Unit 9. Spain in the 20th and 21st century
UNIT 9. Spain in the 20th and 21st Century
THE TEST WILL BE NEXT THURSDAY 19TH MAY 2022
Reign of Alfonso XIII (1902-1931)
During the Crisis of 98, Alfonso XIII was declared King. He changed the political party from the conservatives to the liberals.
- The labour unions (sindicatos) wanted to guarantee the rights of workers and to stop caciques manipulating elections.
- Republicans wanted to abolish the monarchy.
- The Rift War took place during his reign. The Rif area (Morocco) was controlled by Spain and they rebelled and many soldiers died.
These problems were difficult to manage by the king so he asked for help to General Primo de Rivera.
Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera (1923-1930)
He finished with the Rif war and to control the parliament problems he declared a dictatorship accepted by the king.
Under his dictatorship:
-Constitution was suspended
-Political parties and unions were forbidden.
-The press was censored.
As there was not freedom of thought, many intellectuals and students complained about this but they were punished very frequently.
So, the Spanish society was divided by the new political situation and this brought the refusal to Alfonso XIII because he accepted the dictatorship. In 1930 Primo de Rivera resigned because his unpopularity and left to France.
Second Republic (1931-1939)
There was an election in 1931 and it was won by the Republicans and the socialists. Under the new republican government, the king Alfonso XIII left the country.
The High Court created the Constitution of 1931 and named:
- Alcalá-Zamora(President of the republic)
- Manuel Azaña(President of the Government).
The constitution of 1931 established:
- New civil rights as equal voting right for both genders.
- Separation of the church and the government.
All these reforms were accepted by part of the population but others didn´t accept them very well: The conservatives refused most of them and some left wing parties thought that they were not enough. So once more the Spanish population was very divided and this caused a society divided into right wing supporters and left wing supporters.
Lots of strikes and street rebellions started till in 1936 General Francisco Franco led a military coup and initiated the Civil War.
THE CIVIL WAR (1939-1975)
General Francisco Franco rebelled against the government of the 2nd Republic and he started to occupy Spain from the south. The civil war of Spain started:
- Franco or “the rebels” were supported by the German nazis (led by Adolf Hitler) and the Italian fascists (led by Mussolini)
- The Republicans (Manuel Azaña) supported by the Soviet Union and International Brigades.
Franco could advance into south and northwest of Spain because they were not well organized and the soviets and the International Brigades didn´t give so much weapons and soldiers to republicans. The civil war finished in 1939 when Madrid fell onto the Franco´s army.
The Civil War of Spain brought poverty, hunger, illnesses, death and the exile of many Spanish people that ran away from the war.
FRANCO´S DICTATORSHIP (1939-1975)
Francisco Franco had all the power. He was called Generalisimo.
- He abolished the Constitution 1931.
- He banned labour unions and political parties.
The dictatorship can be divided into two different periods:
*1st period: Self-government phase (1939-1950):This was a very hard period because some countries didn´t accept Franco´s dictatorship because he was a Nazi and Fascist allie. Spain was internationally isolated and punished. Spain had to produce its own goods, more hunger, poverty and illnesses in the Spanish population.
* 2nd period: The development phase (1960-1970): Some countries started to have relationships with Spain: - The first was the USA to stablish military bases in Spain to fight against the Soviet Union. - International tourism started.
In 25th November 1975 Francisco Franco died and his sucessor was Juan Carlos de Borbón.
TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY
Franco, at the end of his dictatorship, named king Juan Carlos to continue as a MONARCHY. He broke with the dictatorship system and started a process of political changing from a dictatorship to a democratic system. This process is called THE TRANSITION.
To do this, he had to abolish the law that prohibited the participation of opposition political parties and he declared elections. Adolfo Suárez was appointed president of the government in 1976.
The Spanish Constitution was restored again the 6th December 1978. To do this, it was necessary to have the acceptance of the Constitution by all Spanish citizens through a referendum.
Since then, there had been constitutional governments from both Socialist Party and Popular Party.
During the transition, the international relationships increased and Spain was accepted in international organisms as the European Union in 2002.
The Constitution of 1978
This Constitution organizes Spain as a democratic state and guarantees the rights and liberties of the citizens and it also stablishes their duties. It has two parts:
- First part: Spain as a democratic state
We are a democratic state governed through laws that respect liberty, justice, equality and plurality.
We have a constitutional monarchy where the population has also power to participate.
Organizes the territory in autonomous communities.
The official language is Spanish but there are other dialects (gallego, vasco and catalán).
- Second part: Rights and liberties
Liberty of association, demonstration and expression.
Equality of everyone without discrimination based on birth, race, gender or religion.
Prohibition of the death penalty and torture.
Right to free basic education.
Right to work, a dignified home and social healthcare.
Obligation to contribute to the expenses of the state through taxes.
CONCEPTS TO STUDY
MONARCHY: a form of government in which a state is ruled by a king.
REPUBLIC: a form of government in which a state is ruled by an elected representative.
DICTATORSHIP: a form of government in which a state is ruled by leader that holds all the power.
GUERNICA
By Pablo Picasso
