The Popular Front in Spain: A Program for Reform and Reconciliation
CONTEXT:
CLARA
Once the Second Republic had been illegally proclaimed in April 1931 and King Alfonso XIII had gone into exile (without renouncing his rights), a Provisional Government was formed by the leaders of the parties that had signed the “Pact of San Sebastian” (17 August 1930). Its main task was to call elections for a Constituent Cortes (June 1931). A coalition of Republicans and Socialists emerged triumphant from these elections, and its first task was to draft a new Constitution. A preliminary draft presented by a parliamentary commission chaired by the Socialist lawyer Luis Jiménez de Asúa was approved for discussion.
The discussions were very intense, especially with regard to the “religious question”. Special mention, given the nature of the text under discussion, is made of the issue of equal rights for men and women and, consequently, that of suffrage. There were only two women in the Cortes out of a total of 465 deputies: Clara Campoamor (Radical Party) and Victoria Kent (Republican Left). Margarita Nelken (Socialist Party) joined at the end of the same year. Of the three, Clara Campoamor, a lawyer, was the most involved in the defence of women’s rights and played an important role in the debate on women’s suffrage. Thanks to her intervention, article 25 was amended to read: “The following may not be grounds for legal privileges: nature, parentage, sex, social class, wealth, political ideas or religious beliefs”.
In reference to “women’s suffrage”, the preliminary draft had only given the possibility to single women and widows, a proposal defended by A. Ossorio Gallardo on the curious basis that, until husbands were ready for political life, women’s suffrage could be a source of domestic discord.
After long debates on all sides (Clara Campoamor defended women’s suffragism and Victoria Kent opposed it “not because of women’s capacity but because of the opportunities of the Republic”), Article 34 – which established equal electoral rights for citizens of both sexes over the age of twenty-three – was finally approved by 161 votes in favour and 121 against.
Voting in favour were: the Socialist Party (with a few notable exceptions such as Indalecio Prieto), the right wing and small republican groups (Catalans, Progressives and the Agrupación al servicio de la República); against, Acción Republicana, and the Radical-Socialist Party and the Radical Party (with the exception of Clara Campoamor and four other deputies).
The first elections in which women participated were those of 1933, and they were inevitably blamed for the right-wing victory. This was, however, a superficial conclusion. Even if one accepts that part of the female electorate could have influenced the right-wing result in the 1933 elections, if all the left-wing votes cast in those elections were added together, they still outnumbered those of the conservatives. It was above all a problem of strategy and unity, as the February 1936 elections were to prove with the triumph of the Popular Front.
POPULAR FRONT:
ANALYSIS: We shall begin the commentary by clarifying some concepts that will help us to understand the text: “amnesty”: pardon decreed by the State as an exceptional measure for all prisoners condemned for certain types of crimes, generally political; “nationalise”: eliminate private property and make the nation the owner of the goods.
The main theme of the text is the programme of the Popular Front for the 1936 elections and the main ideas refer to the commitments to the people (amnesty, defence of rights) and the agreements and disagreements between the components of the coalition. We will briefly expand on each of these ideas.
In the 1936 elections, the left stood united under the name of the Popular Front. In its programme, the Popular Front set out the changes it would carry out if it won the elections.
In the excerpt we are commenting on, they are stated:
First of all, their union. The programme reflects their alliance to win the elections and thus be able to carry out a common political plan.
Secondly, their commitments. The coalition parties undertook to grant amnesty to all those tried for political and social crimes committed after 1933, i.E. During the radical-cedist government (1933-1936). This commitment also concerned the prisoners of the 1934 revolution.
Thirdly, the re-establishment of the Constitution for the defence of freedom and justice, which is considered an obligation of the State.
Fourthly, the need to restore the reforms of the republican-
socialist government. The Popular Front considered it necessary to revive the agrarian policy of the first government of the Republic. However, the Republicans were opposed to the nationalisation of the land and its handing over to the peasantry, as proposed by the Socialist delegates.
Fifthly, the improvement of the banking system. The coalition parties advocate changing the banking system. However, as in the previous point, the Republicans were opposed to the nationalisation of the banking system proposed by the workers’ parties.
Finally, the regime of the Republic. The republican parties defend the democratic freedom of the Republic, which they see as a regime driven by social interest and progress rather than by social or economic motives. They therefore oppose the workers’ control called for by the socialist government.
CONTEXT: After the proclamation of the Republic and the subsequent Provisional Government, general elections were called in 1931, in which a coalition of Republicans and Socialists won.
During the Republican-Socialist government (1931-1933), Niceto Alcalá Zamora was appointed President of the Republic and a new Constitution was approved. Between 1931 and 1933 the Republicans and Socialists carried out a series of reforms to improve the situation in Spain, including educational, military, agrarian, social and territorial reforms. This government came to an end after the 1933 elections, which were won by the Radicals and the Cedistas.
In the 1933 elections, the right wing (CEDA) led by José María Gil Robles and the centre (Radical party)
Led by Alejandro Lerroux, ran together and won. This victory brought with it a series of consequences. Among the political consequences were: the polarisation of the country (left and right), the rise of fascism (the extreme right), the slowing down of the reforms carried out by the Republican-Socialist government (mainly the agrarian reform)
, the amnesty for those arrested in the attempted coup d’état known as “La Sanjurjada”, the confrontation with Catalonia due to the slowing down of the Catalan statute process and the paralysis of the Basque statute. Other consequences of the change of government were military ones, such as the “October Revolution of 1934”, which was of great importance in the mining area of Asturias and the north of the province of León and was led by the PSOE, the UGT trade union and the Catalans. The reasons for this revolution were the fear of CEDA fascism and the impact of the Russian Revolution, the consequences of which were the failure of the popular uprising and the subsequent repression (executions, imprisonments, etc.). This government came to an end after the 1936 general elections.
In the 1936 elections, the right (CEDA) and the centre (Radical Party) stood separately and the left stood united under the name of the Popular Front. The Popular Front was made up of the left and most of the progressive forces. Its programme emphasised the restoration of the reform policy of the republican-socialist government and the amnesty for those imprisoned in the “October Revolution of 1934”. The text presents a fragment of its electoral programme.
CONCLUSIONS: After having analysed the text in detail and having pointed out its contributions, we will end the commentary with some brief conclusions, pointing out the importance of the text.
The text analysed contains the foundations on which the Popular Front was to base itself in order to stand in the elections of 16 February 1936. It calls for amnesty for those arrested in the October Revolution of 1934 and defends freedom, justice and a new Constitution.
The republicans disagreed with the socialists on the principle of nationalisation of land, on measures to nationalise the banking system and on workers’ control.
The text is relevant because it reveals the importance of the formation of the Popular Front for the electoral triumph of the left in the 1936 elections. Its political programme, moreover, was characterised by moderate demands, and in no way advocated a social revolution, which the right-wingers feared so much. However, the victory of the Popular Front was the swan song for the republican reformist project, which could not achieve its aims, because the conspiracy against the government and the republic itself had already been orchestrated for several months.