Spanish Agrarian Reform Law of 1932: Historical and Statistical Analysis
Spanish Agrarian Reform Law (1932)
Classification
This document analyzes the Spanish Agrarian Reform Law of 1932 from historical, legislative, economic, and social perspectives. It comprises two parts:
- An excerpt from the Basic Law of Agrarian Reform, a public document addressing the entire population, particularly those affected by the law. Published in 1932 during the Second Republic’s Reformist Biennium (under Azaña’s leadership), following the failed Sanjurjo coup. This law was considered a major project of the Second Republic.
- Two statistical tables illustrating land expropriations and occupations under the Agrarian Reform Law. This historiographical data, published by J. Hernández et al. in History Spain. 2º Bachillerato. Online resources. (Madrid: Akal, 2004), targets students and those interested in land reform. The data spans the Second Republic, including the Popular Front period.
Analysis
The excerpt from the Basic Law of Agrarian Reform specifies lands eligible for expropriation: systematically leased lands, uncultivated or poorly cultivated lands, and lands voluntarily offered by owners. The IRA (Instituto de Reforma Agraria) was responsible for overseeing this process.
The statistical tables present expropriations and occupations across two periods: 1932-1934 and the Popular Front era (March-July 1936). A significant increase in expropriated hectares and settled peasants is evident during the latter period.
Commentary
In 1931, Spain remained largely rural, with over 45% of the workforce in agriculture. Half were landless laborers or small farmers. The 1930s economic crisis exacerbated unemployment, pushing agricultural workers towards anarchist (CNT) and socialist (FNTT) ranks.
During the Reformist Biennium, both leftist groups and Socialists recognized that comprehensive land reform was crucial to address Spain’s historical backwardness and peasant poverty. Agriculture Minister Marcelino Domingo aimed to tackle the structural and technical issues plaguing the countryside.
After over four months of debate, the law passed in September 1932, facing opposition from the National Association of Agricultural Landlords and pressure from peasant organizations like the CNT and PCE. The reform aimed to:
- Eliminate large estates and absentee landlordism
- Reduce agricultural strikes
- Rationalize cultivation
- End inefficient land use
The law permitted expropriation without compensation of the largest estates. By the end of 1934, only 12,000 families had been settled. This slow implementation disappointed peasants. During the Radical-CEDA biennium, limited funding hampered the reform. However, the Popular Front expedited land occupation and expropriation, often bypassing IRA procedures, ultimately settling 110,921 families.