The Spanish Restoration: Cánovas, the 1876 Constitution, and Political Shift
The regime remained republican, although Serrano’s dictatorship was a step prior to the restoration of the Bourbons, planned by the Alfonsinos led by Cánovas del Castillo. The restoration was precipitated by a military coup by General Martinez Campos. Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II, was proclaimed king, marking the beginning of the Restoration period in Spain.
The political system of the Restoration is closely tied to Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. A former minister of the Liberal Union, his political thinking was reactionary and undemocratic, opposing universal suffrage. Cánovas favored the Bourbons and the old undemocratic system based on census suffrage. He championed the idea of shared sovereignty between the king and the Cortes. He recognized the need to renew the exhausted moderate program. These developments led to Alfonso XII replacing the unpopular Isabella II.
It was necessary to end the ongoing military interventions, a source of political instability, and create a bipartisan system based on two bourgeois parties that would alternate peacefully in power. These two parties were the Conservative Party (replacing the Moderate Party) and the Liberal Party (heir to the ideals of 1869, adapted to Cánovas’ system).
The Constitution of 1876
The Constitution of 1876 was heir to the moderate 1845 constitution. It was drafted by Alonso Martinez, but its true inspiration was Cánovas del Castillo. Key traits included:
- Shared sovereignty: Cortes-King.
- Bicameral Congress: elected Congress and a Senate representing the wealthier classes, including grandees of Spain, church and military hierarchies, life senators, and senators appointed by the king.
- Strengthened power of the Crown:
- Executive power: appointment of ministers and direct command of the army.
- Legislative power: shared with Parliament, with absolute veto power over laws passed by the Cortes, and the power to convene, suspend, or dissolve the Cortes.
- Recognition of rights and freedoms, which were often limited during Cánovas’ administrations.
The type of vote to elect the Congress was not specified. Later, under a Conservative government, Cánovas adopted census suffrage. Religious freedom was curtailed, with Catholicism declared the official state religion.
The Turno System
Cánovas designed a system based on the turno, or rotation, of two parties in power: the Conservative Party, led by Cánovas del Castillo, and the Liberal Party, led by Sagasta. This system ensured peaceful alternation in power, ending military interventionism. However, the turno was a political artifice to keep forces outside of Cánovas’ narrow system out of power.
The shift in power was not an expression of the voters’ will but was agreed upon by party leaders. Once agreed, the following mechanism was used:
- The King appointed a new head of government and dissolved the Cortes.
- The new government manipulated elections, ensuring the desired results through the encasillado (prior allocation of seats), leaving a sufficient number for the opposition.
This led to increased caciquismo (political bossism) in the countryside. Widespread electoral fraud characterized the system. The key was in the electoral tampering by caciques, wealthy and influential figures in rural Spain, who followed the instructions of the civil governor of each province, rigging the elections. Methods included violence, threats, and cheating, known as pucherazo.