Maria Christina's Regency: Politics and Nationalism in Spain

The Regency of Maria Christina of Austria and the Shift of Parties

The Regency of Maria Christina (1885-1902) continued the political system established by Canovas. It also saw the granting of universal male suffrage in 1890. The loss of the colonies in 1898 caused a crisis that raised the need to revise the political system and rebuild the country.

Development

In 1885, Canovas and Sagasta signed the Pact of Pardo and agreed to continue the party shift. This system, until then, had shown apparent stability but had also created opposition. This stability was achieved by the "cacique" (local political boss), who blackmailed people to obtain the desired election results. These traps were made by the "encasillado" system, where political forces negotiated and electoral districts were divided between the dynastic politicians. If this method did not work, they resorted to "pucherazo," the electoral fraud that was used in case of non-operation of the agreement between parties.

Between 1885 and 1890, the Liberals were in power, with Sagasta as the head of government. This government was the first in the regency of Maria Christina. Sagasta took steps to democratize the system:

• The Commercial Code (1885)
• The Civil Code (1889), which regulated private relations
• The Juries Act (1887)
• The Associations Act (1887), which legalized the formation of political parties and labor unions
• The Law of Universal Male Suffrage (1890)

The Political Opposition

• The Carlist movement became a very minor residual force.
• Republicans were divided into several parties: the Federal Party, the Progressive Party, the Historical Party, and the Central Party. They advocated for a republic and criticized the Church.
• The labor movement had little relevance and, since the Revolutionary Sexenio, was separated between the Marxists and the Anarchists. The latter were more important in Spain and tended to support the Republicans. The main organizations were:

UGT (1888) and the PSOE (1879), originally founded by 9 members. During the regency of Maria Christina, the PSOE did not have deputies. In the late 19th century, it began to grow due to the celebration of May 1st, during which it organized demonstrations and criticized the war in Cuba (1898). The PSOE became more popular because it was the only party that opposed the war, along with the Anarchists.

The Anarchists were grouped into two organizations: the First International and the FTRE, their most important moment. Both disappeared with the emergence of the CNT. The Anarchists carried out three types of actions: terrorism, industrial action, and cultural and reclamation activities.

Regionalism and Nationalism

Nationalism surged in the Basque Country due to economic development. Traditionalism, historical, cultural, and linguistic movements emerged in Catalonia and the Basque Country. Pre-cultural movements also appeared. Since the mid-19th century, many people were studying the Catalan language, culture, and history, due to the increasing bourgeoisie. They criticized the Restoration system.

Catalanism

Catalanism surged in 1891. It was liberal but conservative, advocating for private property, the Catholic religion, Catalan tradition, social order, etc.

Basque Nationalism

In the late 19th century, the Basque Country was industrializing, leading the Basques to demand independence. They also called for the use of their language, Euskera, and the defense of the Basque ethnic group/race.

Galician and Valencian Regionalism

These were areas where the importance of nationalism was less than in Catalonia and the Basque Country. However, a minority existed with different tendencies, as in the case of Galicia, with traditionalist and liberal-democratic leanings.