Spain's Restoration Era: Regency, El Pardo Pact, and Regionalism

The Regency of María Cristina (1885-1902)

The Pact of El Pardo and Political Stability

In November 1885, Alfonso XII died. His second wife, María Cristina of Austria, became regent. To ensure the stability of the regime, Prime Ministers Sagasta (Liberal) and Cánovas del Castillo (Conservative) established the agreement known as the Pact of El Pardo.

They pledged to:

• Support the regency.
• Provide relief in the government (alternation) when the ruling party lost prestige or public support.
• Not repeal the fundamental laws approved by the opposing party.

While intended to stabilize the monarchy, the pact ultimately exacerbated political corruption and distorted the popular will through electoral manipulation.

The Liberal Government and Major Reforms (1885–1890)

Between 1885 and 1890, the Liberal Party ruled during the period known as the "Long Parliament." Sagasta implemented a political agenda characterized by much greater openness and reform:

• Freedom of expression and academic freedom were restored and expanded.
• Freedom of association was restored.

The most important reform was the new electoral law that definitively established universal male suffrage. However, the effects of this reform were muted due to widespread electoral manipulation.

The bipartisan political alternancia continued without major surprises until the outbreak of the insurrection in Cuba.

The Opposition to the System

Decline of the Republican Movement

During the Restoration, the republican movement experienced a sharp decline. This was due both to Cánovas' repression and the internal division among irreconcilable republican groups.

Republicans, often formed by committees of notables, almost always limited their activities to election time and invariably obtained only a handful of seats. Their chances of success were very small, as they no longer had the support of organized labor or the peripheral bourgeoisie, which increasingly leaned towards regional and nationalist parties.

The Rise of Regional Nationalisms

As republicanism and Carlism weakened, new movements emerged that claimed historical rights and regional differentiation. Regionalism was strongest initially in Catalonia.

Catalan Nationalism

Catalan nationalism arose around figures like Valentí Almirall and Enric Prat de la Riba. Groups led by both merged into the Unió Catalanista. Its founding program, the Bases de Manresa, cemented the differentiation of Catalan language and culture with national sentiment.

Basque Nationalism

The Basque movement emerged at a later date. Sabino Arana founded the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) in 1895. Although initially very radical, its platform gradually softened. This rise of regional identity movements was a common phenomenon across Europe.

Similar movements began to develop in Galicia, Valencia, and Andalusia in the early twentieth century.