Spain 1936: Popular Front, Unrest, and Military Plot

Popular Front Government in Spain 1936

In February 1936, following the elections, President Alcalá Zamora commissioned Manuel Azaña to form a government. This government aimed to implement the Popular Front's program, which was based on:

• Continuing land reform
• Intensifying political education
• Granting amnesty for political prisoners
• Restoring the Generalitat of Catalonia
• Promoting the adoption of statutes for the Basque Country and Galicia

On April 7, Zamora was ousted as President of the Republic, and Azaña was elected in his place. Santiago Casares Quiroga became the head of the governing Republican Left party. However, neither could prevent the progressive deterioration of public order.

Public disorder manifested in several ways: violence in the countryside, including strikes and land occupations (estates); attacks on church buildings and the burning of convents; and violent clashes between groups. These groups included, on one side, politicians, monarchists, and Falangists, and on the other, union communists and anarchists.

The most significant of these violent acts was the assassination of José Calvo Sotelo in July 1936.

Radical Social and Political Tensions

On the right, an increase in violent activities by the Falange Española de las JONS was noted. This violence led to the party's prosecution, its declaration as illegal, and the imprisonment of its leader, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The Falange was aligned with fascist ideologies.

On the left, radicalization was also observed in the months leading up to the outbreak of the war, especially within certain sectors of the PSOE (Spanish Socialist Workers' Party) and the CNT (National Confederation of Labour).

The Growing Military Conspiracy

A segment of the army had been conspiring against the Republic since its proclamation. A notable instance of this conspiracy occurred on the night of the February 1936 elections. Upon learning of the Popular Front's victory, General Franco proposed declaring a state of war, but this proposal was not acted upon by others at the time.

The Republican government, aware of this danger, placed loyal Republicans as heads of key military divisions. Generals under suspicion, such as Franco and Goded, were assigned to peripheral posts. However, General Mola, who had connections with the Navarrese Carlists (Requetés), was largely overlooked and became a key organizer.

In early March 1936, groups of generals and politicians began to devise conspiracies, scheduling several attempts at insurrection against the Republic. From April onwards, General Mola took the lead in preparing a more organized and widespread coup network.

The coup planned by Mola envisioned swift action and did not hesitate to employ the necessary degree of violence to ensure its success. Originally scheduled for late July, the coup was advanced to July 18th. This change was partly due to the profound emotional impact that the assassination of José Calvo Sotelo had on the conspirators.

In Catalonia, political radicalization led to the merging of small leftist parties in an attempt to form a unified political front. Examples of these new formations include the POUM (Workers' Party of Marxist Unification), formed in 1935, and the PSUC (Unified Socialist Party of Catalonia), formed in 1936.

However, all efforts to unify these political factions proved futile, as the outbreak of war became inevitable.