UNIT 6: Spain in the 20th century

At the end of the 18th century, new means of transport were developed and workshops were replaced by factories

Spain at the beginning of the 20th century

The reign of Alfonso XIII 

Alfonso XIII was the last king of the Restoration era. He was the son of Alfonso XII and was proclaimed king in 1902. During his reign, there were serious social and political conflicts in Spain. For example: 

• Strikes. These were organized by labour unions.
• Nationalism. Groups in Catalonia, the Basque Country and Galicia demanded autonomy.
• The war in Morocco. Many Spanish soldiers died and Spain lost territories in Northern Africa.

The dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera

Taking advantage of the social and political conflict, General Primo de Rivera led a coup in 1923. In a coup, a person or a group takes control of a government by force. Primo de Rivera established a military dictatorship. He assumed all powers of state, abolished the Constitution, banned all political parties and labour unions, and limited freedom for citizens. King Alfonso XIII supported the dictatorship, but he was not part of the government.

Primo de Rivera won the war with Morocco, and many roads, railways and other public works were built under his rule. However, the population opposed his regime and demanded more freedom. In 1930, Primo de Rivera lost the support of the king and had to resign.

General elections were held in 1931. The political parties that supported a republic won, and Alfonso XIII went into exile.

The Second Spanish Republic

In 1931, the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed and Alcalá Zamora was appointed president of the Republic.

A new Constitution was approved, which included the right to vote for women and the separation of church and state. During this period, the first Statutes of Autonomy for Catalonia and the Basque Country were also approved.

The government of the Republic implemented many reforms, including land, education and labour reforms.  However, these reforms were not accepted by everyone, and violent conflicts escalated over time.

The Spanish Civil War

In 1936, General Francisco Franco led a coup against the government of the Republic. This started the Spanish Civil War, which lasted until 1939. During the war, the Spanish population was divided into two areas: the Republican area, which supported the Republic, and the Nationalist area, which supported General Franco.

The consequences of the war were devastating. Hundreds of thousands of people died or went into exile, there were huge economic losses, and society was divided into winners and losers.

The dictatorship of Francisco Franco

After the war, General Francisco Franco took power and established a dictatorship that lasted more than thirty years. 1 This period, from 1939 to 1975, is known as Francoism. As a result of establishing a dictatorship:

• The Constitution was abolished. New laws that restricted individual liberties were passed.
• All power was concentrated in one person.
• Political parties and labour unions were banned.
• The Statutes of Autonomy were revoked.
• Censorship was put into place.

The first years of Franco’s dictatorship

The first years of the dictatorship were difficult. People who had supported the Republic faced harsh repression. Many were arrested or killed, and others went into exile.

During these years, Spain became internationally isolated. As a result of the Spanish dictatorship, many countries broke off diplomatic and commercial relations with Spain.

The changes in Franco’s dictatorship

From the 1950s, Spain started to become accepted internationally. During this period, many agreements were signed with different countries, including the United States.

In 1955, Spain was accepted as a member of the United Nations (UN). From 1960, the economy started to improve: industrial production increased, agriculture was modernized with new machinery and new infrastructure was developed. Tourism became one of the main economic activities.

As a result of these changes, the standard of living in Spain improved. However, there was still no democracy. The dictatorship still controlled the population, and people who opposed the regime were arrested.

The end of Franco’s dictatorship

Between 1970 and 1975, opposition to the Franco regime escalated. Labour unions were still banned, but they started to organize underground, which means they met in secret. In addition, students participated in demonstrations that demanded a democratic form of government. 

On 20th November, 1975, General Franco died and the dictatorship ended. It was the beginning of a new era in which democracy was established.

Transition and democracy

Juan Carlos I, King of Spain

After the death of General Franco, Juan Carlos I, grandson of Alfonso XIII, was crowned King of Spain. In 1976, the king appointed Adolfo Suárez as president. A series of reforms were adopted so that Spain could once again become a democratic country:

• Political parties and labour unions were legalized.
• Political prisoners were released.
• People in exile returned to Spain.
• The first democratic elections since 1936 were held.
• Elections took place in 1977  and the Central Democratic Union (UCD) was elected, the party led by Adolfo Suárez.

The Constitution of 1978

After the 1977 elections, representatives of the major political parties wrote a constitution which was approved by Parliament. In 1978, Spaniards voted in favour of the Constitution in a referendum.

The Constitution of 1978 establishes that Spain is a democratic country, whose national sovereignty resides with the Spanish people, with a parliamentary monarchy as a form of government.

It also guarantees citizen rights such as equality under the law, freedom of expression and the right to vote for all citizens over eighteen years of age. The Constitution also recognizes the organization of Spanish territory in autonomous communities.

The democratic governments

Since 1981, several presidents have headed the Spanish government. 

• 1981: Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo, UCD. Spain became a member of NATO, a military alliance.
• 1982 to 1996: Felipe González, PSOE (Spanish Socialist Labour Party). González carried out reforms to modernize the country. In 1986, Spain joined the European Community (EC).
• 1996 to 2004: José María Aznar, PP (Popular Party). Economic stability was achieved. In 2002, Spain adopted the euro as its currency, replacing the peseta.
• 2004 to 2011: José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, PSOE. Laws that extended the rights of citizens were passed. In the last years of his mandate, the economic crisis caused unemployment to rise sharply.
• Mariano Rajoy from PP was elected in 2011. Very strict measures were taken to fight the serious economic crisis. In 2014, King Juan Carlos I abdicated in favour of his son, Felipe VI.

Art and culture in the 20th century and the present day

During the 20th century, the main Spanish artists were Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Salvador Dalí and Joan Miró.

• Pablo Ruiz Picasso was born in Malaga. He invented Cubism. In this innovative painting style, three-dimensional human figures and objects are represented with different geometrical shapes.

• Salvador Dalí was born in Figueras (Girona). He used light, colour and drawings to express the world of dreams.

• Joan Miró was born in Barcelona. He used bright colours and geometrical shapes to create a fantasy world similar to the world of a child.