Spanish Second Republic: Parties & Early Challenges

Political Parties in the Second Spanish Republic

Following the proclamation of the Republic, a provisional government was formed. It represented all the forces that signed the Pact of San Sebastián:

• Liberal Republican Right: Alcalá Zamora (President), Miguel Maura (Interior)
• Radical Republican Party: Lerroux (State), Martínez Barrio (Communications)
• Republican Action: Azaña (War)
• Radical Socialist Republican Party: Marcelino Domingo (Education), Álvaro Albornoz (Development), Nicolau D'Oliver (Economy), Casares Quiroga (Navy)
• PSOE: Indalecio Prieto (Finance), Fernando de los Rios (Justice), Largo Caballero (Labor)

It was not a revolutionary government. The members were mostly middle-class men aware of the need to modernize the country, but supporters of doing so by democratic and legal means. Their primary role was to establish the Republic through a constituent assembly (Cortes Constituyentes).

Early Challenges of the Republic

However, the Republic also faced a number of serious problems that could not wait for the constitutional debate:

• Agrarian Reform
• Reform of the army, which was hypertrophied, unsuited to the needs of the country, and too accustomed to intervening in politics
• Reform of Church-State relations
• Satisfaction of nationalist claims
• The problem of education

This urgent reform was initiated by the provisional government. The interim government faced two main conflicts:

Labor Unrest

A series of strikes broke out in April in Seville, San Sebastian, Asturias, and Barcelona, organized by the anarchist unions CNT and FAI (associated with figures like Durruti and Federica Montseny).

Confrontation with the Church

The confrontation with the Church, headed by Primate Cardinal Pedro Segura, was caused by the government's secular policy in education and the end of state financing of the Church. The conflict began with a series of pastoral letters and protests from the bishops meeting in Toledo on May 9th. These were supported by the National Catholic Association of Propagandists (ACNP), which would start a new party: National Action, under the theme of "Religion, family, order, work, and property." The reaction to these protests was the burning of convents on May 11th and 12th in several cities. This dealt a severe blow to the image of the Republic.