Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship and Catalan Politics
The Fall of Primo de Rivera
The growing opposition, disagreements with the military, the attempted coup on the night of San Juan in 1926, the economic crisis of 1929 (which caused the devaluation of the peseta and a trade deficit), and increasing dissent left Primo de Rivera without support. In 1930, he consulted with military leaders and resigned on January 28th, without consulting the King, and exiled himself to Paris. He was replaced by Dámaso Berenguer. The CNT, UGT, and PSOE opposed the monarchy, and Republicanism and peripheral nationalism joined in a common front to establish the Second Republic with the Pact of San Sebastian in August 1930.
Catalan Politics
The most important ideological work of the time is La Nacionalitat Catalana (1906) by Enric Prat de la Riba, which distinguishes between nation and state.
There were three main political ideologies:
- Conservative Catalanism: The Regionalist League (1901), formed from the Catalan National Center (1899) and the Regionalist Union. This party held hegemony until 1923. In 1906, it created Catalan Solidarity, and in 1914, it established the Commonwealth of Catalonia.
- Left-Wing Catalanism: The Catalan Republican Party, founded in 1917 by Layret and Companys. The Catalan State, founded in 1922 by Francesc Macià (who attempted to invade Catalonia, leading to the events of Prats de Molló). The Socialist Union of Catalonia, founded in 1923 by Manuel Serra i Moret and Gabriel Alomar.
- Anti-Catalanism: The Radical Republican Party, founded in 1908 by Alejandro Lerroux. It found its roots among the working classes, especially non-integrated immigrants.
The Mancomunitat
- Federation of the four Catalan provinces.
- The project was initiated in 1911 by Enric Prat de la Riba and approved in 1913.
- Established in 1914, with Prat de la Riba as President.
- It had no political power but accomplished extraordinary work.
- Creation of schools and institutes.
- Modernization of Catalonia.
- Suppressed in 1924 by order of Primo de Rivera.
Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
- Military dictatorship, unlike other European dictatorships.
- Primo de Rivera did not have a Fascist ideology.
- Two phases of government: Military Directory (1923-25) and Civil Directory (1925-30).
Support
Supported by the rural world, where caciquismo (political bossism) was prevalent, along with landowners and the financial and industrial bourgeoisie, including those in Catalonia.
Opposition
Opposition came from the urban middle classes, students, and intellectuals. Peripheral nationalisms (Galician, Basque, and Catalan) also opposed the regime. Initially, Primo de Rivera was very hostile towards these nationalisms, but they later gained strength. The PSOE and UGT collaborated with the dictatorship until 1929, when Primo de Rivera proposed that Congress be replaced by a National Assembly. The CNT was declared illegal and went underground, leading to the formation of the FAI in 1927.
Military Directory (1923-25)
Primo de Rivera attempted to organize politics based on two parties: the Patriotic Union, founded by himself, which was intended to represent the right, and the PSOE, which was not accepted. The most significant action was the resolution of the Moroccan issue, with the victory in 1925 over the troops of the warlord Abd el-Krim, thanks to the military landing operations at Al Hoceima. Social conflict decreased due to the economic prosperity of the 1920s, the lack of freedom, and the repression of the radical labor movement.
Civil Directory (1925-30)
Political action tended towards the creation of a National Consultative Assembly, which was not democratically elected and was composed of representatives of the agrarian oligarchy. They built roads, modernized railways, and constructed dams and irrigation channels, which helped reduce unemployment. These projects were financed by private loans due to a tax reform that did not compel those who could afford it to pay their respective taxes.