1923 - 1930

First stage - Military Directory (1923-1925)

Second stage - Civil Directory (1925-1930)

The economic politics

The social politics

The opposition of the dictatorship

Extras (Biographies, Documents, Pictures...)

September 13 1923 the general captain from Catalonia, Miguel Primo de Rivera gave a Coup d'etat with which would begin in Spain a military dictatorship. The Coup d'etat began in Catalonia and he/she extended quickly. The press collaborated to create a favorable current to the coup d'etat.


The government would be presided over by Blackish García that didn't make anything to defend the constitutional order and without offering the most minimum resistance it presented his resignation the following day. The king XIII Alfonso didn't intervene in the Coup d'etat but it should be informed because there are testimonies that show the words that the king sustained with the minister of public instruction: “I consider unavoidable the formation of a military government”, that makes the historians that the king was informed of the project think. Given the situation of anarchy of the country, the population was shown favorable to the coup d'etat that also had the unconditional support of the army, of the Church, the bourgeoisie, the landowners and all those that wanted the order. However, they were shown in against the republicans, the socialists, the communists and the anarchists that showed their opposition to a military dictatorship.


In the manifesto that preceded to the Coup d'etat, Primo of Rivera invoked the salvation of the homeland liberating it “of the politics's professionals” and he gave to know his purpose of forming a Military Dictatorship. September 15 were named the government's boss. It assumed legislative powers, it decreed and it published laws that suspended the constitutional guarantees, he/she declared the State of war and it dissolved the Cortes.


Primo of Rivera admired Mussolini to who described as “the apostle of the campaign against the anarchy and the political corruption”. The ideologists of the régime exalted the Italian fascism and they tried to imitate aspects like:


• The creation of an unique party. The dictator said to accept in his party to those that accepted the Constitution of 1876. It was a personalist party to the service of the régime that exercised a power without limits. It is not known with accuracy the number of militant; it seems that in 1924 it had 2 millions and in 1930 with 60000. The social groups that supported him were conservative, Catholic, bourgeois and big latifundistas.
• The Corporate State. Primo of Rivera benefitted of a common economic peacefulness for everybody “the happy years 20”. he Attempted a fair society to which you would arrive through the harmony boss-worker. This would redound in both economic agents' benefit and in the well-being of the hard-working classes. This understanding intent among both you leave he/she carried out through the Committees paritarios in those that bosses and workers discussed their problems.
• The militarism. After the Coup d'etat, Primo of Rivera and the Military Directory they were forced to provide the military positions of more control importance being the operation of almost the whole administration of the State in hands of the army.
• The favorecimiento of the elites. The new régime gave place to a process that was characterized by the ascent of new politicians to the power putting an end to the politicians of the system of the Restoration.

It was a strictly military stage in which the government was formed for military. Primo of Rivera assumed all the powers.


He left in flunk the Constitution, it prohibited the political parties, it dissolved the Cortes, it put to the press a strong censorship, it substituted the civil governors for military and the mayors were named by the government. One of the most urgent problems was the reestablishment of the public order. To get it it was adopted as measure the State of war and the freedoms were abolished. The repressive performances were intensified against the labor movement, you creó a national militia that was put to the service of the régime, a hard politics was practiced against the nationalisms and it was prohibited the Catalan union and the Catalan's use. It formed an unique party, the patriotic union, composed by conservatives, bourgeois, Catholic and big landowners.


The problem of Morocco had a good solution thanks to the Hispanic-French combined offensive. This plan culminated with the landing of Alhucenas in 1925 whose operations were directed by Primo of Rivera that had the help of the third of legionaries sent by the general Franco. The success of the landing meant the rendition of Abd-the-Krim and the definitive occupation of the territory rifeño. It put an end to the war, in vigor 19 years ago.


The Catalan regionalism was not resolved favorably for Primo of Rivera. At the beginning it respected the Catalan union and it was shown in favor of granting the decentralization and autonomy of Catalonia; but later on it changed attitude ending up dissolving the union what subtracted him their sympathy.


When finishing in 1935 the first stage of the dictatorship their balance it was positive; he/she enjoyed a favorable welcome between the political sectors and the public opinion.

The pacification of Morocco secured the personal power of Primo of Rivera. In 1925 abandoning the transience idea a compound civil government names for 4 military and 6 civilians. The new government had young and technically well prepared politicians. Also, it had the support of the Patriotic Union, been founded in 1924 and that it sought to be kind of a party call to give continuity in their day to the work of Primo of Rivera.


The Civil Directory began a politics social and economic interventionist that achieved success due to the good international economic situation. This favorable economic joint maintained the régime up to 1930.

It started the economic protectionism to favor the Spanish managers. If politically the dictatorship was a failure, from the economic point of view it was a stage of prosperity and of important realizations:
• improved the net of highways and railroads. Thanks to these works the labor unemployment was eliminated and it increased the development of the industry.
• was created confederations hidrográficas that you/they went guided to a total use of the waters of the rivers for the obtaining of Electric power and the amplification of irrigable.
• was created monopolies that benefitted to the politics economic protective: company Telefónica (1924), Campsa (1927)
• was founded the External Bank of Spain.
• The dictatorship understood the economic importance that represented the external trade and you development the tourism, took place in 1929 an universal exhibition in Barcelona and an Ibero-American exhibition in Seville.

This politics was spectacular short term but long term it supposed an enormous expense public that unbalanced the country property of the State.


Although they improved the systems of irrigable, however, the absence of structural reformations maintained the late field. The agricultural techniques were not modernized for what the crops were not profitable and the peasant lacked purchasing power.

It was carried out a strong repression against the most radical unions. The CNT was ilegalizada but not the UGT since the dictator had a special understanding with the UGT and the PSOE whose leader Fco. I release Gentleman it was even named consultant of State. The socialists collaborated with the dictatorship and it allowed them to it their incorporation to the life partner-politics. They were carried out social reformations that they introduced improvements in the life of the workers: the illness insurance, the rest in Sunday, housings of official protection and professional teaching. The State believes the National Corporate Organization to likeness of the Italian Fascist corporations that integrated workers and bosses in committees paritarios contained by occupations and professions. Their objective was to avoid the social conflicts.

When the dictatorship was implanted, the political parties were ilegalizados. The first ones in raising their voices against the Dictatorship were the intellectuals and the universities (School University Federation (it was)).


The opposition to the dictatorship reached in 1925 all the political sectors:
• The Socialists. For the most part they made comfortable to the régime. The tolerance that the régime offered them to intervene in the social politics took advantage. In the socialist sector there was also who opposed you to this collaboration.

• The Anarchists. With the practically disjointed CNT, it suffered the division of their more radical sector that creó the Iberian Anarchist Federation.

• The Catalanismo was radicalized and he/she took place an intent of armed incursion from Prats of Molló (France, 1926) played by Francesc Maciá.

• The Republicans. Although, they continued divided, they founded the Republican Alliance (1926) and, together with the socialism, they were profiled as the only truly renovating option.

Starting from 1928 the critics were intensified to the dictatorship because of the economic crisis (in 1929 he/she took place the crack of Wall Street) and a progressive retreat of trust of official of the army toward the dictator.


In this climate of uneasiness XIII Alfonso moved away his support to Primo of Rivera and the dictator resigned January 28 1930. It was substituted by a provisional government presided over by Dámaso Berenguer (15 months). The king sought to return to the system of the Restoration, restoring the constitution of 1876 and summoning elections, but the change of political system was unavoidable. One believes a revolutionary committee to make to fall the monarchy and to implant a republic.