Key Historical Documents of 20th Century Spain

1. The Land and the Social Issue (1902)

This circumstantial historical text is part of the work The Land and the Social Issue (1902), written by the regenerationist Joaquín Costa. Born in the province of Zaragoza to a modest farming family, Costa graduated in Philosophy and Law.

During the crisis of the Restoration system and the reign of Alfonso XIII, Costa—alongside Alba and Paraíso—created the National Union. This served as a third political alternative to the conservatives and liberals, organized in Zaragoza before the National League of Producers (1899), which was formed by dissatisfied Castilian farmers.

Following the disaster of '98 and the agrarian and textile crises, Costa denounced the distortion of democracy and proposed several economic and educational reforms. His perspective stemmed from the pessimism surrounding Spain's 1898 loss of colonies to the U.S. He sought to forge a new identity for Spain based on authenticity, necessitating the exposure of the deceptions of the "official Spain" (the collapse of the Cánovas system).

Key proposals included:

• Denouncing the lack of freedom for the people.
• Promoting accessible education for all social strata.
• Improving and transforming agriculture through new cultivation techniques, irrigation, and balanced land distribution.

2. The Republican Constitution of 1931

This legal text comprises a series of articles from the Republican Constitution of 1931, the result of a constitutional process initiated on June 28, 1931, with elections to the Cortes in which the Republican-Socialist coalition won a landslide majority.

Earlier, on April 14, 1931, a provisional Republican government chaired by Alcalá-Zamora took control of state power centers as Alfonso XIII left Spain, ending the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. These Cortes, clearly tilted to the left, prioritized drafting a new constitution to replace the 1876 version. Approved by Parliament in December 1931, it remained in effect until 1936 and served as the legal framework for the Republican zone during the Civil War (1936–1939).

Key features of the 1931 Constitution:

• State Structure: A democratic and social republic, secular in nature, with guaranteed religious freedom.
• Social Rights: Included freedom of expression, free and compulsory primary education, and equality before the law.
• Regional Autonomy: Accepted political and administrative autonomy for regions within an integral state.
• Modernization: Incorporated elements of a social and democratic state of law.
• Power Organization: Divided into three branches: executive (President), legislative (unicameral Congress of Deputies elected by universal male and female suffrage), and judiciary (judges and courts).
• Language and Policy: Castilian was established as the official state language, while regional linguistic particularities were recognized. The state abided by international law and rejected war as a tool of national policy.