Spain’s Parliamentary Crisis: WWI, Social Unrest & Dictatorship
2. Crisis of parliamentarism The impact of the First World War. At the outbreak of World War I, the government of Eduardo Dato declares neutrality. Despite the political neutrality, social sectors are divided into two camps: aliadófilos and Germanophiles. This division is also reflected in the Conservative and Liberal parties. This neutrality promotes the expansion of the economy. Spain supplies countries at war with raw materials and industrial products. While the bourgeoisie is enriched by the benefits of the war, the working classes suffer a decline in living standards. All this leads to social unrest and the rise of the labor movement, which led to a large number of strikes.
The crisis of 1917.
In the summer of 1917, the Restoration faces 3 major conflicts:
- The military crisis: Military reform to modernize the army by reducing the number of officers causes military unrest. This discontent led to the formation of Juntas by unions. The government, fearing a coup by the military, ended this reform.
- The political crisis: Cambó, Lliga leader, called on senators and deputies to a Parliamentary Assembly in Barcelona. This assembly forms a provisional government and calls for a Constituent Parliament to amend the Constitution and adopt the autonomy of Catalonia. However, the limited political support for the Assembly and the rejection of the Juntas led to the dissolution of the House.
- The social crisis: In March 1917, the UGT and CNT called for a general strike. The strike broke out in August, which was more intense in Madrid, Barcelona, the Basque Country, and Asturias. The army fired on and arrested the workers.
The destruction of the liberal parliamentary system.
After the crisis of 1917, there is great political instability. Weak governments are formed that take exceptional measures, including the closure of the Courts. Non-dynastic parties also had their best moment: the Socialist Party is divided and forms the Communist Party (PCE), the Republicans are weakened by internal divisions, and Catalan and Basque nationalism demands autonomy. The social crisis favors the growth of trade unions, increasing their membership. This union growth leads businesses to form free trade unions to fight against them by laying off and closing factories. In Andalusia, the peasants who had denounced their miserable living conditions formed the Bolshevik triennium. The peasant revolt opens the way to a trade union movement led by the CNT and the UGT. The government declared revolt against this war that put an end to this social revolution. This conflict of farmers coincided with a major social conflict in Barcelona: the Canadian strike. The Canadian was a power company in Barcelona that left the city without electricity for 44 days. It was the most important strike in Spanish labor history. The government negotiated with them and adopted: reduction of working hours to 8 hours, higher wages, and reinstatement of the dismissed. However, the military authorities did not want to release the detainees, and the CNT declared a general strike. The employers responded by closing companies and hiring gunmen to eliminate anarcho-syndicalism. The government then declared a state of war.
But it was in Morocco where the most serious crisis occurred. During World War 1, colonial operations in Morocco broke down, but when the war began, the occupation of the territory resumed. General Berenguer started the occupation and directed General Silvestre not to advance to the Rif. The Spanish troops were surrounded in Annual. Silvestre was removed and fled to Melilla, losing the area that had been occupied. The tragedy of Annual had great political consequences, and responsibilities were demanded. The government then appointed a commission headed by General Picasso. The commission attributed responsibility for the disaster to the king. Before the report of the committee came to the Cortes, General Primo de Rivera led a coup, imposing a military dictatorship.