The Spanish Restoration (1874-1931): Politics, Constitution & Key Figures
The Spanish Restoration (1874-1931)
Summary of Item 10
The last paragraph states that the courts reflect the political viewpoint, as noted and translated in the 1876 Constitution. Accepting the crown would not conflict with other courts. The table highlights the “turnismo” of Canovas and Sagasta through the voting boxes. In 1891, universal suffrage was restored in Spain. Sandhurst received 85% of the votes in ’91, and the other 25% two years later would be… It is this alternation of power that constitutes “turnismo.” It was a deception, a permanent falsification, and continuous manipulation of the Electoral Assembly results, aimed at preventing workers and Republican parties from achieving power. The parliamentary system and elections were mere fiction. The king commissioned the formation of a government, alternating between the two parties, who called elections and “won,” relieving each other in power. The other parties were residual.
It is a shared sovereignty. The monarch’s worth remains, and they maintain significant powers, such as summoning the courts, appointing the president and ministers, and vetoing the adoption of laws. They could be different but had to align with the monarch, who in turn coincided with the government. The government was his system; the pact is ratified in the brown, brown is the confirmation of it, between two major parties, to strengthen the system. And the government has to form a parliament of the same political party. The election has to be predetermined.
Antonio Canovas del Castillo
Antonio Canovas del Castillo was one of the most influential figures in Spanish politics during the latter half of the nineteenth century. He was the chief architect of the Restoration political system and the highest Conservative Party leader. He is considered one of the most brilliant conservative politicians in contemporary Spanish history but is criticized by his detractors for creating a false appearance of democracy through the “Turn of Parties,” suspending academic freedom in Spain, and his stance in favor of slavery. “Canovist” refers to the political current that seeks to establish a non-revolutionary, traditional democracy.
The Spanish Constitution of 1876
The Spanish Constitution of 1876 was promulgated in June 1876 by Canovas del Castillo. This constitution originated from a draft developed by a group of 600 notables – former senators and members of previous legislatures – appointed by Cánovas. Among them was a commission of 39, headed by Manuel Alonso Martínez, responsible for the final drafting. The final text was approved without major changes by a Constituent Cortes elected by universal suffrage, as stipulated by the Spanish Constitution of 1869. The author of the Constitution of 1876 is Alonso Martínez.
The Spanish Constitution of 1876 is a flexible text designed to allow stable governing parties to accept the system, but its inspiration is clearly conservative. It includes:
- Census-male suffrage, allowing approximately 5% of the Spanish population to vote.
- The declaration of rights and obligations: It is comprehensive and reflects the achievements of the Spanish Constitution of 1869, but in practice, these rights were limited, especially those related to the press and expression, as well as association and assembly.
- The principle of shared sovereignty: It states that the power to make laws resides in “The Cortes with the King.”
- The division of powers: The legislative power is vested in a bicameral Cortes. The Senate (composed of three types of senators: by their own right, by royal appointment, and by election). The Congress is elected by direct suffrage; the governing party determines whether the electoral law should be based on census suffrage or universal suffrage.
- The executive power is vested in the Crown through ministers. The king freely chooses the head of government, who is not accountable to the courts.
- The judiciary is independent.
- Centralization is accentuated, with municipalities and county councils controlled by the government and the abolition of Basque privileges.
- The religious issue is resolved by recognizing the country’s Catholic confessional status, ensuring the maintenance of worship and clergy, and recognizing other faiths but without public events.
The constitutional framework aimed to achieve political stability through a peaceful alternation of power. This was achieved through the “Turn of Parties.”
The Turn of Parties and Caciquismo
The new system, based on the 1876 Constitution, was theoretically a parliamentary democracy. Bipartisanship favored the formation of a Liberal Party that accepted the legitimacy of the political system. Canovas made a pact with the Liberal leader Sagasta for the political shift required by the Covenant of El Pardo in 1881. Initially, suffrage was restricted in 1878, and the restoration of universal male suffrage was not considered until 1890. Except for two brief periods when Jovellar and Martinez Campos held the presidency (1879), Canovas occupied this position until Sagasta was ready to assume power in 1881.
Cacique refers to the network of social relations that defined political life during the Bourbon Restoration. In political science, oligarchy is a form of government where supreme power is held by a few people. Ancient Greek political writers used the term to describe a degenerate and negative aristocracy (literally, rule of the best). Strictly speaking, oligarchy arises when the succession of an aristocratic system is perpetuated through blood or mythical transfer, without the ethical and leadership qualities of the best being recognized by the community. This definition closely resembles monarchy and even more so, nobility.
Oligarchs, being property owners with land or large sums of money, possess strength in political leadership due to their strong economic influence. They may have questionable ethical standards and different means of legitimization, having accumulated power as a historical symbol that reinforces their position. An oligarchy is a minority group of people belonging to the same social class, usually with great power and influence (aristocratic), directing and controlling a community or institution.