Spain’s Military Dictatorship: The Primo de Rivera Era
Primo de Rivera’s Dictatorship (1923-1930)
The Rise of the Dictatorship
The years following World War I were a period of intense conflict across Europe, including Spain. The end of wartime economic prosperity exacerbated social tensions. The Restoration’s failure to democratize and the political disarray caused by the Disaster of Annual led conservatives to seek a solution in military dictatorship.
Between 1918 and 1923, Spain experienced numerous short-lived governments. Constant recourse to emergency measures, suspension of constitutional guarantees, and parliamentary closures became the norm.
Amidst this constitutional crisis, the army’s political prominence grew. They presented themselves as a forceful solution capable of saving the monarchy.
Opposition parties, primarily Republicans and Socialists, struggled to establish a strong alternative program with broad electoral support. The Radical Party, losing worker support, shifted towards conservative positions. Other Republican factions remained fragmented and lacked effective leadership.
While the Socialist Party (PSOE) gained members and electoral strength, its new leaders favored parliamentarism and moderate reform. However, the Russian Revolution caused internal divisions. Disagreements within the PSOE led to the formation of the Communist Party of Spain (PCE).
Union membership, particularly in the CNT, surged in the post-war years.
In Andalusia, peasant misery fueled the “Bolshevik Triennium” (1918-1921). Anarchists and Socialists led peasant revolts, occupying land and controlling municipalities through strike committees. This movement stemmed from land hunger and deteriorating living conditions.
The strike movement intensely affected industrial regions, especially Barcelona. The 1919 La Canadiense strike, lasting over a month, resulted in an agreement for worker reinstatement, raises, and an eight-hour workday. However, the employer’s failure to release detainees reignited the strike, leading to business closures and harsh repression.
Morocco and the Disaster of Annual
The Spanish protectorate in Morocco was economically marginal and geographically challenging. Popular classes opposed further colonial war, and the army was divided over the issue.
After a lull during World War I, Spanish authorities renewed military action in Morocco. Abd-el-Krim’s tribes launched a surprise attack at Annual, routing the unprepared Spanish troops. The Disaster of Annual exposed the army’s disorganization and had significant consequences for the political system.
The government resigned, and parliamentary inquiries aimed to investigate the disaster. The resulting Picasso Dossier sparked heated debates and faced army opposition. The case never reached court, as Primo de Rivera’s coup intervened.
The Dictatorship (1923-1930)
On September 13, 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera, defying constitutional legality, declared a state of war and demanded power be transferred to the military. King Alfonso XIII entrusted him with forming a new military government.
The dictatorship had two phases:
- The Military Directory (1923-1925)
- The Civil Directory (1925-1930)