The Second Spanish Republic: Foundations and Political Landscape
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The Proclamation of the Republic and Constitutional Period
Elections and the Provisional Government
On April 12, 1931, municipal elections were held by universal male suffrage. On April 14, elected council members proclaimed the Republic, and King Alfonso XIII decided to give up and relinquish royal power in the country. In Madrid, representatives of various parties formed a provisional government and proclaimed the Second Spanish Republic. This government immediately called for constituent parliamentary elections and enacted a series of urgent measures. The new Republic's promises garnered widespread popular support, but also faced animosity from large landowners, the financial oligarchy, parts of the Army, and the Church. The general elections of June 28 saw high participation, with victory going to the Republican-Socialist coalition.
The 1931 Constitution
The elected members formed the new Republican Parliament, which then ratified Niceto Alcalá-Zamora as President of the Republic. The Constitution of 1931 was highly advanced for its time. It possessed a strong democratic and progressive character, comprehensively configuring the State. Legislative power resided in the Cortes (parliament), and it recognized a broad statement of rights and established liberties. Voting rights were granted from the age of 23, and crucially, to women. The Constitution was adopted by a large majority.
Political Parties and Unions in the Second Republic
Parliament became the center of the country's political life. On the political left, prominent parties included the Radical-Socialist Republican Action and regional republican organizations such as the Autonomist Galician Republican Organization and Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya. The most solid party was the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). The Communist Party of Spain (PCE) and, from 1936, the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) also gained prominence.
Conservative and Catholic traditionalist parties demonstrated hostility towards the Republic from its proclamation. Among these groups, the Agrarian Party, the Liberal Democrats, and in Catalonia, the Regionalist League, and in the Basque Country, the Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) stood out. A monarchist group, Spanish Renewal, led by José Calvo Sotelo, maintained a hostile attitude towards the Republic, advocating for a coup and forming an agreement with the Traditionalist Communion. In 1931, the Juntas de Ofensiva Nacional-Sindicalista (JONS) merged with the Falange Española, led by José Antonio Primo de Rivera.