Spain in the Early 20th Century: Social & Economic Shifts
Economic and Social Transformations in Early 20th Century Spain
Demographic trends common in all countries experiencing industrialization were characterized by a decrease in mortality and, later, in birth rates. Migration occurred because the economy grew less than the population. Emigration slowed once there was an expansion of internal migration, which resulted in increased urbanization.
Agrarian Issues and Peasant Unrest
Spanish agriculture entered the 20th century grappling with the consequences of the agrarian crisis that swept through Europe at the end of the 19th century. The crisis was overcome through the establishment of new barriers and the growth of production. The Spanish governments of the time were aware of the problems. Increasing irrigation was seen as a mechanism to overcome the effects, but the main problem was the large number of landless peasants. All these measures proved insufficient.
Economic Shifts and World War I
Among the causes that led to changes in the Spanish economy, the diffusion of electricity and oil stands out. One characteristic of the Spanish economy was the restriction of competition between companies and the constant intervention of the state, manifested in aid and rising protectionism.
Spain overcame the crisis quickly, which was favorable for the Spanish economy. Neutrality in World War I forced a certain renewal of the production structure, stimulating the growth of industrial production and energy changes, enabling an expansion. However, the end of the war unleashed a major crisis.
Dynastic Reformism
A reformist policy of administrative decentralization projects and budgetary policy began. The spirit of regeneration lasted only a year. In the spring of 1902, Alfonso XIII ascended to the throne and initiated a series of reforms.
Mobilization against the war began in the port of Barcelona. This derived into a popular revolt that broke the initial target of protest and ended up being a spontaneous outburst of all the accumulated social tensions. The subsequent repression was very harsh (Tragic Week of Barcelona).
In 1916, there was a revolutionary general strike on the grounds that the government should intervene, claiming to contain prices. This exploded in 1917 following a rail conflict. The army was sent to contain the movement, showing the regime’s weakness in violent situations.
Dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera
On September 13, General Miguel Primo de Rivera pronounced against the legality of the Constitution, declared martial law, and demanded that power should pass into the hands of the military, a military directory. He justified the need for change due to the situation of instability and the blockade of the parliamentary system, as well as its prestige derived from ongoing election fraud, the fear of a social revolution due to the rise of labor unrest, and the discontent of the army after the disaster of Annual. He closed the courts to avoid accountability for the events of the war in Morocco.
He announced his determination to rid the country of warlords and banditry, to end political and social indiscipline, and threats to national unity. The growing opposition intensified when the king and his entourage were convinced that the dictatorship was a danger to the permanence of the monarchy, and Primo de Rivera resigned on January 3, 1930.