Understanding Spain's Political System: From the Canovas System to Opposition Movements

1. The Canovas System and Its Foundations

1.1. Bases of the Canovas System

Cánovas' ideology drew inspiration from French doctrinal liberalism and Spanish moderatism. He advocated for a British-style system based on bipartisanship, where the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party would alternate in power and opposition.

This bipartisanship excluded Carlists and Republicans from the political system.

The intended peaceful alternation of power under Cánovas' system did not work as expected and became a facade. Both parties used pacts and a tacit agreement based on:

• Peaceful transfer of power
• Calling elections
• Electoral fraud

Electoral fraud involved caciquismo, encasillado, and pucherazo. Caciquismo refers to a pyramidal patronage network where high-ranking officials in Madrid communicated pre-agreed election results to civil governors in each province. Encasillado involved civil governors creating lists of candidates who were supposed to be elected in each locality. When the cacique's influence couldn't ensure favorable results, pucherazo was used, which involved replacing ballot boxes with ones filled with fake votes favoring the intended candidate. This manipulation was most common in rural areas.

1.2. Opposition to the System

The fraudulent nature of the alternating parties and the exclusion of others led to growing opposition. Key opponents included republicans, the labor and peasant movement, and emerging regionalist and nationalist movements.

• Republican Parties: This period was marked by the failure of the First Republic and the split between unionists and federalists.
• Labor and Peasant Movement: Developed clandestinely due to the prohibition of workers' associations. Sagasta's first government relaxed restrictions, but they were reinstated in 1887. Industrialization in the Basque Country and Catalonia, along with the spread of Marxism and Anarchism, increased the movement's support and presence. They were involved in various terrorist acts, including the assassination of Cánovas del Castillo in 1897.
• Catalanism: Emerged in the 1830s during the Romantic era. Valentí Almirall, founder of Diari Catalá and Centre Catalá, was one of the early representatives of political Catalanism.
• Galician Regionalism: Developed more slowly and with less social support than Catalanism due to the region's economic backwardness and a weaker bourgeoisie. It became a political movement with the founding of the Irmandades da Fala by Antón Vilar Ponte in 1916.
• Basque Nationalism: Unlike the others, its origin is linked to industrialization and the abolition of fueros after the last Carlist War. The Basque Nationalist Party (PNV) emerged from Carlism and the fueros.

2. Spanish Constitutions Throughout History

Constitution of 1812: Promulgated during the Trienio Liberal (1820-1823), it was one of the first liberal constitutions in Europe, establishing separation of powers and individual rights.

Constitution of 1837: Promulgated during the regency of Maria Christina of Bourbon, it established a constitutional monarchy with a division of powers and citizen rights, but with limitations.

Constitution of 1845: Marked a return to absolutism and a significant restriction of freedoms and individual rights.

Constitution of 1849: Attempted to reconcile liberals and moderates but was largely a continuation of the 1837 Constitution.

Constitution of 1869: Established a constitutional monarchy and abolished the privileges of the nobility.

Constitution of 1876: Promulgated during the reign of Alfonso XII, it established a constitutional and representative monarchy with a bicameral system and limited suffrage.