Spanish politics The politics of Spain takes place under the framework established by the Constitution of 1978. Spain is established as a social and democratic sovereign country wherein the national sovereignty is vested in the people, from which the power ...

during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ''El Turno Pacífico'' () was an informal system operated by the two major parties for determining in advance the result of a

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. The system ensured that the Conservative Party and the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

would have alternating periods in power.

Operation

Under the ''turno'', the incoming government would first be chosen by the king and would then "make" the election (the so-called '' encasillado'' or "pigeonholing"), ensuring victory. After a period in office, it would then be the turn of the opposition. The key to the system was the link between the minister of the interior, the provincial civil governors, and the local bosses ('' caciques''). These ''caciques'' in most constituencies would instruct their clients how to vote. A similar system in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

was called .

Motivation

The ''Turno Pacífico'' was put in place by

Antonio Cánovas del Castillo Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (8 February 18288 August 1897) was a Spanish people, Spanish politician and historian known principally for serving six terms as Spanish Prime Minister, prime minister and his overarching role as "architect" of the ...

and saw to it that the two "official" parties of the Cánovas Restoration, the Partido Conservador (or Liberal-Conservatives) and Partido Liberal (or the Liberals), retained power in alternation. Both parties upheld the monarchy and could be seen as factions of the "governing class". After almost a century of political instability and many civil wars, the Restoration of 1874 sought to achieve political stability in Spain. Under the ''turno'', no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated and patronage could be doubled. It worked effectively until 1898, surviving the death of

Alfonso XII Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo de Borbón y Borbón; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as ''El Pacificador'' (Spanish: the Peacemaker), was King of Spain from 29 D ...

in 1885, but then became more difficult to operate because of divisions within the major parties and the growing mobilization of sectors of the electorate.

Cessation

Despite being modelled on the United Kingdom, Spanish democracy lacked a responsiveness to popular opinion as (until about 1914) the outcome of elections was broadly decided in advance. Growing opposition was first apparent after Spain's defeat in the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. A period of grave instability occurred in 1918 and 1919, but between 1920 and 1923, a serious attempt was made to reconstruct the ''turno''. It was brought to an end by the military coup by General

Miguel Primo de Rivera Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquis of Estella, Grandee, GE (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a Spanish dictator and military officer who ruled as prime minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during the last years of the Resto ...

in September 1923.Angel Smith
''Historical Dictionary of Spain''
p. 624.

Election results under the ''turno''

References

{{Reflist Political history of Spain Elections in Spain Electoral fraud Political terminology in Spain