Radical-CEDA Biennium & Popular Front: Spain 1933-1936
Radical-CEDA Biennium (November 1933 – February 1936)
In the elections of November 1933, the right-wing parties won a crushing majority. Lerroux’s Radical Party formed the new government. The politics of the Radicales, supported by the parliamentary right-wing CEDA, consisted of dismantling the reforms of the reformist biennium. Land reform was suspended, and military reform was frozen. Heavy battles with nationalist groups continued, and the drafting of the Statute of Autonomy of the Basque Country was halted.
The most important event of this biennium was the Revolution of October 1934. Radicalized labor groups (PSOE, PCE, Esquerra Republicana) called for a revolutionary general strike. The strike was total in the industrial zones, and in Asturias, there was an armed insurrection. The government responded strongly, bringing in Moroccan troops and legionnaires. The mining areas were devastated, causing numerous casualties and fierce repression. There were more than 1,000 dead and 30,000 prisoners.
After these events, the Radical government was very weak, and CEDA increased its power, gaining several ministerial portfolios. Gil Robles became the Minister of War and the strongman of the government. From then on, an insurmountable gap opened between the right-wing in power and the defeated left-wing. Both sides formed large coalitions.
- The right-wing formed the National Bloc, led by Calvo Sotelo. This bloc was more conservative than CEDA and sought to create an authoritarian and corporate state in the style of Fascist Italy.
- The Spanish Falange, a right-wing group founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera, soon merged with the JONS. This was a fascist organization, a paramilitary group that sought to seize power through violence.
- The left formed the Popular Front, a coalition that stretched from the left-wing Republicans (Azaña) to the PSOE. Even the CNT would support the Popular Front, hoping that after the victory, an amnesty would be declared for the prisoners of the October Revolution.
Elections were finally called in February 1936. In an atmosphere of great tension, the two main groups, the Popular Front and the National Bloc with CEDA, faced each other.
The Popular Front Government (February – July 1936)
In the elections held in February 1936, the Popular Front won by a narrow margin. The masses opened the jails and released political prisoners detained during the Radical-CEDA Biennium. The Azaña government, which consisted only of the Left Republicans, quickly implemented the Popular Front’s program, resuming land reforms, granting amnesty, and restoring autonomy statutes.
However, the government remained weak and was soon overwhelmed by events. The National Bloc, after its defeat, devoted itself to supporting the military insurrection being prepared by Sanjurjo and Mola. The leftist parties were dragged into accepting armed confrontations against right-wing gunmen.
Upon being elected President of the Republic in May 1936, Azaña tried to appoint a socialist government headed by Prieto. However, dissension within the PSOE led to the imposition of the radical line of Largo Caballero, who refused to form a government with Azaña. This led to the appointment of Casares Quiroga, who chaired a weak government formed only by Republicans. This government was unable to dismantle the military conspiracy in motion.
In July 1936, the fighting culminated in the murder of Calvo Sotelo in retaliation for the murder of Lieutenant Castillo, chief of the Assault Guard. This murder served as a trigger for the military uprising that occurred on July 17-18 and marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.