Before the Provisional Government:

The September 1923 coup d'état in “Las Cortes” made General Miguel Primo de Rivera Spain’s
dictator. He stayed there for 7 years until 1930, when he lost the support of King Alfonso XIII.
Alfonso XIII assigned General Dámaso Berenguer Fusté the title of dictator. In February 1931,
Alfonso XIII put an end to the “dictatorship” of General Berenguer and appointed Admiral Juan
Bautista Aznar as the new president, who proposed a new electoral calendar. These elections
gave rise to the new regime, the Second Spanish Republic, and the king Alfonso XIII had to
leave the country, making the Provisional Government presided by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora rule
Spain for a very short period.

1. PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT

The proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic took place on April 14, 1931, after municipal
elections were held in which the Republican parties won a clear victory. The news of the
election results provoked large demonstrations all over the country, especially in Madrid,
where people gathered at the Puerta del Sol to celebrate the victory.
That same afternoon, a group of Republican and Socialist political leaders met at Madrid's city
hall to discuss how to proceed. Among them were Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, president of the
Revolutionary Committee, and Manuel Azaña, leader of the Radical Republican Party. Finally, it
was decided to proclaim the Republic and appoint a provisional government to run the country
until general elections could be held.
At around 6:00 p.m., Zamora went out onto the balcony of the town hall to announce the
proclamation of the Republic to a crowd of excited people. The historic moment was
immortalized in a famous photograph showing Alcalá-Zamora and other Republican leaders
waving to the crowd from the balcony of the city hall.
The proclamation of the Republic was received with great enthusiasm by many people in
Spain, especially those who had fought for years for democracy and freedom. However, there
were also some people who opposed the proclamation and were in favor of the monarchy.
The Republic was founded on the principles of democracy, equality, and freedom, and it aimed
to modernize and reform Spain's political, social, and economic structures. However, the
Republic was short-lived, lasting only six years, and it was marked by political instability,
economic crisis, and social unrest. Just the period from April of 1931 to December of the same
year was known as the Provisional Government, and it was marked by a series of political
crises and struggles for power.
One of the first measures taken by the Provisional Government was the adoption of a new
constitution, which was approved by a referendum in December 1931. The new constitution
established a democratic, secular, and federal system of government, which was intended to
promote social justice and equality. But I will not go into further detail since Amy will explain
that later.
Despite the adoption of the new constitution, the Provisional Government faced significant
opposition from various groups, including conservatives, the Church, and the military. The
opposition was particularly strong in rural areas, where the Church and the landowners had
significant influence. The opposition was also fueled by the economic crisis, which had led to
widespread poverty and unemployment. The same as before, this opposition will be later
explained more in depth.
As a summary, despite these challenges, the Provisional Government made significant
achievements during its brief period in power. These included the adoption of a new
constitution, the recognition of the rights of workers and peasants, and the promotion of
women's rights. The government also made progress in areas such as education and
healthcare, although much more needed to be done.
Who were the members?
Photo Role Name Political Party

Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
President of the
y Torres Derecha Liberal Republicana
Provisional Government

Alejandro Lerroux Partido Republicano Radical

State
García (PRR)

Fernando de los Ríos Partido Socialista Obrero

Justice
Urruti Español (PSOE)

War Manuel Azaña Díaz Grupo de Acción Republicana

Santiago Casares Organización Republicana

Marine
Quiroga Gallega Autónoma (ORGA)

Indalecio Prieto Partido Socialista Obrero

Public Finances
Tuero Español (PSOE)

Miguel Maura
Governorate Derecha Liberal Republicana
Gamazo
 Álvaro de Albornoz Partido Republicano Radical
Development
Liminiana Socialista (PRRS)

Public Instruction and

Marcelino Domingo Partido Republicano Radical
Arts
Sanjuán Socialista (PRRS)

Francisco Largo Partido Socialista Obrero

Labor
Caballero Español (PSOE)

Acción Catalana Republicana

National Economy Luis Nicolau d'Olwer
(ACR)

Diego
Partido Republicano
Communications Martínez
Radical (PRR)
Barrio

2. CONSTITUTION OF 1931
The Spanish constitution of 1931 was established on the December 9th of 1931. After the dictatorship of
Primo de Riveras, people look forward to a change of regime, so the 1931 constitution collected the
illusions and ideas of the Spanish people aiming for a democratic solution. After the First World War,
something that happened in all European countries was the fall of the monarchies. Among all the
countries that took part in the War, the only monarchy that survived in Europe was Great Britain’s
monarchy. This means, now, most countries have become a republic, that follows a constitution.
The 1931 Constitution is part of the European constitutionalism movement during the interwar period
(Between WW1 and WW2), it was inspired by the Constitution of other European countries whose
monarchies fell after the war as well. In terms of the design of the parliamentary system, it was
influenced by the German Weimar Constitution or by the Austrian Constitution to the formation of
constitutional justice. Additionally, regarding the social rights, economic rights, and human rights of the
third generation, which are the collective or solidarity rights to peace, liberty, development, self-
determination, and the environment. These aspects have been affected by the Mexican constitution.

The Spanish Constitution of 1931 was drafted by the constituent assembly that was elected in municipal
elections held in April 1931, they were a temporary body composed of 470 members to write a new
constitution. Which will later be established by the President of las Cortes, Julián Besteiro. The
constituent assembly began its work on June 10, 1931, and completed its draft on October 15 of that
year. The final document is of medium length, consisting of 125 articles, grouped into nine titles, plus a
preliminary one.

The Constitution was the solution given by socialists and republicans of left-wing politics, and was
officially adopted on December 9, 1931, and it went into effect on December 10, 1931. It established a
parliamentary republic and introduced significant social and political reforms, including universal
suffrage, separation of church and state, and the recognition of individual rights.

Political principles that influenced the 1931 constitution were mainly: democracy, regionalism (Strong
feeling of pride for people in a specific region of a country), secularism (Separation of religion and state),
and social economy (business activities driven by a social mission like solidarity).

Democracy:
Article 1 of the Constitution defines Spain as "a democratic Republic of workers of all classes, which is
organized under the rule of Liberty and Justice."
The democratic character of the constitution is reflected in the participation of popular sovereignty in
the government, 1931 constitution recognizes universal suffrage, for the first time, women can vote on
equal terms as men. Additionally, the type of government was estimated to be a direct democracy, in
which the power lies directly on the citizens to vote for laws and policies instead of the representatives
holding the power.

Secularism:
Article 3 of the Constitution states that "the State has no official religion".
Article 27 established freedom of conscience and worship. Article 26 suppressed all state financial
support to the Catholic Church and religious orders, which became prohibited from taking part in
general education.
Secularism can be seen in the total separation of power between the church and the state, promoting
freedom of worship. Unlike before, the government now recognized and approves divorce and civil
marriage. Also, part of the church’s property was nationalized, and religious orders were forbidden to be
part of the educational system. It also recognizes the right to a free and compulsory primary education
that has nothing to do with religion. Freedom of movement and freedom of speech was given, and
military power was also limited.

Social economy:
Article 44 states that wealth is subordinated to the interests of the national economy and Article 45
adds to it by declaring that the national artistic heritage is under the supervision of the State. Both
articles reflect that even if the people’s property, no matter if private or public, is respected, the State is
always above them and has the last word. So, the interests of the nation should always be a priority.
Moreover, social economy also appears in Article 46 and Article 47. Article 46 states that labor and
work, which is a social obligation, is protected by the law with a wide range of social benefits like the
necessary working conditions, and Article 47 regulates agricultural policy. Stating that all farmers are
protected by the Republic when it comes to matters like compensation for loss of crops and states that
family patrimony cannot be seized.
Regionalism:
Finally, it is important to note that Constitution recognized the right for some provinces to form an
autonomous regime through the States approval, meaning that territories can have its legal systems,
such as its own institution and representative, also certain legislative, executive, and administrative
power. This is recognized in Articles 8 to Article 15.
Impacts
Domestic:

Political:
1.The 1931 constitution marked the transition from a monarchy to a republic, establishing the Second
Spanish Republic. The new political regime had a greater democracy, giving more power to the citizens
than before. It adapted a universal suffrage, freedom of expression and association, separation of
powers and secularism of the State limiting the power of the state and the church.

2.The 1931 constitution established different legal frameworks, such as one that protected private
property and encouraged entrepreneurship or promoted land reforms and social protection.

3. The 1931 constitution allowed the formation of different political parties; people were free to elect
who they want for representative. Different parties emerged, and they all had different ideas on how to
govern the country. This is how the left-wing and right-wing political parties consolidated, which still has
a lasting effect on Spain’s politics today.

Social:
1.The constitution recognized universal suffrage, meaning that all people and citizens can vote. This
impacted on the people by giving more human rights, including to women. The people got a bit closer to
achieving gender equality by letting women vote, also, it recognized freedom of worship, free education,
and freedom of association. Giving society the option to choose what to believe, what to think and a
proper education isolated from religion. This had a great impact for Spanish society, which until then
had been under an absolute and conservative monarchy.

2.The reforms introduced by the constitution, which promoted free and compulsory education,
contributed to modernizing Spain. Free education allowed greater population to have access to culture,
art, and science, which means that more people in Spain have a higher education and cultural level.
Also, agrarian reforms improved the living conditions of the workers by establishing labor rights like the
right to strike or right to installations of security systems.

3.The consolidation of political parties generated a lot of tension among the society. Different people
supported different political parties, and there was a clash of ideas and beliefs. The tension is especially
strong between left-wing and right-wing political supporters, over time, the problems intensified,
leading to the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

Economic:
1.The constitution established the right to own private property and the principle of compensation for
expropriations, which attracted domestic and foreign capital. Then, because of the recognition of labor
rights, now workers had better conditions, so it boosted the consumer’s demand and stimulated
economic growth.

2.The tension between left-wing and right-wing political parties and supporters had a negative impact
on the economy. Reforms carried out by the left-wing parties were strongly opposed by the right-wing
parties, who expressed their disagreement through strikes or protests. Situations like this, created
instability among the market and had a negative impact on the economy and employment.

4. One of the ideas of the 1931 constitution was promoting secularism, the separation of church and
state. This led to the closure of many religious institutions, and nationalized a big part of the church’s
properties, which reduced the economic power of the church by redistributing wealth to the public.

Foreign:
The Spanish Constitution of 1931 had a limited impact on foreign countries since it didn’t have a direct
influence. However, the establishment of the constitution and the principles it recognized were spread
across Europe, this generated interest in different European countries. It was viewed that Spain was a
step closer to political liberalization, that seemed very compromised with democracy and respect for
human rights. Separation of church and state, the focus on culture and education were well received
across Europe as well. Even if some countries showed distrust with Spain’s new regime, for its part, the
Republican government tried to establish alliances with other countries, especially France, to counter
possible threats from other European states.

3. BIENIO REFORMISTA

The reformist biennium was a period from the proclamation of 14 April 1931 until the elections
in November 1933, during which multiple changes and reforms took place in the state.

Before starting with the reform and, as is to be expected, with the respective oppositions, we
must introduce two key figures in the history of Spain, more specifically, in the Reformist
Biennium. They are Manuel Azaña, the Prime Minister, and Alcalá Zamora, the President of the
Republic (belongs to the Republican liberal right).

The republican-socialist government undertook a broad program of reforms in an unfavorable

economic context, marked by rising unemployment. These were his main measures:

- Labor reforms: the Ministry of Labor, Francisco Largo Caballero is going to carry out a
series of reforms to improve working conditions, the 40-hour week was established,
and wages were increased. These measures provoked the irritation of employers'
organizations.
- Educational reforms: it was another of the great reforms of the republican
government. The main objective was to promote secular education and extend the
right to education to the entire population. 10,000 schools were created, especially for
children, 7,000 jobs were created for teachers and their salaries were increased. The
budget for education was increased by 50%. A mixed, secular, compulsory and free
school model was established. The Republic collided with the resistance of the Church,
which was losing the traditional hegemonic role it had been playing in this area.
Furthermore, another important aspect of this reform was the expansion of culture in
rural areas thanks to pedagogic missions. These were groups of professors or theatre
actors that went to villages and did either classes or performances for free. It is
important to highlight that at that time, Spain had a very high rate of illiteracy.
One of the most famous ones was “La Barraca” of the famous artist Federico García
Lorca.

- Military reform.

Manuel Azaña promoted a reform that sought to create a modern, professional army,
subordinate it to civil power and ensure its loyalty to the Republic. He therefore
wanted to reduce the risk of a Coup d’Etat.

Azaña elaborated a decree that demanded the oath of fidelity to the Republic to
generals and officials, being able to be removed with full salary to those who did not
take said oath. Indeed, for the Republicans, there were too many officials so they
 decided to reduce their number and make an early retirement, still conserving their
salaries.

Later, Azaña abolished the famous Law of Jurisdictions and abolished the Artillery
Military Academy, directed by General Franco.

The Assault Guard was created, a public order force faithful to the Republic. The
reduction of the budget made difficult the material modernization of the army.

The right side will take advantage of the discontent of this section of the army to
encourage the military revolt against the Republic, which resulted in the failed coup
led by Sanjurjo in August 1932 (Sanjuanada).

- Agrarian reform.
At that time, Spain had a big problem with land ownership. The latifundio was the
previous form of ownership, as the latifundistas rented the land to the peasants, thus
making a lot of profit.
This new law ensured the protection of the poorest peasants and put an end to this
latifundia. Furthermore, t was the largest project initiated by the Republic. The reform
consisted of the Law of Bases of the Agrarian Reform (1932), whose objective was the
modernization of agriculture.

But how did they intend to do this?

To do so, they applied expropriations, which could be expropriations of noble lands,
expropriations of under-expropriated lands, so not well managed lands, or permanent
leases. The republicans aimed to rectify the disentailments of the 19th century, and
thus give the land to the peasants. The expropriated lands were handed over to the
Provincial Boards through the Agrarian Reform Institute (IRA), so that they distributed
them among day laborers and settlers in exchange for a small rent.
However, there was a big problem, there was almost no budget for this law because
the world was living through a crisis that started in 1932 in the United States.
Therefore, this law was hardly applied.
The reform encountered serious difficulties such as the resistance of the landowners
and the opposition of the right-wing and center parties in Congress, the slowness of
the procedures, etc. The results were far removed from the original approaches. At the
end of 1933, only 12,000 families benefited from the reform. More than a million
peasants continued to claim their right to the land and saw the hopes placed in the
Republic frustrated.
In other words, this new law angered both peasants and landowners in sight of the
government’s intention to take away their lands.

- The states of Autonomy:

The configuration of a State that would allow regions with nationalist feelings to access
autonomy was also an important point of the republican government.
Nationalism had worsened after the repression of Primo de Rivera's dictatorship.

In Catalonia, 90% of citizens voted in favor of the Autonomy Statute and it was
approved. In September 1932, according to said statute, "Catalonia became an
 autonomous region within the Spanish State". This statute was carried out by the ERC
(Esquerra Republicana) and it was called the Nuria’s Statute.
From now on, Catalonia had an autonomous government, the Generalitat, with a
president (Maciá).

On the other hand, The Basques were also trying to achieve a similar statute called
Estella’s Stature. But in this case, since the leading group was PNV who were far more
catholic and traditional, the Republican government refused because it was against the
principles of the constitution. Finally, it was later on approved in 1936.

- Religious Reform:
With the republic, many measures were also created that were not to the liking of the
religious establishment. For example, in May 1933, the Law of Congregations was passed,
which called for a register of all religious congregations and their respective assets.
Furthermore, these were also limited by the government.

On the other hand, the state was able to dissolve these congregations if they posed a
danger to the republic.

Thus, as you can imagine, the church was the protagonist of many anti-republican
proclamations.

In fact, Cardinal Segura himself, a very representative figure for the church, was forced to
leave the country.

OPPOSITION

In view of these reforms, several groups emerged to oppose them. The main ones were the
military who did not agree with the lowering of employment and the military reform, the
Church because it was losing its leading role, the Basques because the government did not
approve their law, the Catholics as the largest group for similar reasons to the church, the
peasants because the law did not end up favoring them, and the landowners because the
government had tried to expropriate their land.

This people that opposed to the Republicans grouped into left or wing side parties.

Starting with the right-wing parties:

The political parties that did not succeed in the June elections join the CEDA (Confederación
Española de Derechas Autónoma) led by Jose Maria Gil Robles who had fascist ideas.

In addition, on the right, there were groups claiming to be fascist as they imitated, for
example, the black shirts of Mussolini in Italy or the S.A. of the Nazis in Germany.

Within these groups we can distinguish the Spanish Falange led by Jose Antonio Primo de
Rivera and the JONS (Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional Sindicalistas) led by Ramiro Ledesma. These
were armed groups that spread confrontation and violence in the streets. These were similar
to the situations in Italy. Moreover, the JONS spread their ideas through fear and violence.
In addition, just to jump ahead chronologically, the Falange and the JONS united in 1934.
Finally, the military who opposed the Republicans created the UME (Unión Militar Española). A
very active organisation at the time of the coup d'état and later in the uprising against the
republic in 1936.

On the other hand, political parties of the left also emerged:

The peasants who did not benefit from the reform of the agrarian law became Communists
and Anarchists.

The first notable political party was the PCE (Partido Comunista Español) led by Dolores
Ibarruri, also known as "La Pasionaria".

The CNT and the FAI (Federación Anarquista Iberica) then spread, especially in the countryside,
with events such as "Casas Viejas". Here anarchist militants, the Civil Guard and the Guardia de
Asalto clashed. It was such a catastrophic event that groups of anarchists were burned in their
own houses.

This whole revolt caused a great discredit for Azaña and his government.

Likewise, all this opposition, the social problems and revolts and the rupture between the
agreement between the republicans and the socialists caused the fall of the government and
together with it, the proclamation of new elections in November 1933.

IMPACTS

The reformist biennium brought many domestic impacts.

- Political:
Because of all the measures and reforms introduced in the reform biennium, all those
who were dissatisfied mounted various movements and revolts. In fact, several
political parties were formed, such as the ones we have just mentioned, which, as our
colleagues will discuss in the following presentation, will play a crucial role in the
history of Spain. Therefore, we can conclude that the reformist biennium had a great
impact on the politics of the time, as well as conditioning its future.

- Social:
Socially speaking, the impact of the reforms was very contradictory as it depended on
the ideals of each citizen. For those landowners, being stripped of their rights over
their land and peasants infuriated them. Moreover, as the reform of secular education
was introduced, religion was also angry as it lost a lot of prominence. These are just a
few examples, but on the other hand, other people with more republican ideals, such
as workers who were able to benefit, were happy and did not provoke revolts or
attacks.

- Economic:
The economic impact shows us perfectly how impacts are often interrelated. What at
the beginning encouraged and contented the peasants with the assurances that they
would be able to own the land and not submit to the landowners ended up in various
revolts because the budget for the land reforms was not sufficient. On the other hand,
 we have also talked about how the government promoted educational missions, which
clearly satisfied the rural population.

Considering these are policies installed in Spain, it is logical to say that there are far more
domestic than foreign impacts. As my classmates said, this made Spain look for some countries
more modernized, but others who still were conservative and had traditional monarchies kind
of feared from this government and its reforms.

4. INTERVIEW TO CLARA CAMPOAMOR ABOUT ROLE OF WOMEN IN THE II SPANISH

REPUBLIC

Context: We have travelled back in time to the 20th century, at the time of the Second
Spanish Republic, when several women’s rights reforms were introduced into the 1931
Constitution.
Interviewer:
Today we are here to interview an important Spanish lawyer who had recently fought
for women’s rights during the Second Republic, considered one of the mothers of the
Spanish feminist movement. Founder of an organization known as Unión Republicana
Femenina, please welcome Clara Campoamor.
Clara Campoamor:
Thank you for the invitation, it’s a pleasure to be here.
Interviewer:
So, let’s begin with the questions. You have always stood out for being involved in the
feminist movement in Spain, but how did the idea of supporting feminism emerge?
Campoamor:
I realized women’s discrimination and their role which was simply to be a good wife
and a mother, always taking care of the kids at home and this was one of the reasons
that persuade me to produce a change. When I was working as a typing teacher at the
age of 26, I was able to interact with feminist activists such as Carmen de Burgos, who
was also fighting for women’s rights. Likely, these influenced my perspective to make a
change.
Interviewer:
What can you tell us about the women’s situation before the II Republic?
Clara Campoamor:
Well, women have always depended much on their husbands, and the truth is that this
was happening even before of the Second Republic. Those who belonged to higher
classes, their childhood was based on piano, French and Spanish classes. Of course,
manners were also taught to them. On the other hand, women belonging to lower
social classes received a different education which was more focused on housework
and if they lived in a rural area they needed to work also on agricultural activities.
Despite their social classes, all these women received this education with a common
purpose: to benefit the man.
Interviewer:
Let’s move on with what is considered your main achievement, women’s suffrage. How
did you manage to introduce women’s suffrage into the society?
Clara Campoamor:
It was actually a pretty complex process as you may imagine. The approval of women’s
suffrage was done through a constituent assembly at the Constituent Courts on the 1 st
of October of 1931. In this assembly, they voted to constitute the Second Republic as
well as women’s suffrage. During this assembly, we were twenty- one deputies the
ones who drafted the Constitution of 1931, and I, who belonged to the Radical
Republican Party, was included among them. However, when voting to introduce the
new law, three different positions emerged: those who were in favour, those who
opposed and those who suggested delaying it a few years, due to the lack of social and
political experience women had at that time and because she had too much influence
from the church. Or at least that’s what Kent and Nelken thought. In the end, a total of
161 votes agreed with the women’s suffrage and 121 were against. So yes, this law it’s
currently written in Article 36 of the 1931 Constitution, which states the following:
“Citizens older than 23 years old, of any gender, will have the same electoral rights”.
Additionally, it was on November 19 of 1933 when 6.800.000 Spanish women chose
for the first time their representatives.
Interviewer:
May I ask what was the role of both Kent and Nelken?
Clara Campoamor:
Victoria Kent was also a feminist and was chosen as a deputy belonging to the Socialist
Radical Republican Party. Although both of us had the same ideology regarding woman
suffrage, she thought that women hadn’t enough economic independence and enough
formation to select their representatives. I mean, she wasn’t in opposition, she just
thought that it wasn’t the best time to approve it. On the other hand, I saw the
Constitution as a great chance to introduce those reforms we, women, had been
demanding for years. Margarita Nelken belonged to the PSOE, but she wasn’t a deputy
yet, therefore she wasn’t able to vote. She also shared the same opinion as Victoria,
since they both thought it was a huge responsibility the woman wasn’t ready for, yet.
Interviewer:
Do you think you could describe the actual situation of women at this time? Since
during the Second Republic you manage to break apart with this women stereotype
society has always had, right?
Clara Campoamor:
During the Second Republic, I did not only achieve women’s suffrage, but I was also
able to introduce other laws into the 1931 Constitution such as allowing the woman to
work in civil services equally as the man, or the Law of Divorce, which was approved in
1932 by the Constitution. As well as the Civil Marriage Law, which was also approved in
1932. Undoubtfully, women’s position in society evolved and changed for good during
the period of the Second Republic.
Interviewer:
Lastly, could you share with us any other impacts on the evolution of women’s role
during the second Republic?
Clara Campoamor:
It’s evident that the introduction of women’s suffrage was a political reform which
contributed a lot to women’s role in Spanish society. As well, I’m pretty sure that
women’s contributions to these new laws will make society advance in other aspects
such as economic, social and perhaps even foreign. As an economic impact, since
women were able to work in civil services, this helped the economy of the country to
grow. During this century women’s suffrage was also introduced in other countries,
meaning that we were not the only women fighting for our rights. Countries such as
Finland, Norway and Sweden accepted this law too. However, Europe wasn’t the first
continent to achieve women’s suffrage, but New Zealand, in Oceania, was actually the
first country to obtain the right to vote for women. Women’s role consideration
teaches us an important lesson: we should not underrate people because of their
gender, race or any other condition.
Interviewer:
Thank you very much, it has been a pleasure and honour to be able to interview to one
of the women who had managed to end discrimination against women in important
aspects such as universal suffrage or access to public service.