Spanish Constitution of 1931: Key Features
The Constitution of 1931
The main task of the new government was to convene a Constituent Assembly, with elections that would grant legitimacy to the Republican regime. Elections were held in June 1931 and gave a large majority to the ruling coalition parties. The PSOE, a group with few members during the monarchy, became the largest parliamentary group, followed by Lerroux’s Radicals and the Radical-Socialist Party. The non-Republican right, meanwhile, was represented by a token minority. The courts were dedicated to discussing the text of the future Constitution between August and December 1931. The new rule configured a democratic, parliamentary, secular, and decentralized state, which recognized the social function of property.
Powers
The origin of sovereignty was explicitly the people. Primacy was given to the unicameral legislature, represented by the Congress of Deputies. Before this were the executive (the Prime Minister and President of the Republic) and the Supreme Court, the head of the judiciary. The president had some room to elect or depose the head of government, but he could be dismissed by the courts. The Constitutional Court was established to declare the constitutionality of the laws.
Voting Rights
- Universal male suffrage was used to elect deputies to court.
- It allowed women to vote (which happened in 1933).
- The President was appointed indirectly through electors.
- Municipal corporations were also elected by universal suffrage.
- The electoral law favored the winner in each division, which benefited the majority. Therefore, the parties came together in blocs or coalitions.
Territorial Configuration
The adoption of statutes of autonomy was envisaged for the regions, which would submit a draft to be submitted to a referendum in their region and approved by the courts. The formation of councils in the Canary and Balearic Islands was also provided for.
Separation of Church and State
The conclusive statement of separation between church and state ended subsidies to the clergy and prohibited the teaching practice of religious orders, which were also deprived of tax immunity. The possibility of divorce was also recognized, cemeteries were to be common to all, and equal treatment was established by the state for religious groups, decoupling policy and the national economy. These provisions led to the radical opposition of all the Catholic right and the Church, which did not identify with the regime and the constitution from that time. On the other hand, this political position of the Church increased popular anticlericalism, which considered the religious right to be natural allies of anti-liberals.
Rights
Besides an extensive range of individual rights, social rights were also recognized: access to social security, labor protection for women, limitation of working hours, minimum wage, and so on. Socialist influence in this paragraph was notable: it limited the right to property, which could be expropriated for reasons of social utility in exchange for compensation. It established the possibility of nationalizing services of common or public interest (transport, telephone, etc.).