Spanish Conservative Biennium & Catalonia’s Autonomy 1933-1936
The Conservative Biennium (1933-1936)
The government of Manuel Azaña fell in September 1933 due to disagreements between political parties. These disagreements stemmed from the Casas Viejas incident* and his incompatibility with President Niceto Alcalá Zamora.
The Right to Power
During the biennium, the Spanish right had time to reorganize. They formed two groups: one openly opposed the Republican regime (monarchists, Carlists, and *Falange, founded by Jose Antonio Primo de Rivera). The other group was the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Rights (CEDA).
During the election campaign, the deep division of Spanish society was again highlighted. The constitution was revised, and land reform was abolished.
The outcome of the 1933 elections was favorable to the candidates of the right and center. The President ordered the formation of a government under Alejandro Lerroux, leader of the Radical Party.
The October Revolution of 1934
A few months after the triumph of the right, sectors of the PSOE and the UGT prepared an uprising accompanied by a general strike. The initiative came from Francisco Largo Caballero, the most radical leader of the Socialists. The armed insurrection was successful only in Asturias, lasting for two weeks. The revolution was severely repressed by the Army of Africa, commanded by Francisco Franco.
October in Catalonia and the “Six”
In Catalonia, after the death of Francesc Macià on December 25, 1933, Lluís Companys was elected President of the Generalitat.
Catalonia experienced a poor state of social tension. In the countryside, conflict arose between the owners and *Rabassaires*. In industry, there was an anarchist uprising in Alt Llobregat. During 1934, the Catalan Parliament approved the Law of Cultivation Contracts, which intended to prevent *Rabassaires* from being expelled from the lands they cultivated. The government of the Republic filed an appeal to annul it, alleging incompetence of the Catalan Parliament. Congress went on strike.
The general strike and the entry of three CEDA ministers into Lerroux’s government a day later caused the reaction of President Companys, who unilaterally proclaimed the Catalan State within the Spanish Federal Republic. The Statute of Autonomy was suspended, and the government of the Generalitat was imprisoned and sentenced to 30 years.
The Liaison Government of Catalonia
This was the most important challenge of the Republic. Voters expected an improvement in their living conditions. The Generalitat had a normal period of two years, from 1932 to 1934, and its actual capacity was limited by its financial dependency on the government in Madrid.
The Transfer of Services
The relationship between the government of the Generalitat and the government of Madrid was one of mutual distrust. The commissions delayed transfers of administrative work, alleging technical reasons. Among the transfers made, public service and justice stood out. The civilian governments disappeared. But from 1934, with the right in power, the transfer of new services stopped.
The Actions of the Government
The government only ruled for two years. Its outstanding achievements include:
- Creating the Statistics Service in the economic sphere
- Establishing the Institute of Economic Research
- Promoting cooperatives
- Establishing agricultural experimentation centers
In the social sphere, the Institute against Forced Unemployment and the Labor Council were created. Health and culture were preferred areas for the Republicans. Vaccination campaigns were initiated, and primary care was reorganized. New hospitals and secondary schools were created.
One thing in favor of the legislation was improving conditions for women (marriage law, divorce law, etc.).
Finally, Pompeu Fabra carried out the process of normalization of the Catalan language. Radio broadcasting had an unrealistic importance for Catalan. But all this ended in 1936 because of the outbreak of the Civil War.