The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain (1923-1930)

Posted on Oct 31, 2024 in History

Development of Political and Economic Changes

The Political Phases of the Dictatorship

a) The Military Directory (1923-1925)

The dictatorship was presented as an interim solution. It was an authoritarian dictatorship whose first steps were:

  • The suspension of the 1876 Constitution and constitutional rights.
  • The dissolution of the Courts and the establishment of a military Board of 9 members.
  • The implementation of the State of War for two years, the suppression of constitutional rights, and press censorship.
  • Replacing the civil governors of provinces with military governors.
  • Eliminating the municipalities that were replaced by boards of vowels.

The new regime aimed for regeneration and had four lines of action to combat the old political system:

  1. The elimination of despotism.
  2. The assurance of public order.
  3. The assertion of a Spanish state nationalism against peripheral nationalism.
  4. The solution to the problem in Morocco.

b) The Civil Directory (1925-1930)

The Civil Directory was an attempt to perpetuate the dictatorship. It replaced the Military Directory with a civilian government. Primo de Rivera wanted to stay in power and institutionalize a dictatorship regime. The pacification of Morocco strengthened the personal power of Primo de Rivera. In December 1925, he appointed a civilian government composed of four soldiers and six civilians. The new government enjoyed young politicians, the most important being: Martinez Anido in the Interior, José Calvo Sotelo, Eduardo Aunós in Finance and Labour, and the Count Guadalhorce in Development. The Council of Ministers was still vested with the ultimate powers, including legislative.

Policy proposals that Primo de Rivera and the Civil Board attempted ended in failure. In 1926, the dictator proposed the creation of a National Consultative Assembly. The mission of this assembly would be to draw up a new constitution to replace the 1876 one.

Political parties, both dynastic and Republicans, did not support the political projects of Primo de Rivera. The dictator’s relations with the army deteriorated when the general tried to impose on the Artillery Corps that their promotions were made not by seniority but on merit and capabilities. Since then, the army was opposed to the dictator and approached Republican ideas, while many monarchists military also moved away from the positions of Primo de Rivera.

The Economic and Social Policy

a) Economic Interventionism

Among the highlights achievements of the regime’s economic policy was the one conducted by the minister Calvo Sotelo. Taking advantage of the favorable economic climate (the roaring Twenties), the dictatorship helped strengthen the growth in manufacturing, consolidating capitalism in Spain. With these autarkic policies, self-sufficiency was intended. To this end, decisive action was needed in the state’s economy to meet the backlog of private investment. To ensure self-sufficiency, markets, prices, and production were regulated through the National Economic Council. State aid and subsidies gained importance, as well as tariffs as a protectionist measure.

Infrastructure construction was used as a major economic engine, formulated in the National Plan for Infrastructure. It planned the construction of roads and improved railways. It also developed an interest in water policy that envisioned numerous reservoirs to increase irrigation, avoid flooding, and generate electricity by hydropower. Hydrographic confederations were established to prevent control of the landowners, whose success was relative outside the Ebro. These public works were financed with the help of banks and the issuance of bonds of the Public Debt. To counteract the serious debt resulting from the significant investment in infrastructure generating a budget deficit, the government turned to the sale of state monopolies linked to business-friendly economic policies. The most important were CAMPSA, which dealt with the distribution and sale of oil, Telefónica, tobacco, lotteries, and various banks.

Except for an attempt by Calvo Sotelo to create a progressive flat tax (pushed back by the bourgeoisie), attempts were made to improve the Treasury. Decrees were enacted against the Concealment of Wealth Planning, on the Industrial Contribution, and the Register of Territorial Farms Leasing to combat tax evasion. This resulted in an increase in national income and industrial production, but dramatically worsened the situation of public finances, increasing the debt. The debt would be carried over beyond the dictatorship. Evidence of good economic times is the success of the 1929 Universal Exhibition that took place in Barcelona and Seville.

The biggest beneficiaries of the economic policy of the dictatorship were the wealthy. At this stage, we are witnessing the golden age of private banking. The state borrowed too much, and even though workers improved their standard of living, wages continued to be low, and laborers still lived in miserable conditions.

b) Social Policy

From the social point of view, the most significant feature of the twenties was the relative calm that contrasts with the social tension that characterized the decade of the thirties. It was a period of population growth due to improved sanitary conditions, which resulted in lower mortality, particularly among children. Outward migration decreased, but internal spatial movements from the center to the periphery increased.

The government tried to combat industrial disputes by attracting more modern labor practices. The State also intervened in relations between employers and employees. The state controlled and intervened with strict discipline through the National Corporate Organization. This policy had the support and collaboration of business and the UGT; however, the CNT and the PCE strongly opposed it.

The Labour Code of 1926 regulated contracts, employment tribunals, and accident insurance. All this was accompanied by an increase in Social Security benefits and subsidies to large families and for maternity. At the end of 1926, the Corporate State was created. A new framework where social relations were stipulated based on professions, organized in corporations. Joint bodies were set up to resolve disputes between employers and workers on labor issues, which favored the stability of employment. The social policy failed in the countryside, where the open hostility of the landowners prevented setting up joint committees.

The Fall of the Dictatorship and the Monarchy

Opposition to the Dictatorship

In mid-1928, the decline of the dictatorship became apparent. This can be explained by several factors:

  • The increasing opposition to the regime, which covered a wide social spectrum.
  • Growing discontent in the military sector due to the arbitrariness of Primo de Rivera.
  • The increasing difficulties of the state budget.
  • The reappearance of social conflicts with strike action led the Socialists to abandon the regime.

Suffering from a serious illness, Primo de Rivera presented his resignation to King Alfonso XIII on January 27, 1930. Primo de Rivera was exiled to Paris, where he died two months later.

In short, we can synthesize the opposition to the dictatorship with the following pressure groups:

  • The old parties of the political shift that, though weakened, always criticized the excessive length of the dictatorship. They also participated in all types of military conspiracies.
  • The Republicans, who were increasingly organized.
  • The CNT, unlike the collaborative UGT, was harsh in its opposition. It was divided into two groups: the radicals and the possibilists.
  • The PSOE, rapidly turning into a clearly pro-Republican party.
  • Catalonia, which suffered from a central anti-Catalanist movement by Primo de Rivera.
  • Primo de Rivera lost the confidence of a very important part of the army and even, at the end, of Alfonso XIII.

The political situation worsened after 1929 with the global economic crisis. The country was less affected by the stock market crash on Wall Street than those nations that had an almost total dependence on international credit, as was the case in Germany. The crisis led to the withdrawal of much of the foreign capital invested in Spain. To this, we must add the continued existence of an unbalanced trade balance and a Treasury deficit, due to increased public spending. The peseta, which had begun a reassessment cycle in 1924, began to lose value from 1927, peaking in depreciation in 1929. The failure of this policy led to the resignation of Calvo Sotelo on January 20, 1930.

While the relative economic prosperity lasted, the dictatorship remained without too much difficulty, but when it ended, it quickly lost the popularity it had easily won. Seeing that he clearly had no support, that even the bourgeoisie (which had previously hoped for him) was manifesting against him, Primo de Rivera asked the senior army officers if they were willing to continue supporting him in power. Seeing that they did not, on January 28, 1930, he went to the Royal Palace and tendered his resignation to the king. The king accepted and appointed General Berenguer as President of the Council of Ministers. Two months later, Primo de Rivera died in Paris.

The Dictablanda and the Pact of San Sebastián

After Primo de Rivera’s resignation, King Alfonso XIII ordered General Berenguer to form a government, which maintained a softened dictatorial regime known as the Dictablanda. Berenguer’s program wanted to return to the situation before the coup, restoring the 1876 constitution and the shift of parties. There was a reaction against Berenguer and the King. In August 1930, the Pact of San Sebastián was signed among the Socialists, Catalan nationalists, and the radical left. The CNT did not participate but gave their consent. The objectives were: to end the monarchy and establish a republic. Berenguer resigned in February 1931 under the pressure exerted on him. Admiral Aznar became his successor.

The Fall of the Monarchy (The Elections on April 12)

The Republicans raised the municipal elections as a plebiscite on the monarchy. The Republican candidates won in the major cities and provincial capitals, but the monarchists won overall. The King renounced the throne and left the country without giving up his rights. On April 14, 1931, the Second Republic was proclaimed.