The Spanish Second Republic (1933-1936): From Radical-CEDA to Popular Front
The Radical-CEDA Biennium (1933-1936)
The Rise of the Right
After the elections, Lerroux formed a cabinet composed exclusively of members of his party. The CEDA supported the government in Parliament. Lerroux was therefore required to initiate what right-wing groups were demanding: a rectification of the policy reforms of the previous biennium. This new policy was implemented by the cessation of the reforms:
- Cessation of agrarian reform, resulting in the eviction of thousands of laborers from the land they had occupied.
- Cessation of military reform and appointment of military officers with clearly anti-republican views to key positions, such as Franco, Goded, or Mola. This new policy was completed with an amnesty for participants in the Sanjurjo coup of 1932.
- Cessation of educational reforms. A halt in the school building program and cancellation of coeducation.
- Confrontation with the peripheral nationalisms. The draft Statute of Basque Autonomy, presented by the PNV, was stopped, and clashes occurred with the Generalitat of Catalonia, presided over by Lluís Companys, the leader of ERC since January 1934.
The October Revolution of 1934
The growing tension between the two political poles led to the entry of three CEDA ministers in the government in October 1934. This restructuring of the government was interpreted by the Left as announcing the imminent triumph of fascism in Spain. The increasingly radicalized Left, including the PSOE, UGT, CNT, and PCE, called a general strike against the government. Follow-up was very uneven. The movement failed in Madrid. Government troops quartered and arrested key leaders of the Socialists and Communists.
In Barcelona, Companys, as President of the Generalitat, led an insurgency with a clear separatist tint. The revolt was quickly suppressed by the army.
The worst happened in Asturias. Here the general strike was successful and degenerated into a veritable revolution organized by the UGT and the CNT. The persistence of the insurgency led the government to opt for the most brutal repression. The Legion, led by General Franco, was in charge.
The balance of the October Revolution of 1934 was staggering: more than thirteen hundred killed, twice as many wounded, and thirty thousand prisoners, including Companys, Azaña (who had not supported the uprising), and the senior leadership of the PSOE.
Disagreements and the Estraperlo Scandal
However, disagreements within the government were increasing. The differences between the Radical Party and the increasingly radical CEDA were evident. The appointments made by Gil Robles, as the new defense minister, were clearly contrary to the republic and democracy. Military officers were appointed to key positions in the structure of the Army. Franco was appointed chief of staff.
The final crisis came with a corruption scandal, the Estraperlo scandal, affecting senior government officials. Lerroux and the Radical Party fell into total disgrace. The emergence of new scandals precipitated the end of the legislature and the call for new parliamentary elections in February 1936.
The Elections of 1936 and the Popular Front
The Rise of the Left
In an environment of increasing radicalization, the following nominations were presented for the elections of February 1936:
- Popular Front: The Popular Front Pact was signed in January 1936 by the Republican Left, PSOE, PCE, POUM (Workers’ Party of Marxist Unification), and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. This pact brought together all the left-wing parties. The CNT did not call for abstention as on other occasions.
- The National Bloc was formed, predominantly monarchist, along with the CEDA. The Falange and the PNV presented themselves on their own.
The victory went to the Popular Front, which led to its triumph in the towns, the southern provinces, and the periphery. Meanwhile, the right triumphed in the north and inland. After the elections, Manuel Azaña was appointed President of the Republic.
Disorder and Conspiracies
From February to July 1936, Spain was troubled by disorders of all kinds: bombings, looting, murders, and arson in union halls, newspapers, and religious buildings:
- Prisons were opened, and political prisoners from the 1934 revolution were released.
- Land reform was accelerated, and the IRA was able to occupy farms deemed socially valuable.
- In the cities, the PSOE, with Indalecio Prieto at its head, and the UGT demanded the reinstatement of workers dismissed for political reasons.
- Violent street clashes occurred between socialist, communist, and anarchist militia groups and Falangists.
Besides these events, there were conspiracies:
- A civil conspiracy: Right-wing organizations were armed. These included:
- The Carlists: Supporters of the rights to the throne of Spain of Alfonso Carlos de Bourbon, who organized an armed militia, the Requetés.
- The Falange: Strengthened by violent and disillusioned youth from the CEDA.
- Calvo Sotelo and Gil Robles stood as the mouthpiece of the right in Parliament.
- A religious conspiracy: Except in the Basque Country, the Church supported the military uprising and the heir, giving it a crusade-like nature against atheistic communism.
- A military conspiracy: Generals Sanjurjo, Mola, Goded, Varela, and Franco wanted to restore the traditional social order through a coup. The government learned of the plot and sent some of them far away from the peninsula. General Mola, after the death of Sanjurjo, took command of the uprising, being called the “Director” of it.