Spanish general election, 1931
Encyclopedia
Background
General Primo de RiveraPrimo de Rivera
Primo de Rivera is a Spanish family prominent in politics of the 19th and 20th centuries:*Fernando Primo de Rivera, Spanish politician and soldier, 1831-1921*Miguel Primo de Rivera , dictator of Spain from 23 September 1923 to 1930...
, who had run a military dictatorship in Spain since 1923, resigned as head of government in January 1930. There was little support for a return to the pre-1923 system, and the monarchy had lost credibility by backing the military government. Dámaso Berenguer
Dámaso Berenguer
Dámaso Berenguer y Fusté, Count of Xauen was a Spanish soldier and politician.Berenguer was born in San Juan de los Remedios, Cuba, while that island nation was still a Spanish province....
was ordered by the king to form a replacement government, but his dictablanda
Dictablanda
"Dictablanda" is a word used by political scientists to describe a dictatorship in which civil liberties are allegedly preserved rather than destroyed. The word dictablanda is a portmanteau of the Spanish words dictadura and blanda...
dictatorship failed to provide a viable alternative. In the municipal elections of 12 April 1931, little support was shown for pro-monarchy parties in the major cities. King Alfonso XIII abdicated and the Second Spanish Republic
Second Spanish Republic
The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco....
was formed.
The Second Republic was a source of hope to the poorest in Spanish society and a threat to the richest, but had broad support from all segments of society. Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first premier minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then — from 1931 to 1936—as its president....
was the first prime minister of the Republic. The wealthier landowners and the middle class accepted the Republic because of the lack of any suitable alternative.
Electoral system
An electoral law of May 1931 replaced the previous single-member constituencies with much larger multi-member ones. The Senate was abolished and thus the government became unicameral. There would be one seat for every 50,000 people, with a separate seat for any city with more than 100,000 inhabitants. Any electoral listElectoral list
An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election to a post, usually in proportional election systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party or can constitute a group of independent candidates...
gaining an outright majority of votes in a district would be guaranteed – and simultaneously restricted to – 80% of the seats. A list winning a plurality of votes but that failed to win a majority would receive two-thirds of the seats. The remainder would be passed to the second list, so long as they received 20% of the vote. A voter would be entitled to vote for as many or as few districts as they liked. The system favoured multi-party coalitions who could thus win a majority of votes.
The voting age was lowered from 25 to 23, but this only covered men. Female suffrage, it was decided, would be an issue for the next parliament. However, women and clergy would be able to stand for election for the first time. Member of both groups were indeed elected.
Campaign
The Liberal Republican Right (DLR) was lead by Alcalá Zamora and Miguel MauraMiguel Maura
Miguel Maura Gamazo was a Spanish politician of the first third of the twentieth century.He was a son of the leading Conservative politician of the Restoration monarchy, Antonio Maura...
. Uniquely, it identified as Catholic and did the most to appeal to monarchists and those on the right. However, despite putting up 116 candidates across Spain, it lead a poor campaign which was poorly organised.
The Radical Republican Party occupied most of the middle ground and was far more successful at winning conservative, moderate support. It was led by Alejandro Lerroux
Alejandro Lerroux
Alejandro Lerroux y García was a Spanish politician who was the leader of the Radical Republican Party during the Second Spanish Republic...
. Such conservatism was at odds with most republicans, who believed greater reforms were necessary to bring about stability. This was the case with the Radical Socialist Party, led by Álvaro de Albornoz and Marcelino Domingo, which promulgated extremist views. "There is nothing to be conserved" Albornoz argued.
Manuel Azaña Díaz lead the Republican Action Party. Azaña was keen to change the political system quickly – he hated the moderation and compromise being argued by Lerroux.
The Socialist Party
Spanish Socialist Workers' Party
The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in...
stood to the left of the political spectrum, and was kept in line with the coalition by a majority of its leadership rather than unanimously. A legal revolution was necessary, argued a key Socialist figure, Largo Cabellero. However, extremists in and outside of the party loomed as potential competition, and the Socialist line was thus that the coalition was only a stepping-stone to a fully socialist state.
The official instructions were that civil authorities were not to interfere with the vote; however, in some areas ad-hoc republican patrols were set up, undoubtedly deterring some conservatives from voting. Some members of councils stood; some provincial governors did the same, but not it their own area of governance. The Republican-Socialist coalition dominated the campaigning; the right, still reeling at the loss of the monarchy, remained disorganised. Only in one area did the right manage to collectivise sufficiently: the Basque Country
Basque Country (autonomous community)
The Basque Country is an autonomous community of northern Spain. It includes the Basque provinces of Álava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, also called Historical Territories....
. Many members of the right switched to republicans, despite having little in common with them – one group in Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
went under the contradictory name the "Monarchist-Republican Party".
Result
The Republican–Socialist coalition won a huge victory, helped by a public more liberally inclined than in 1933 or 1936. The lowest turnoutTurnout
Turnout may refer to:* Turnout , a rotation of the leg which comes from the hips, causing the knee and foot to turn outward, away from the center of the body* Turnout , a British film...
, 56%, was in Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
; the highest, 88%, in Palencia
Palencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
. Broadly speaking, turnout was higher in the north than the south. Overall, turnout was around 70% which was considered high. The Socialists won around 2,000,000 votes; Republicans 1,700,000, Radical Socialists 1,350,000 and the Liberal Republican Right 950,000.Payne notes the difficulty in separating votes between parties because of the wide range of coalitions and other problems.
Votes
Summary of the 28 June 1931 Congress of Deputies election results:| Electoral alliance | % vote | Seats won |
|---|---|---|
| Combined Socialist–Republican Coalition+ | 34.28% | 193 |
| PSOE and the Leftist Coalition+ | 14.56% | 80 |
| Catalan LeftistsIncluded the ERC, ECRS and the Radical Republican Party. | 9.64% | 42 |
| Gallacian Republican Party (Partido Republicano Gallego) and allies+ | 3.73% | 24 |
| Spanish Radical Republican Socialist Party (Partido Republicano Radical Socialista Español)+ | 3.53% | 13 |
| Democratic Federal Republican Party (Partido Republicano Democrático Federal) and Federalist independents | 1.06% | 7 |
| Communist Party | 0.77% | – |
| Socialist Revolution Party (Partido Social Revolucionario) | 0.57% | 1 |
| Extreme Federal Left Party | 0.30% | 2 |
| Radical Republican Party (Partido Republicano Radical) and allies+Included the PRR, DLR, and RS. | 10.59% | 42 |
| Liberal Republic Left (Derecha Liberal Republicana) and allies+ | 4.39% | 8 |
| Liberal Democratic Republican Party (Partido Republicano Liberal Demócrata) and Supporters of the Republic | 1.05% | 4 |
| Gallician Independents | 0.78% | 5 |
| Other Republican Independents | 0.74% | 2 |
| Republican Party of the Center (Partido Republicano de Centro)Only stood in the Balearic Islands Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital... . |
0.56% | 2 |
| Republican Action (Acción Republicana)+ | 0.47% | – |
| Republican Catalan Party (Partido Catalanista Republicà)+ | 0.31% | 1 |
| Agrarian Party | 3.41% | 17 |
| Navarre BasquesIncluded the Traditional (Carlist) Commune (Comunión Tradicionalista (Carlistas)) | 3.59% | 15 |
| National Action (Acción Nacional) | 2.34% | 7 |
| Regionalist League (Lliga Regionalista)+ | 1.97% | 3 |
| Independent Catholics of the Right | 0.72% | – |
| Monarchist Independent | 0.17% | 1 |
| Monarchist League (Unión Monárquica) | 0.10% | 1 |
| Basque Nationalist Action (Acción Nacionalista Vasca) | 0.08% | – |
| Other Socialists | 0.29% | – |
| Coalitions marked + also formed part of the Combined Socialist–Republican Coalition in some seats. | ||
| Totals: | 100.00% | 470 |
Seats
Party divisions at the start of the Cortes, after seats had been awarded between coalitions:| Affiliation | Party | Name in Spanish or Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island... |
Abbreviation | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marxist and Anarchist Left Left-wing politics In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society... |
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| Spanish Socialist Workers' Party Spanish Socialist Workers' Party The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party is a social-democratic political party in Spain. Its political position is Centre-left. The PSOE is the former ruling party of Spain, until beaten in the elections of November 2011 and the second oldest, exceeded only by the Partido Carlista, founded in... |
Partido Socialista Obrero Español | PSOE | 115 | ||
| Socialist Union of Catalonia Socialist Union of Catalonia Socialist Union of Catalonia , a socialist political party in Catalonia, Spain. USC was formed through a split in Spanish Socialist Workers' Party in 1923. The main leader of USC was J... |
Unió Socialista de Catalunya | USC | 4 | ||
| Revolutionary Antifascist Left | Izquierda Revolucionaria Antifascista | IRA | 2 | ||
| Extreme Federal Left | Extrema Esquerra Federal | IEEF | 2 | ||
| Leftist Federal independents | – | – | 2 | ||
| Workers and Peasants' Bloc Workers and Peasants' Bloc The Workers and Peasants' Bloc was a "Right Opposition" communist group in Spain. BOC was founded in Barcelona in 1931, as the mass front of the Catalan-Balearic Communist Federation , after the merger of the Catalan Communist Party into FCCB... Trotskyist Communists. Stood only in Madrid and Catalonia. |
Bloc Obrer i Camperol/Bloque Obrero y Campesino | IRA | – | ||
| Communist Party of Spain Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain is the third largest national political party in Spain. It is the largest member organization of the United Left electoral coalition and has influence in the largest trade union in Spain, Workers' Commissions .... |
Partido Comunista de España | PCE | – | ||
| Republican Second Spanish Republic The Second Spanish Republic was the government of Spain between April 14 1931, and its destruction by a military rebellion, led by General Francisco Franco.... Left |
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| Radical Socialist Republican Party Radical Socialist Republican Party Radical Socialist Republican Party , sometimes shortened to Radical Socialist Party , was a Spanish radical political party, created in 1929 after the split of the left-wing in Alejandro Lerroux's Radical Republican Party... |
Partido Republicano Radical Socialista | PRSS | 59 | ||
| Republican ActionStood only in coalition with other parties. | Acción Republicana | AR | 26 | ||
| Democratic Federal Republican Party | Partido Republicano Democrático Federal | PRD Fed. | 16 | ||
| The Association of Service to the Republic | La Agrupación al Servicio de la República | ASR | 13 | ||
| Radical Socialist Catalan LeftLinked to the PRRS | Esquerra Catalana Radical Socialista | ECRS | 2 | ||
| Republican Independents | – | – | 6 | ||
| Nationalist Nationalism Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what... Left |
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| Republican Left of Catalonia | Esquerra Repubicana de Catalunya | ERC | 29 | ||
| Federation of Galician RepublicansIncluded ORGA Orga is the main antagonist in Godzilla 2000.Before becoming Orga, the Millennian dwelt within its spaceship, awakened from its slumber at the bottom of the ocean by searchlights... and the Galician Republican Party. |
Federación Repubicana Gallega | FRG | 14 | ||
| Nationalist Repblican Party | Partido Nazonalista Repubricán | PNzR | 1 | ||
| Republicans of the Centre and of the Right | |||||
| Radical Republican Party Radical Republican Party The Radical Republican Party , sometimes shortened to the Radical Party was a Spanish political party founded in 1908 by Alejandro Lerroux in Santander, Cantabria by a split from the historical Republican Union party led by Nicolás Salmerón.... |
Partido Republicano Radical | PRR | 90 | ||
| Liberal Republican Right | Derecha Liberal Republicana | DLR | 25 | ||
| Liberal Democrat Republican Party | Partido Republicano Liberal Demócrata | PRLD | 4 | ||
| Centre Republican Party | Partido Republicano de Centro | PRCe | 2 | ||
| Supporters of the Republic | Apoyo a la República | AAR | 2 | ||
| Provincial Republican Association | Agrupación Republicana Provincial | ARP | 2 | ||
| Independents of the Centre | – | – | 4 | ||
| Regionalists and Nationalists of the Centre and of the Right | |||||
| Basque Nationalist Party Basque Nationalist Party The Basque National Party is the largest and oldest Basque nationalist party. It is currently the largest political party in the Basque Autonomous Community also with a minor presence in Navarre and a marginal one in the French Basque Country... In coalition with the CT. |
Partido Nacionalista Vasco | PNV | 7 | ||
| Galician IndependentsFormed the Galician Party in December 1931. | – | – | 5 | ||
| Catalan League | Lliga Catalana | LR | 2 | ||
| Catalan Republican PartyFormed in March 1931 from the Catalan Action (Acció Catalana Acció Catalana Accio Catalana was a political movement Catalanist the first third of the 20th century, created in 1922 around the Catalan National Conference, which brought elements of the Joventut Nacionalista the Regionalist League, former members of the Federal Unió Republicana Nacionalista and youth... ) and Republican Catalan Action (Acció Republicana de Catalunya) parties. |
Partit Catalanista Republicà | PCR | 2 | ||
| Agrarian Republican Autonomy Party | Partido Agrario Republicano Autonomista | PARA | 1 | ||
| Independents (pro-Statute of Estella) | – | – | 3 | ||
| Parties of the Right | |||||
| Agrarian Independents | – | – | 15 | ||
| National Action National Action National Action may refer to:* National Action , a defunct Australian Political Party* National Action , an emerging Maltese Pressure Group*National Action , a South African political party... Became part of CEDA Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right The Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right was a Spanish political party in the Second Spanish Republic. A Catholic conservative force, it was the political heir to Angel Herrera Oria's Acción Popular and defined itself in terms of the 'affirmation and defence of the principles of Christian... in 1932. |
Acción Nacional | AN | 5 | ||
| Monarchist parties of the Right | |||||
| Traditionalist Communion Carlism Carlism is a traditionalist and legitimist political movement in Spain seeking the establishment of a separate line of the Bourbon family on the Spanish throne. This line descended from Infante Carlos, Count of Molina , and was founded due to dispute over the succession laws and widespread... In coalition with the PNV. |
Comunión Tradicionalista (Carlista) | CT | 4 | ||
| Agrarian Catholics | Católico Agrarios | CA | 3 | ||
| Monarchist Union | Unión Monárquica | CT | 1 | ||
| Traditional Catholic PartyIn coalition with the CT and PNV. | Partido Católico Tradicionalista | PCT | 1 | ||
| Liberal Monarchists | Monárquico Liberal | ML | 1 | ||
| Total: | 473 | ||||