Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship: Causes, Policies, and Aftermath
The Causes of Primo de Rivera’s Coup
Since 1917, Spain was in a deep economic and social crisis. This, combined with the loss of prestige and the blocking of the constitutional system, exposed the country to the danger of social revolution. The decomposition of the Restoration regime was evident with chronic parliamentary instability, growing opposition from nationalists and republicans, and a division within the dynastic parties. The crisis of parliamentary systems in Europe led to authoritarian or dictatorial systems as a means to avoid social revolution.
The oligarchy perceived the danger of social revolution as real since 1917. In Barcelona, violence prevailed since 1922, and Captain General Primo de Rivera was in charge. In the countryside, especially in Andalusia, the years 1918-1920 are known as the Bolshevik Triennium. The army’s role was also a cause, due to the adoption of the Law of Jurisdictions and its confrontation with civil society, especially after the Disaster of Annual and the parliamentary inquiry that followed with the Picasso Report. This inquiry sought to avoid consequences for some military figures and even the King, who adopted an ambiguous position and eventually agreed to live with a dictatorship.
The Corporatism of the Dictatorship and the UGT
The dictatorship copied some corporate institutions and foreign forms, such as joint committees and the National Corporate Organization. However, the fascist nature of the scheme was superficial. The most significant aspect was the attempt to solve social conflicts with the establishment of joint committees, which were arbitral bodies in companies to resolve labor disputes. These committees consisted of ten members: five representatives of the workers, five of the employers’ organizations, and two from the Ministry of Labour.
To make the system work, the dictator got the Socialists and the Trade Unions Free to cooperate. In contrast, the CNT and the PCE were marginalized and persecuted. The Socialists cooperated for two main reasons: a moderate, reformist policy after the failure of 1917, which improved the lives of workers, and the pursuit of the CNT left the socialist UGT without competition. This collaboration received strong criticism.
The Economic Policy of the Dictatorship
The dictatorship accentuated some of the basic tendencies of capitalism in the first third of the 20th century:
- Economic nationalism was strengthened with the creation of the state monopoly on imports, oil refining, and distribution (CAMPSA). Large monopolies were granted for tobacco and telephone services, and the traditional protectionist policy continued.
- The power of the financial oligarchy increased. Large banks continued to expand.
- The dictatorship began a series of measures to improve the country’s infrastructure: building roads, expanding the network of railways, and a hydraulic plan that increased irrigation and electrification.
The years of dictatorship were, on average, years of economic growth due to the international situation (the Roaring Twenties) and the creation of jobs generated by public works. However, the public works policy deepened the secular crisis of finance, the multiplication of debt, and the sudden drop in the price of the peseta. The arrival of the Great Depression (1929) showed that the success of the economic policy of the dictatorship had been circumstantial.
The Country and the Spanish Army
The situation in Spain was one of misery, which had started in 1898 with the disaster of the war with the U.S. This led to the loss of Spain’s last colonies. There was social conflict (murders, robberies, social indiscipline, communist propaganda), which was of particular concern in Barcelona and Andalusia, where the years 1918-1920 are known as “the Bolshevik triennium.” The issue of Morocco after the Disaster of Annual and the passions aroused by the issue of responsibility were in the limelight due to the parliamentary inquiry reflected in the Picasso Report. Finally, peripheral nationalisms boomed after 1898, especially in Catalonia and the Basque Country, and there was confrontation between nationalist movements and the army against the backdrop of the Law of Jurisdictions.
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera was a military and Spanish politician, chief minister as chairman of the Board and the Military Civil Board, positions from which he exercised the dictatorship (1923-1930). He was a surgeon who became the “iron surgeon” that Joaquín Costa spoke of, with the acquiescence of King Alfonso XIII. On September 1, 1929, the decline of the dictatorship began. The king and the army no longer supported him, while opposition groups and the organization of the Republicans increased. In January 1930, Primo de Rivera resigned and began his exile in Paris.
The Political System Imposed After the Coup
The new regime began with the formation of a military board that suspended the constitution, banned political parties and unions, and dismissed all elected representatives. Repression mainly targeted the CNT, nationalism, the media, and intellectuals. In 1925, the military board was replaced by a civilian board that included far-right political figures like Calvo Sotelo. The attempt to consolidate the dictatorship with corporate institutions failed. The Patriotic Union, the official party of the dictator, never became a mass party. The dictatorship abolished the Commonwealth of Catalonia and banned the public use of Catalan. This radicalized the nationalist movement and created difficulties for the Regionalist League leaders.
The Spanish Protectorate in Morocco
The Rif area in Morocco was granted to Spain at the International Conference of Algeciras (1906). The conference was convened due to the misgivings created by English and German expansion in North Africa. It was agreed that France and Spain would share custody of Morocco. The Spanish presence responded not only to the protection of Ceuta and Melilla but also to various interests. Some sections of the army sought to rebuild their reputation after the disaster of 1898.
The Annual Disaster
The Annual disaster was an important consequence: it served to unite the army, sharply divided between Spaniards and Africanists, against the politicians who were blamed for not providing the appropriate means to achieve the goals in Morocco. This encouraged military rebellion against the Parliament, an institution considered incompetent, especially after the research culminating in the Picasso Report.
The Alhucemas Landing
The Alhucemas landing was a military landing held on September 8, 1925, in Al Hoceima by the Spanish army and navy, with a smaller contingent of French allies. It led to the Moroccan War. It is considered the first naval landing in world history. In Al Hoceima, tanks were used for the first time in a landing. It was also the first time in history in which air support, naval, and ground forces operated under unified command, creating the modern concept of amphibious landing.