The Popular Front ( es, Frente Popular) in Spain's Second Republic was an electoral alliance and pact signed in January 1936 by various left-wing political organizations, instigated by Manuel Azaña for the purpose of contesting that year's election. In

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...

and today's Valencian Community the name of the coalition was Front d'Esquerres (in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

, meaning ''Front of the Lefts''). The ''Popular Front'' included the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Communist Party of Spain (PCE), and the republicans: Republican Left (IR), (led by Azaña) and Republican Union (UR), led by

Diego Martínez Barrio Diego Martínez Barrio (25 November 1883, in Seville – 1 January 1962) was a Spanish politician during the Second Spanish Republic, Prime Minister of Spain between 9 October 1933 and 26 December 1933 and was briefly appointed again by Man ...

. This pact was supported by Galician ( PG) and

nationalists ( ERC), the POUM, socialist union Workers' General Union (UGT), and the

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...

trade union, the

Confederación Nacional del Trabajo The Confederación Nacional del Trabajo ( en, National Confederation of Labor; CNT) is a Spanish confederation of anarcho-syndicalist labor unions, which was long affiliated with the International Workers' Association (AIT). When working ...

(CNT). Many anarchists who would later fight alongside ''Popular Front'' forces during the Spanish Civil War did not support them in the election, urging abstention instead. The

Comintern The Communist International (Comintern), also known as the Third International, was a Soviet Union, Soviet-controlled international organization founded in 1919 that advocated world communism. The Comintern resolved at its Second Congress to ...

had decided in 1935 that, in response to the growth of Fascism, popular fronts allying Communist parties with other

anti-Fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

parties including Socialist and even

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

parties were advisable. In Spain, it was a coalition between leftist republicans and workers' organizations to defend social reforms of the first government (1931–1933) of the Second Spanish Republic, and liberate the prisoners, political prisoners according with the front propaganda, held since the

Asturian October Revolution The Asturian miners' strike of 1934 was a major strike action undertaken by regional miners against the 1933 Spanish general election, which redistributed political power from the leftists to conservatives in the Second Spanish Republic. The str ...

(1934). The Popular Front defeated the (a collection of

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

parties) and won the 1936 election, forming the new Spanish Government. Manuel Azaña was elected President of the Republic in May 1936, but the PSOE did not join the government because of the opposition of Francisco Largo Caballero. In July 1936, conservative/ monarchist generals instigated a coup d'état which started the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939). The Government dissolved the Spanish Republican Army in the loyal territory and brought weapons to armed groups organized by the unions (UGT and CNT) and workers' parties (PSOE, PCE, POUM) that had initial success in defeating the Francoist forces in Madrid,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

Bilbao ) , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = 275 px , map_caption = Interactive map outlining Bilbao , pushpin_map = Spain Basque Country#Spain#Europe , pushpin_map_caption ...

and Valencia. In October the same year, the Spanish Republican Army was reorganized. After a protracted war of attrition Franco would defeat the Republican forces and rule Spain as a dictatorship until he died in 1975.

History

Foundation and the manifesto of the Popular Front

The Popular Front was formed in 1936 by a coalition of left-wing republican parties. The Popular Front's founding

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

condemned the actions of the conservative-led government, demanding the release of political prisoners detained after November 1933, the re-hiring of state employees who had been suspended, fired, or transferred "without due process or for reasons of political persecution", it proposed establishing a judiciary independent from government control, the investigation and prosecution of acts of unwarranted violence by police, and revision of the Law of Public Order to protect the rights of citizens against arbitrary power.

Payne, Stanley Stanley George Payne (born September 9, 1934) is an American historian of modern Spain and European Fascism at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He retired from full-time teaching in 2004 and is currently Professor Emeritus at its Department ...

. ''Spain's first democracy: the Second Republic, 1931-1936''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. p. 266. The manifesto stressed political moderation against radicalism. The manifesto advocated a moderate left-leaning economic policy that rejected the idea of nationalization of land and instead supported the provision of state economic assistance to agriculture, a new progressive tenancy law, and promotion of collective forms of production. It supported protectionist measures to defend national industry, encouraged state research to assist national industry, promised protection of

small business Small businesses are types of corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships which have fewer employees and/or less annual revenue than a regular-sized business or corporation. Businesses are defined as "small" in terms of being able to ap ...

es, major expansion of public works, and progressive tax reform. The manifesto declared the Popular Front's opposition to class-based society, stating "The Republic conceived of by the Republican parties is not a Republic dominated by social or economic class interests, but a regime of democratic liberty..." but it promised the restoration of certain economic policies of the 1931–33 Spanish government, including increased wages for farmworkers. The manifesto promised the restoration of legislation guaranteeing regional autonomy that was revoked by the conservative-led government.

Members

Members to the coalition were: * Spanish Socialist Workers' Party – Socialist * Communist Party of Spain –

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

* Workers' Party of Marxist Unification – Libertarian Marxist *

Syndicalist Party The Syndicalist Party (; ) was a left-wing political party in Spain, formed by Ángel Pestaña in 1932. Pestaña, a leading member of the Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) trade union, formed the party in response to the growing influence ...

–

Syndicalist Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...

* Republican Left – Republican * Republican Union – Republican It was also supported by: * Republican Left of Catalonia – Catalan nationalist * Galicianist Party – Galician nationalist * Workers' General Union – Socialist trade union * CNT-FAI – Anarcho-syndicalist trade union

1936 Election and immediate aftermath

In the Spanish 1936 election, the Popular Front won the election with its leader Manuel Azaña elected President of Spain.Payne, Stanley. ''Spain's first democracy: the Second Republic, 1931-1936''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. p. 281. The Popular Front received 4,654,116 votes compared to the opponent combined right-wing vote of 4,503,524 votes.Romero Salvadó, Francisco J. ''Twentieth-century Spain: politics and society in Spain, 1898-1998''. Hampshire, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: PALGRAVE, 1999. p. 90. It elected 278 deputies – 99 of which belonged to the Socialists (PSOE), while the right-wing elected 124 deputies – 88 of which belonged to the CEDA. Many of the elected members of the Popular Front were professional persons, several of whom were from wealthy backgrounds. People of various political backgrounds within the Popular Front were appointed to President Azaña's cabinet, such as Amós Salvador, architect and wealthy landowner, and

José Alonso Mallol José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, a former Radical Socialist.Payne, Stanley. ''Spain's first democracy: the Second Republic, 1931-1936''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. p. 282. Upon the election of the Popular Front, the Popular Front held a victory march in Madrid with over 250,000 supporters, with its Socialist and Communist party components marching in uniform in the thousands. The Popular Front immediately delivered its promise in its manifesto of rehiring workers fired for political reasons without due process and to reimburse them based on individual cases for wages lost to an extent of not less than thirty-nine days' wages nor more than six months. Azaña responded to the recent surge of acts of violence, arson, and vandalism by radical leftists against right-wing parties and Catholic Church institutions by denouncing these actions. Uncontrolled political violence continued through to March with the greatest disturbance taking place in

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

where a violent act by right-wing political forces provoked a

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

and mass riot by left-wing political forces there. In particular, violence involving Communists and Socialists versus Falangists resulted in multiple murders.Payne, Stanley. ''Spain's first democracy: the Second Republic, 1931-1936''. Madison, Wisconsin, USA: University of Wisconsin Press, 1993. p. 285. By July there had been 269 political killings. Azaña acceded to demands by left-wing movements for punishment of General Eduardo López Ochoa, the army leader of the 1934 Asturian campaign against workers' movements there. The Spanish Republican government also made major changes to the Spanish Army, pro-Republican or neutral commanders were installed in multiple posts while commanders with questionable loyalties were moved to lesser or remote positions: for example, General

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War ...

was removed as chief of staff of the army and moved to a position in the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

and General Emilio Mola was demoted from a major command in

Spanish Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

to a position as commander of a brigade in Pamplona. The government did not stay in power long, mainly because of the conflict of ideological views by many of the parties. The only factor working for the government was unity for the conquest of fascism. After the Republican defeat in the Spanish Civil War, the popular front was dissolved and

led as a dictatorship until 1975.Douglass, C. (1991). "The fiesta cycle of Spain." in '' Anthropological Quarterly'', 64(3), pp. 126-141.

References

External links