Spain’s Dictatorship (1923-1930): An Overview
14.1.b) The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera
In 1923, Spanish society and politics were in a crisis situation, untenable since 1917. On September 13, Captain General of Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera, proclaimed a state of war. The government resigned, and the king handed power to the rebels, consummating the coup, which was favorably received by most Spaniards.
Primo de Rivera’s manifesto announced a new system, tentatively led by the military. Unlike 19th-century coups, it aimed not for a mere government change but to construct a stable regime—a dictatorship—blaming traditional liberal parties for the country’s ills and intending to eliminate elections and Parliament. While not aiming for a totalitarian order like fascism, he believed in order and strong governments.
After dissolving the Cortes, a Military Directorate was formed, presided over by Miguel Primo de Rivera and supported by the king. Public reaction was favorable or passive, hoping for an end to the previous system’s inability to solve national problems.
In 1924, he created the Patriotic Union party, attempting to unite pro-regime politicians for a gradual return to civilian rule. It wasn’t a single party like Italian Fascism, as other parties weren’t outlawed.
The Military Directorate transitioned to a Civil Directory in December 1925, appointing a government of former establishment party members, endorsed by a plebiscite. In 1927, a National Consultative Assembly was convened to prepare legislation for a return to normalcy. The Assembly met in 1928 but failed to agree on future constitutional arrangements. Ultimately, the dictatorship’s inability to find an institutional alternative to the past led to its downfall.
The dictatorship focused on addressing key issues:
- The Moroccan Question: Responsibility for the Annual disaster was deflected onto the Picasso file. Primo de Rivera favored withdrawing troops from newly conquered areas, despite military opposition. In 1924, the withdrawal began, causing heavy losses during the Rif attacks. Abd-el-Krim, emboldened, attacked French positions, leading to Spanish-French collaboration. Spanish landings at Alhucemas Bay and French attacks from Fez cornered Abd-el-Krim, who surrendered to the French. Peace came in 1926, the dictatorship’s biggest success, extending its lifespan.
- The Social Question: Primo de Rivera faced little resistance from the labor movement, which had strongly opposed the constitutional monarchy. Economic and social improvements occurred, partly because Primo de Rivera avoided harsh crackdowns and secured socialist cooperation, though not from anarchists or communists.
The PSOE and UGT viewed the dictatorship as temporary and weren’t prepared to defend the bourgeois regime they aimed to dismantle. However, some socialist collaboration caused division within the PSOE and UGT, with some leaders participating in the dictatorship’s institutions (e.g., Largo Caballero joining the Labor Council in 1925 after Pablo Iglesias’s death).
Another situation involved more radical groups. Anarchists in Spain increasingly favored anarcho-syndicalism over terrorism. The CNT faced the Board; many non-unionists were arrested, and others went into exile. The more revolutionary FAI (founded 1927) and the Communist Party (PC, founded 1921), declared illegal, were not very influential during the dictatorship.
In 1926, he created the Working Council (National Corporate Organization), a state-controlled, vertical-style union modeled on Mussolini’s Italian system, intended as a negotiation platform between employers and workers. The UGT initially participated but later withdrew, and the CNT refused altogether, scuttling the project.
The dictatorship’s economic policy was highly protectionist and interventionist, nationalizing industries (state monopolies like CAMPSA and Tobacco) and regulating the market by fixing prices and limiting new factories. The government also encouraged public works, favoring industrial development by building roads, hydropower plants, and investing in heavy industries (iron, steel, cement) where the Spanish business class lacked capacity. While initially positive, boosting industrial development, eliminating unemployment, and fostering social peace, this policy generated enormous public debt, burdening the Second Republic.
Lacking support from all sectors, including the army (with several judgments against him, like Sanjuana) and the king himself, Primo de Rivera resigned on January 27, 1930, which the King immediately accepted.
General Berenguer took over the government, announcing a return to constitutional rule and general elections. Described by some as Dictablanda and a failure by others (as in Ortega y Gasset’s article, “The Berenguer Error”), the government lost credibility, as did the monarchy, seen as obsolete. Republicanism gained ground among traditional liberals, conservatives (Miguel Maura founded the Republican Conservative Party, and Alcalá Zamora Niceto the Progressive Republican Party), nationalists, labor, students, intellectuals, and much of the army.
Republicans, impatient for elections, conspired to seize power. In August 1930, they met in San Sebastián and signed a pact involving Lerroux (Radical Republican Party leader), Azaña (Reform Party, a prestigious intellectual), and Alcalá Zamora, who became president of the revolutionary committee established in San Sebastián. The uprising failed due to lack of coordination. Committee members were arrested, but a wave of protests, strikes, and demonstrations shook the country. Berenguer, unable to control the situation, resigned on February 14, 1931.
Alfonso XIII tasked Admiral Aznar with forming a government limited to convening municipal elections on April 12 to elect new councils that would ensure clean future elections (they were responsible for establishing the census). Even though most elected councilors were monarchists, Republicans won in all provincial capitals where voting was clean. As Aznar admitted, the country had gone to bed monarchist and woken up republican.
On April 13, 1931, Alfonso XIII, advised by the government (Romanones) and surprising everyone, issued a manifesto abdicating the throne. The Second Republic was proclaimed the next day, April 14th.