of votes. Therefore, universal suffrage, achieved under President Sagasta and so fought for by Democrats, was only a simulation of a democratic monarchy.
Joaquín Costa’s Legacy
Joaquín Costa did not achieve his goal of ending oligarchy and despotism with this text. However, it would serve as a model for many subsequent presidents, such as Antonio Maura, José Canalejas, and Eduardo Dato, as well as for policies that embraced regeneration. Although the development of the first cities led to citizens becoming increasingly aware of their rights and entering into a crisis of chieftaincy, this situation would not change completely until the military coup of Miguel Primo de Rivera, who many saw as the “iron surgeon” that Joaquín Costa longed for in Spain.