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THE INTENTS OF REGENERATING THE SYSTEM |
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THE
GENERAL CRISIS OF 1917 |
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In
the first years of the XX century, the regeneracionismo
was a topic wanted by all; from political (Francisco Silvela),
economists (Joaquín Costa) and intellectuals (Ángel
Ganivet) until ecclesiastical as the cardinal Cascajares.
With them the writers of the Generation of the 98 connect,
interested in carrying out a work of change and modernization
of Spain. The loss of Cuba and Philippines didn't sink
the political system of the Restoration but if he/she
made it stagger and it showed the necessity to regenerate
the system so that it could subsist. The system continued
being based on the Constitution of 1876, the bipartisanship
and the electoral farce.
The defeat in Cuba was not assumed by anybody. The population
and the army accused the politicians for not having known
how to give solution to the problems that it outlined
the island. The colonial defeat marked the intellectuals
of the country a lot that making a deep reflection, they
thought about and they criticized the paper of Spain in
the industrialized Europe; but neither they contributed
solutions. The parties didn't have a political program
with the one which to convince to the society.
The movement that questioned the values of the system
was the regeneracionismo and its more outstanding figure
was Joaquín Costa whose good known work “oligarchy
and caciquism”, it denounced the incultura and the
system of electoral fraud. To put an end to this situation
he/she intended to motivate the education and to modernize
the structures to achieve the progress of Spain. It was
an authentic social reformation and for he/she needed
it what called “an iron surgeon” that knew
to cut the wrongs rooted in the country and to drive to
the nation toward the progress.
After 1898, the government carried out some reformations
to try to regenerate the system but never with the idea
of changing the political structure. One of the main factors
that altered the operation of the régime was the
own evolution of the dynastic parties, because the lack
of charismatic leaders after the death of Cánovas
and Sagasta (1903) it caused a great political weakness.
This uncertainty will intensify with the arrival from
XIII Alfonso to the throne that, contrary to XII Alfonso
and María Cristina, intervened in the politics
more than what the Constitution of 1876 allowed him. In
the conservative party they were Francisco Silvela and
Antonio Maura and in the liberal Eugenio Matinez Rix,
Segismundo Monet and José Canalejas.
After
the loss of their American possessions with him disaster
1898, the Spanish external performance was guided toward
the north of África in a moment in that the big
Imperialistic powers were distributing the African continent.
After the loss of the colonies Spain began with a shy
foreign policy with the objective of Morocco. Starting
from 1906 Spain it began their penetration in the north
of África. The conference of Algeciras 1906 and
the later Hispanic-French treaty supposed the entrance
of Spain in the allotment of África. To Spain he/she
was granted a fringe in the north, the Rift and an it
locates in the Atlantic area: Ifni and River of Oro.Los
interests pursued in the area were several:
Strategic • because it was to avoid that the western
powers, especially France and
Germany decided the destination of Morocco exclusively.
Economic •, because it was important to exploit
the mining resources of the mountains of the RIF and
it seemed profitable the possibility to carry out big
capital investments in the construction of railroads and
other public works.
Political • of prestige because the expansion of
Morocco could help to the recovery of the lost prestige
to
the time that facilitated the realization of the ideals
“africanistas” of those that considered to
África like a lost historical occasion.
• The Church also had interests, because he/she
saw a possible evangelism field.
At the end of the XIX century, the sultanado of Morocco
lived wrapped in an anarchy and political uncertainty.
Europe put its eyes in him. Beside Spain, France wanted
to assure its position in Tunisia; England tried to safeguard
its domain in Gibraltar; and Germany wanted economic and
territorial advantages in África. The interests
collide. The rivalries among France, England and Germany
after the conference of Algeciras in 1906 and after the
signature of the Hispanic treaty-French in 1912, they
gave the division of Morocco as a result in two protectorates:
one to the south, of bigger extension and wealth awarded
to France; the other one to the north, in the mountains
of the RIF, poorer and more reduced, awarded to Spain.
The domain of Spain in its protectorate was not anything
easy neither very profitable economically, because the
military occupation of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco
was being a difficult and expensive operation because
the Spanish army was not well prepared and it lacked resources.
Also, the characteristics of the RIF didn't help since
it was a not well communicated very mountainous area and
occupied by different tribes. In 1920 and before the offensive
of the Spanish army to impose their I dominate, one of
the Berber tribes of the RIF rebelled led by Abd-the-Krim.
The operation put an end to the defeat of Spain in Annual
in 1921 where 12000 Spanish soldiers died and numerous
material of war was destroyed. The difficult war manifested
the impotence of the Spanish army to give in to the rebels
and to establish the peace. The defeat creó in
climate of uneasiness in the Spanish public opinion, what
accentuated the dissatisfaction toward the system and
the critics against the politicians, military and the
own king.
The
army was subjected to hard critical from the disaster
of the 98. He/she needed a deep reformation that made
it more operative, since their excessive square of controls
absorbed most of the budget in salaries disabling the
modernization of the material of war. The war of Morocco
showed this way it. The critics and the petitions of responsibilities
got worse in the face of the failures for what the military
ones reacted with “body spirit” moving away
from the society. Before the internal problems (quick
ascents for merits of war) and the external ones (you
attack to their prestige), the Meetings of Defense like
organ of pressure were created in the face of the political
life. With it began it to crack the harmony gotten by
Cánovas and XII Alfonso between the civil power
and the military one.
The
labor movement presented a permanent problem that was
carrying to an extreme its attitudes until ending in the
general strike of the Great crisis of 1917. The strike
and the violence played by anarchist groups passed to
be part of their methodology. In spite of their growing
importance he/she didn't have capacity to impose deep
political and social changes. The labor movement was conditioned
by the situation of the hard-working classes: unemployment,
high grade of illiteracy and strong salary inequalities
between the industrial worker and the agricultural one.
The socialism potenció the labor party of masses,
although it evolves slowly he/she has more and more effective.
He/she seeks to take the power with the purpose of to
abolish the social classes and to transform the society.
It assumed the defense of the workers but it rejected
in their recoveries the road of the violence. Their union,
the UGT had a great installation and it influences between
the hard-working classes of the industrialized areas of
Asturias and the Basque country. It only had Pablo's Churches
bench that the PSOE had been founded in 1879, although
it is not constituted officially as party up to 1888.
The
anarchism suffers ups and downs in its trajectory; the
strike is its instrument. He/she had an important paper
in the climate of social violence of the first half of
the XX century carrying out acts of terrorist character.
Their union, the CNT (workers' national confederation)
he/she understood the syndicalism like a means for the
social transformation but for the revolutionary road.
The CNT organized numerous strikes for the defense of
the salary improvements and the decrease of the labor
day. Their adult roots he took place in he Gets up, Catalonia
and Andalusia.
Those in favor of the anarchism organized the federation
of the Spanish region (FTRE) in the one that you/they
are distinguished two tendencies:
- the anarco - union leader: in favor of the road reivindicativa
through the unions.
- the anarco-communist: in favor of a more violent action,
even of the terrorism.
The anarchist violence played a wave of attacks of which
you accuses to an organization terrorist call “The
Black Hand” that was related with the FTRE, although
it could never be proven it was enough the suspicion to
disarticulate this movement in Andalusia.
He
has their main exponent in the catalanismo. The Catalan
regionalism accepted the monarchy I roasted as the unit
of Spain but he requested a deep constitutional reformation
that allowed the Catalan autonomy.
The bases of Manresa constituted the great letter of the
catalanismo. The most important leaders were Prat of the
Riva and Cambó, great expert of the finances.
With
the purpose of adapting the Constitution from 1876 to
the new social reality and politics of Spain was necessary
to reform it deeply. One had to eliminate of her all that
there was in their real operation of false and anachronic
(caciquism and false electoral), and to introduce modifications
able to integrate in the system to other political forces
as the regionalistas and the republicans. The most serious
intent would be made in 1917, but it failed. It would
be the beginning of the end of the régime.
He
thought about as consequence of the antagonism between
clericalism and anticlericalism. The liberal party, without
political program that differentiated him of the conservative
and induced by the strong anticlerical measures of France,
he/she took the anticlericalism like political flag. You
happened lamentable facts as aggressions to bishops, priests
and religious buildings; the polemic was centered around
the teaching of the religion in secondary education institutes
and in primary schools, and in the capacity of the religious
congregations to exercise or not the docencia.
To
the beginning of the reign, the regeneration intents and
Francisco's government's modernization Silvela is miscarried
by the incompatibility of its minister: the General Polavieja,
minister of the war and in favor of big reformations;
and the country property minister, Fernando Villaverde,
in favor of introducing the most severe economies in the
general budgets of the State. The program of Polavieja
was impossible to carry out for what presented its resignation
and defrauded Silvela, he/she retired.
In 1907 Antonio Maura returned for second time to the
power and it begins a resolved program of internal renovation.
It governed twice: of 1903 at 1904 and of 1907 to 1909
but their full influence the whole period. He/she attempted
the reformation of the system canovista trying to achieve
that the democracy was a reality and don't unite appearance.
It confronted the two fundamental problems of the State:
the immoral practice of the caciquism and the regionalism;
for it published it the Law of Local Administration of
1907 that sought a deep reformation of the political structures
of the country but that it was only in a project. This
law sought “the descuaje of the caciquism”.
The same law granted wide bench marks of autonomy to the
Catalan regionalism.
The
first serious crisis of XIII Alfonso's reign was unchained
in 1909 and it caused the fall of Maura. The protest was
for the mobilization of Catalan reservists for the war
of Morocco. The reservists will control a rebellion of
indigenous q they protested for the construction of a
mining railroad in the area of the RIF. This region had
been granted to Spain in an international conference on
Morocco taken place in Algeciras in 1906; there they met
the main powers to carry out the colonial allotment of
África. The government of Maura had gone being
created a strong opposition of left. The incident that
would cause its fall was the tragic week of Barcelona.
Barcelona lived some days of terror and the wave of violence
extended for other cities. The government declared the
State of war and it was used to the army to repress the
violence. The government undertook a strong repression
that cost the life to the anarchist Francisco Ferrer Guard,
to who was attributed the responsibility of those facts.
Ferrer Guard was an anarchist educator founder of the
New School; their execution lifted a violent one so much
he/she protests inside as outside of Spain that contributed
to the government's bad reputation and the monarchy.
These
facts caused the fall of Maura. It was substituted by
Moret that was only in the government some months being
substituted by Canalejas, the most outstanding personality
in the liberal party. He/she carried out the second great
intent of saving to the country and the monarchy and for
it:
• Established a tax on the urban rents that it burdened
especially to the rich ones.
• Confronted the clerical problem promulgating the
call Law of the Padlock for which prohibited the entrance
of new religious orders to Spain.
• Assisted some labor recoveries, granting them
the labor day of 9 hours.
• Regulated in the woman's work.
• Made obligatory the military service eliminating
the payments or redemptions in metallic.
• Began the social legislation to try to control
the labor movement.
• Took a short cut with hardness the strikes distinguishing
between strike reivindicativa of rights and strike revolutionary.
• Took important steps in the solution of the problem
regionalista with the Law of Regional Unions.
When an esperanzador shift was announced between maura
and Canalejas, this last one was murdered by an anarchist
November 12 1912.
Starting
from the death of Canalejas (1912) the dynastic reformismo
lost great part of the dynamism of the previous period
and the absence of noted leaders caused the internal fragmentation
of the parties of the shift. Inside the conservative party
they consolidated two tendencies: the mauristas that you/they
tried to form a party of more reformist mood and the suitable
of Eduardo Fact that represented the most traditional
posture. The liberal party also fragmented in different
average fruit of the personalismo of its leaders. In 1913
the king named the conservative Eduardo Fact as the government's
president and east had to make in front of the consequences
of the Explosion of the 1ª world war (1914-1918)
Spain maintained a position of neutrality in front of
the European conflict, attitude that was supported by
all the political forces. In spite of the neutrality the
Spanish society took party in favor of one or another
opponent, occurring big polemics among:
• Germanófilos The high classes, the Church
and most of the controls of the army, as well as the real
party was shown in favor of the central Empires (Germany
and Austria), representatives of the conservative order
and of the authority.
• Aliadófilos The most progressive sectors,
mainly republican they leaned for the allied powers France
and England, in those that saw the incarnation of some
more democratic ideals.
• Forces Workers (and Union) they defended the neutrality
when considering that the conflict was a conflict among
imperialistic interests.
The neutrality favored an important economic expansion
since the war it reduced the productive capacity of the
belligerent countries and Spain became industrial so much
suministradora of products as agricultural. The increment
of the interior demand stimulated the growth of the production
but he/she also brought I get an increase of the prices
what untied a process infraccionario without precedents.
The prices of the products of first necessity were duplicated
between 1924 and 1919 and the price of the wheat (basic
product) 70% increased.
The external demand benefitted especially to the Basque
iron and steel industry, to the Asturian mining and the
textile industries and metalúrgicas of Catalonia.
They were years of good business and of easy enrichment,
but this growth had a strongly speculative component since
the benefits they were not invested in the modernization
of infrastructures. In contrast, the popular classes met
an impoverishment of their level of life since the inflation
it was not accompanied by an equivalent ascent of the
wages and the acquisitive capacity of the population's
good sector diminished notably. It is calculated that
the cost of the life ascended between a 15 and 20% and
the worsening of the level of life it caused a wave of
strikes and recoveries (in the year 1914 had 212 strikes
and in the year 1918, 463 strikes). This way, the 1ª
world war contributed to risk the social differences and
to create a climate of strong tension.
Besides the economic repercussions, the 1ª world
war also left its influence in the society and Spanish
politics. In 1917 the Russian revolution exploded and
for the first time a labor party was able to take the
power and to begin the construction of a state of workers.
The labor organizations from all over the world saw in
Russia an example to continue and it stimulated it their
revolutionary perspectives and their anelos of social
change. On the other hand the Russian revolutionary process
frightened to the bourgeoisie that he/she feared for its
situation and privileges. The fear to a revolutionary
explosion pushed the governments to take measures of repression
against the labor movement.
He/she also had a lot of importance resurging of the militarism.
One of the concerns that had taken to Cánovas to
design the régime of the such restoration and as
he/she made it it was to finish with the active presence
of the military ones in the political life. The army was
presented more as a potential force of war like a bureaucratic
body whose main concern was the internal promotion of
its members, due to the economic problem of the country,
alone the controls enjoyed a good level of life, the rest
of the army didn't have the same possibilities. To everything
he/she was united the war of Morocco, field paid for a
quick accenso and that it propitiated the appearance of
two different sectors.
They
were organized by the officialdom of the infantry body
that demanded a series of reformations that you/they remedied
the problems of the army. They asked that the ascent to
the military grades was made by rigorous antiquity, putting
an end to the reining favoritism. They sought to put remedy
to the terrible economic situation of the army so much
to the low salaries as to the shortage of the life for
the economic crisis that continued to the inflation for
the war of 1914 (1ªG.M.)
June 1 the Meeting of Infantry of Barcelona published
a manifesto that had a lot of resonance in the country
and it was very welcomed by the opposed groups to the
canovismo. However, the generals, among them Cousin of
Rivera, they didn't welcome in principle with pleasure
this initiative of the officialdom. Neither they obtained
the recognition from Maura to the one who you/they even
offered support in case it ended up forming government
because the conservative politician saw in the Meetings
a turn to the régime of the generals and of the
military preponderance of the XIX century.
It
portioned of an initiative of the Catalan bourgeoisie
as reaction to the fact that the Cortes were closed fearing
the social problems. Before this situation anomalous deputies
and senators gathered in Barcelona they requested the
government the opening of the low Cortes the threat of
summoning themselves an assembly of parliamentarian in
the event of neither to be accepted their petition. The
government interpreted this petition like a pretense of
the parliamentarian to summon Cortes, initiative that
only corresponded the king and the government. This saw
in the attitude of the parliamentarian a new manifestation
of Catalan separatism and it rejected the petition. Before
the negative it was constituted in Barcelona the extraordinary
assembly formed by parliamentarian from all Spain. The
confrontation between the army and the strikers of August
dissolved the Assembly of parliamentarian.
August
13 1917 were decreed by an executive committee belonging
to the UGT and to the PSOE. The strike at the request
of Pablo Churches should be peaceful. The manifesto that
preceded it was edited by the socialist Julián
Besteiro in which was requested: a provisional government,
the celebration of elections and the convocation to constituent
Cortes. The strike produced a total unemployment almost
in all Spain. The government declared it is Been of Guerra
and the army repressed it violently; August 20 had finished
in all Spain I save in Asturias where he/she was prolonged
one month and where the army faced the strikers with a
balance of about 200 deads and more than 2000 detainees.
It was seen as only exit the formation of a government
of national concentration presided over by Maura and formed
by the most outstanding politicians in the dynastic parties,
including to the catalanismo. The incompetitividad of
personalities so opposed made this government to come
undone. Until final of 1923 the governments you happens
(between 1918 and 1923 there are 15 different cabinets),
the atmosphere partner - political he/she becomes scarce
and the system canovista enters in a total crisis. In
fact the military ones forced government's changes then
according to their interests they were supported by XIII
Alfonso that considered them as a means to maintain the
system. Two facts increase the situation: Eduardo's Fact
murder and the disaster of Annual. Both events moved to
the public opinion so that Rivera's general Cousin, from
Barcelona, gave a Coup d'etat.
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