Understanding the Foundations of Agrarian Reform in Spain
Bases of the Law Reform Agraria, 1932
Classification: This is a legal text that discusses the basic law of land reform. Its nature is legal. The place and date are Madrid, September 21, 1932, published in the Gazette newspaper. The author is collective, representing the government, and the recipient is the Spanish people, especially the peasant class. The chairman of the Government is Azaña, with Marcelino Domingo as a minister. This law addresses strong social issues, poverty in the countryside, and agriculture (socio-economic). Owners were compensated, and they provided money to farmers to improve their land and housing.
Analysis: The main idea of this paper is to solve the serious problems that the Old Regime had created in Spain, leading to backward and uncompetitive agriculture (Jovellanos, Mendizabal, Madoz). This issue has not been resolved to date. The aim is to modernize the area and alleviate the misery of laborers (hunger) to achieve social justice, as there were no labor rights in regions where chieftaincy and estates still existed (Andalusia, Extremadura, etc.). These regions were characterized by land ownership by landowners and nobility since Roman times. The motto is: “The land to the tiller.” The expropriated lands were used to establish individual farmers or cooperatives, with the Republic financing farmers to cultivate their land. According to the Law of Municipal Workers, only peasants living in the city could be recruited.
Conclusions: Land reform is key, along with education and culture, in the reform agenda of the Second Republic. These reforms are deemed essential to modernize society and the state. It significantly impacted land ownership, labor relations, the army, the Catholic Church, and decentralization. This measure aims to end landlordism, absenteeism, and the misery of two million laborers, creating a middle class of owners, which had not been achieved with the confiscation of the nineteenth century. However, landowners were clearly hostile, making this legislation ambitious but difficult to implement.
Azaña and Religious Issues during the 2nd Republic, 1931
Rating: This is a statement by the Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic, Manuel Azaña, to the Constituent Congress after the Republican-socialist coalition’s election victory in June of the same year, known as the Pact of San Sebastián (1930). The piece focuses on the bitter debate surrounding the controversial Article 26 of the Constitution, passed in 1931 in Madrid, the capital of Spain. It serves as a direct primary source that reveals the religious ideological position of the new regime, based on state secularism and church-state separation. This narrative is subjective, reflecting political, religious, and historiographical origins, and can be analyzed and discussed. It shaped public consciousness as the official text consisting of parliamentary proceedings.
Analysis: The main issue is the religious debate raised by Articles 26 and 27 of the Republican Constitution, which refers to Azaña’s anticlerical stance from 1820-1823, influenced by the freedoms of the French Revolution (Voltaire) and the ideology of the First Republic, as well as radical communist-anarchist thought. This issue led to the resignation of Alcalá Zamora and Maura, moderate centrists. Azaña’s personal opinion was that Spain, as a new secular state, “is no longer Catholic,” reducing religious issues to personal conscience, separate from traditional Spanish and European Christianity, which carried political implications. The Church could not use the State to fulfill its mission as a public institution and would continue with its own resources, subject to the Republic’s laws, especially in the cultural-educational field, criticizing its lack of scientific knowledge and thus hindering the modern and progressive state.
Conclusions: The Constitution enshrines a secular state in 1931 but does not fully secularize it, legalizing abortion, divorce, civil marriage, and equal rights between legitimate and illegitimate children (Articles 26 and 27), which are very modern and relevant issues. This topic was previously discussed during the reign of Alfonso XIII, Canalejas, and during the Tragic Week in Barcelona. However, Azaña, influenced by the anti-clerical views of the French Revolution, dismantled religious orders and the Jesuits, only defending the rights of Gil Robles and CEDA.
Manifesto of the Nation, 1931 Alfonso XIII
Rating: This is a primary source, contemporary to the historical event under consideration, and is not subject to correction. It is a circumstantial or political text, significant as a farewell statement from King Alfonso XIII, expressing his decision to leave, but without renouncing any rights due to his love for his people. Written on April 13, 1931, it was likely authored by the Duke of Maura, Gabriel Maura y Gamazo, a Spanish politician and historian, member of the Conservative Party and Minister of Labour in Alfonso XIII’s last Cabinet. This was signed and read by the king to his council of ministers on the afternoon of April 14 before going into exile, surprising the government with the facts cited above, but providing sufficient means to impose order.
Analysis: In this text, the following ideas can be deduced: – At the beginning, there is recognition of the triumph of the Republican-Socialist coalition, but the king expresses that he does not have a “love of my people,” although he believes the change “will not be definitive.” – In an attempt at sincerity, he admits the possibility of having erred, particularly for supporting the coup of Primo de Rivera and failing to remedy the situation after his resignation, yet he remains hopeful for the pardon of the Spanish people. – He claims royal status, stating, “I am king of the Spanish.” – The decision to leave Spain, despite having the power to stay on the throne, is made to avoid a “fratricidal civil war,” but he does not renounce his dynastic rights to the Spanish crown, thus suspending “the exercise of real power.” – He acknowledges national sovereignty, stating that the nation is “the sole mistress of its destiny,” contradicting the then-current notion of shared sovereignty between the Courts and the King. – Finally, he invites the Spanish people to fulfill their duty, just as he has.
Conclusion: With this text, Spain closed the political chapter of the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and the ephemeral governments of the final stage of Alfonso XIII’s reign, marking the beginning of mass democracy in Spain, the Second Republic, which emerged due to the aftermath of the 1929 crash, affecting the country. It experienced socio-political instability, leading to the division of Spanish society into two irreconcilable camps, a fact that contributed to the attempted coup by some soldiers, whose failure marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), an outcome the king sought to avoid through his voluntary exile.
Manifesto of the Group of Intellectuals in the Service of the Republic, 1931
Classification: This text is historical-political as it is the manifesto of a group of intellectuals in service of the Republic, one of the most significant texts reflecting the political ideas of some Spanish intellectuals. It is a primary source, contemporary to the historical object of study, and presents an objective view. The authors include Ortega y Gasset, Marañón, Ramón Pérez de Ayala, and Unamuno, united in their defense of the Republic, making their view subjective. The recipient is directed towards the middle classes and the general public to promote the Republic. This article was published in the newspaper El Sol in 1931.
Analysis: Its main idea is to promote and support a form of government: the Republic. The objective is to create a political grouping of intellectuals to defend the Republic. The first paragraph emphasizes the need to express the will of the people for a republic through public opinion to end the monarchy. The second paragraph outlines the objectives of the Association of Intellectuals, such as: – Using propaganda as a political weapon. – Defending a Republican State. – Disseminating republican ideas from the capital to the villages. – Clearly opposing “privileges” that are not popularly elected.
Conclusion: Some lack of clarity and precision in the ASR project hindered its message from being well understood by the Spanish political class, preventing it from acquiring broad social support; the party’s image is closely linked to the personalities of its three founders.
Some Articles of the Constitution of 1931
Rating: This is a legal constitutional text issued by the king through the Constituent Cortes regarding political, religious, and cultural matters. It was written in the Courts of Madrid on December 9, 1931. Its authorship is collective, involving the members of the Constituent Cortes, elected by universal suffrage on July 28, 1931. These were the first free and democratic elections in Spain. The Constitution is moderate, granting more power to the people, which is its primary objective. It is a primary source, being an original text. This Constitution was in force until 1939, at the end of the Civil War, but was considered valid by the Republic in exile (Mexico, Argentina, etc.) until 1977.
Analysis: The main idea is to provide legality to the new system of government: the Republic, a political system based on the rule of law (Constitution) and equality, serving as a check on potential government abuses. Its objective is to protect the fundamental rights and civil liberties of citizens. Article 1 defines Spain as a “Democratic Republic of workers of all kinds,” establishing national sovereignty (three branches in the populace) and social equality. It also describes the new flag, adopted on April 27, 1931. Article 3 provides for religious freedom, a secular state, and new symbols. Article 11 allows for the adoption of statutes of autonomy for regions, enabling several provinces to join based on common characteristics and form an autonomous community within the Spanish state, subject to a referendum in their region and in the courts. It appoints the prime minister and allows for the dissolution of Parliament for two years.
Conclusions: The social expectations of the revolution coincided with a severe economic crisis. The isolation of the economy could not prevent the global crisis triggered in 1929, which affected Spain through a decline in exports, foreign investment, and migration. The influence of agrarian reform and limiting fiscal policy were unable to counter the prevailing pessimism in the economy. The international context was not favorable.