The Radical-CEDA Biennium and the 1934 Revolution

The Radical-CEDA Biennium and the Rectifier Program

During the Radical-CEDA Biennium, Alejandro Lerroux formed a government with members of the Radical Party. Although the CEDA initially stayed away from direct cabinet positions, the Radicals required their votes to implement a program of rectification.

Reversal of Reforms

• Land Reform: The agrarian reform was paralyzed; the government stopped the delivery of land to peasants and decreed freedom of contract and wage determination.
• Military Reform: Military reforms were halted, and the government placed military figures in key destinations.
• Religious and Educational Policy: These areas underwent significant changes, including the restoration of rights and liabilities for the clergy.
• Autonomy: Statutes of autonomy were blocked.

Political Radicalization

The country became increasingly polarized between the right and the left. The middle classes largely supported the CEDA and its main leader, Gil Robles. Its popular youth militia acted with totalitarian characteristics. Meanwhile, the left reconstructed itself after its electoral defeat. The radical labor movement, led by the PSOE and Largo Caballero, began preparations for a revolution in the event that the CEDA reached the government. This movement was joined by the Catalan nationalists of Esquerra.

The Revolution of 1934

The UGT organized a general strike and peasant protests against the reversal of land reform. The CEDA decided to provoke a crisis within the Radical government. In Asturias, the mobilizations turned into a revolutionary armed insurrection; the authorities dismissed workers and eventually conquered the capital. While the motion failed in Madrid—where troops were quartered and key leaders were arrested—the revolution briefly triumphed in Catalonia before the army regained control within days. To combat the revolution, the government granted significant powers to Francisco Franco.

The Second Stage of the Biennium

The Radical-CEDA government continued its counter-revolutionary program. It decreed the suspension of the statutes of Catalonia and approved a new agrarian reform law. However, the CEDA began to weaken. The National Bloc, formed by monarchist sectors and directed by Calvo Sotelo, advocated for an authoritarian fascist state and began to explore the possibility of a military coup.

The Fall of the Government

The left demanded the dissolution of the courts and called for new elections for the Republic. The rightist government crisis erupted in October due to a bribery scandal involving senior officials and the illegal authorization of casino machines (the Straperlo scandal). This scandal brought about the collapse of Lerroux and the Radical Party.