The Second Spanish Republic: From Conservative Rule to Civil War
The Conservative Biennium (1933-1936)
Lerroux’s Government and the Rise of the CEDA
In April 1934, President Lerroux’s government dissolved, replaced by a temporary administration under Ricardo Samper Ibanez. By October, the Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right (CEDA), led by Gil-Robles, forced Samper’s resignation and formed a new government with three CEDA ministers under Lerroux, with Niceto Alcalá Zamora as president. This government attempted to reverse social legislation, particularly land reform, and faced opposition due to the Catalan Government Contracts Act. It granted amnesty to those involved in the Sanjurjada uprising and provided an allowance for religion and clergy.
Social Unrest and the Asturian Revolution
The government’s policies led to general strikes in Valencia and Zaragoza, street conflicts in Madrid and Barcelona, and the Asturian Revolution of 1934. The revolution, sparked by the CEDA’s entry into the government, involved the Workers Alliance and the CNT. It was brutally suppressed by government forces after 15 days of intense fighting.
The Catalan Republic and the Black Biennium
On October 6, 1934, in response to the government’s actions, Catalan President Lluís Companys proclaimed the Catalan Republic within a Spanish Federal Republic. The army, under General Batet, quelled the rebellion, Companys and other leaders were imprisoned, and the Catalan Statute of Autonomy was suspended. This period became known as the black biennium. In May 1935, Lerroux appointed CEDA leader Gil-Robles as Minister of War, who subsequently appointed General Francisco Franco as Chief of Staff. President Alcalá-Zamora, concerned about the right’s growing power, forced Lerroux’s resignation, transferring power to Joaquín Chapaprieta and later Manuel Portela Valladares. Amidst political tension and corruption scandals, Alcalá-Zamora called for elections in February 1936.
The Popular Front (1936)
The Elections of February 1936
The left regrouped for the elections, forming the Popular Front, which included the Socialist Party (PSOE), the Republican Left, the Republican Union, the Communist Party (PCE), and Galician and Catalan nationalists. The Basque nationalists and even the anarchist CNT supported the Popular Front. The right-wing parties were disorganized. In Catalonia, the right formed the Catalan Front of Order. The Popular Front won decisively in Spain, and the Left Front triumphed in Catalonia.
The Aftermath of the Elections
The left’s victory led to the release of Companys and other political prisoners. Manuel Azaña became the new president, and Casares Quiroga was appointed head of government. The Socialists remained divided between Largo Caballero’s revolutionary faction and Prieto’s moderates. Azaña, a proponent of gradual reform, was intensely disliked by the right. José Calvo Sotelo replaced Gil-Robles as the right’s parliamentary spokesman. Companys returned as head of the Catalan government.
Towards the Military Uprising
Political Polarization and Violence
The government dismissed Franco, Goded, and Mola from key military positions. The Popular Front and the right pursued divergent paths: the right began conspiring, while the left occupied agricultural estates. The Falange, led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera, was legalized and then outlawed, and Primo de Rivera was arrested. The army was also divided, with the Spanish Military Union plotting a coup led by General Mola, while the Republican Anti-Fascist Military Union opposed them.
The Catalyst for Civil War
On July 12, 1936, Socialist Assault Guard officer José Castillo was murdered. In retaliation, Calvo Sotelo was assassinated by Assault Guards. These killings triggered the military uprising in Melilla on July 17, marking the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
The Second Republic During the Civil War (1936-1939)
: Following the chaos caused by the military uprising in Morocco, the president of the Spanish Government, Santiago Casares Quiroga, resigned and was appointed Diego Martínez Barrio, who tried to redirect the situation. Some people think it is more a statement, as many occurred in the nineteenth century. In Barcelona, the morning of July 19, General Alvaro Fernandez Burriel and part of the garrison left the Pedralbes barracks and routed to the city center, fulfilling orders from Pamplona to the dictates GeneralEmilio Mola. The troops, accompanied by some Falangist, down the Diagonal, Calle Urgell and to make the Gran Via de les Corts Catalanes. But the Civil Guard and the people are facing the offensive. As in Barcelona, the failed uprising in Madrid, Valencia and Bilbao. But there were other points of the State in which the military to power. Thus began what for some will be the Spanish Civil War and other revolution: the government was forced to hand over their weapons to the people, the Government decreed the creation of the citizen militia in Catalonia (21), Lluis Companys ceded rating authority to the Central Committee of Antifascist Militias (22), organized columns to free zones under military control, and even emptied the jails of common criminals and political prisoners and refills with people right, religious, military and mass of people. [16] The last days of July, the Catalan militias already moving towards Aragon front. The CNT and the POUM reclutametns boycott of the soldiers; think the front during the revolution, there should only be voluntary. On September 4, 1936, the chairmanship of the Government, passed into the hands of Socialist Largo . In the Basque Country, the Government of the Republic gave autonomy rating 1 October 1936 and was elected as lehendakaria in Jose Antonio Aguirre. On 4 November 1936, the CNT joined the government of Largo Knight, while the government moved to Madrid and Valencia will constitute a Board of National Defense, headed by General Miaja, who commissioned the organization of the Chiefs Vicente Rojo. In late March 1937 before the disruption Franco wins the Republican side and toHuelva, Badajoz, San Sebastian, Madrid, Oviedo and Malaga are recruited fifths of 34 and 35 (which then had twenty-three and twenty-two years) for the formation of a regular and disciplined army, the Republican People. But the Republican side continued to split. For example, regarded almost as a civil war within the Civil War, the so-called events of May, the forces that fought against the anarchists and the POUM and Government sectors Communists.