Political and Social Reforms of the Spanish Republic (1931-1933)
Political and Social Status of the Republic
The Reform Biennium (1931-1933)
Between 1931 and 1933, Manuel Azaña presided over an administration consisting of Left Republicans and Socialists, who pushed a program of expansion and deepening of reforms during this period, as were the following:
1. The Reform of the Army
The Republican government was convinced that the army was one of the institutions most in need of a profound transformation. Thus, a reform prompted by Azaña intended to create a professional and democratic army. To achieve this, it was deemed necessary to reduce the military, modify special laws for military personnel, and ensure their obedience to the Republican civil authority. To do this, they set the “law of retirement of the officer,” for all active military, who should pledge their support for the regime, giving them the possibility of retiring with full pay if they so wished. In addition, they took other measures including the closure of the Military Academy of Zaragoza to curb the growing number of officers, and the disappearance of Courts of Honor, etc. Military reform did not fully achieve its objectives because the number of retired officers was less than expected. A reduction in military expenditure was achieved, making the modernization of equipment, weapons, and facilities difficult. Therefore, the law was welcomed by some sections of the army as an attack on Spanish military tradition.
2. The Religious Problem
The Republic proposed to limit the influence of the church in Spanish society and the secularization of social life. The state was declared non-denominational, religious freedom was established, and the state budget for worship and the clergy was abolished. It also allowed divorce and civil marriage. The fear of the influence of the church through education led to the dissolution of the Jesuit order, the nationalization of their property, and the prohibition of teaching by other orders. The religious problem created the greatest enemies of the republican regime. A good part of the hierarchy did not hesitate to express their hostility to the Republic and to mobilize Catholic opinion against it. The hostile attitude of the Cardinal likely increased the climate of tension and traditional anticlericalism of some of the popular classes, as well as sporadic violence (burning of convents) by the most radical.
3. The Land Reform
The reform of agriculture was the largest project undertaken by the Republic. From a workforce of some 8.5 million people, almost half worked in agriculture, where almost 2 million were day laborers. Over 50% of the land was owned by a small group of large landowners. Since its inception, the leaders of the Republic set out to find solutions to the land issue to improve the situation of the peasants. A first series of decrees were issued to protect the landless and tenants. They also set the eight-hour workday in the field and determined the establishment of minimum wages and the obligation of owners of land to put under cultivation land suited to it. But the real test was conducted with the development of an agrarian reform law that was passed by parliament in September 1932. The goal was not the expropriation of large estates and land settlement. The law allowed the expropriation without compensation of land belonging to the nobility, as well as poorly cultivated land, but compensating the owners. The enforcement was entrusted to the Agrarian Reform Institute (ARI). The results of the reforms were quite limited and led to considerable social tension. They ended up expropriating many fewer hectares than planned and settled far fewer farmers than expected initially. The causes of this failure were:
- The technical complexity of the law itself.
- The slowness and difficulties of implementation.
- The lack of budget allocated by the government for compensation.
- The resistance of the owners, who resorted to every means to evade the law.
The implementation of land reform had social consequences in the population:
- The large owners expressed their discontent and often remained defiant against the peasants.
- The majority of landowners allied with the enemies of the Republic.
- The farmers were disappointed and were oriented politically towards more revolutionary and violent positions.
4. Autonomy
The configuration of an autonomous state was a right that had been recognized by the Constitution of 1931. In Catalonia, on 14 April 1934, Francesc Macià, president of Esquerra Republicana, had proclaimed the Catalan Republic within the Iberian Federation, but that was canceled following the negotiations held with the Interim Government. He acknowledged an autonomous government (Generalitat) and a committee was charged with drafting a statute (Statute of Nuria). In August 1931, it was submitted to Parliament for discussion and the project had the right view. The statute of Catalonia was eventually approved. The scheme had a Catalan regional government and parliament with skills in economic, social, and educational matters. The first Parliament elections gave victory to the Catalan Republican Left of Catalonia, and Macià was elected president of the Generalitat. In the Basque Country, the draft statute, which was undemocratic in character, was opposed by left-wing Republicanism, which considered it incompatible with the democratic and republican constitution. In October 1936, a statute with a clearly democratic character was adopted. José Antonio Aguirre, the leader of the PNV, was elected the first Lendakari.