THE COMING OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR The breakdown of democracy in Spain in the 1930s resulted in a torrent of political and military violence. In this thoroughly revised edition of his classic text, Paul Preston provides a deeply disturbing explanation of the democratic collapse, coherently and excitingly outlining the social and economic background. Spain was a backward agricultural country divided by the most brutal economic inequalities. The coming of the Second Republic in April 1931 was greeted by the Left as an opportunity to reform Spain’s antiquated social structure. Over the next two years, the Socialist members of a Republican—Socialist coalition pushed for reforms to alleviate the day-to- day misery of the great southern army of landless labourers. Paul Preston shows how the political activities of the Right, legal and conspiratorial, between 1931 and 1936, as well as the subsequent Nationalist war effort, were primarily a response to these reforming ambitions of the Left. His principal argument is that, although the Spanish Civil War encompassed many separate conflicts, the main cause of the breakdown of the Second Republic was the struggle between Socialists and the legalist Right to impose their respective views of social organisation on Spain by means of their control of the apparatus of state. The incompatible interests represented by these two mass parliamentary parties—those of the landless labourers and big landlords, of industrialists and workers—spilled over into social conflicts which could not be contained within the parliamentary arena. Since the first edition of this book was completed more than fifteen years ago, archives have been opened up, the diaries, letters and memoirs of major protagonists have been published, and there have been innumerable studies of the politics of the Republic, of parties, unions, elections and social conflict, both national and provincial. This new edition updates the original text as exhaustively as possible to take account of the new material. Paul Preston is Professor of International History at the London School of Economics. His many books on Spain include Franco: A Biography (1993), The Politics of Revenge: Fascism and the Military in Twentieth-Century Spain (1990) and The Triumph of Democracy in Spain (1986). THE COMING OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR Reform, Reaction and Revolution in The Second Republic Second Edition Paul Preston London and New York First published 1978 by The Macmillan Press Ltd This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2004. First published in paperback 1983 by Methuen & Co. Ltd Second edition published 1994 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1978, 1994 Paul Preston All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Preston, Paul The Coming of the Spanish Civil War: Reform, Reaction and Revolution in the Second Republic/Paul Preston.—2nd ed. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Spain—Politics and government—1931–1939. 2. Spain—Social conditions—1886–1939. 3. Socialism—Spain—History—20th century. 4. Right and left (Political science) 5. Spain—History—Civil War, 1936–1939—Causes. DP255.P73 1994 946.08–dc20 93–40967 ISBN 0-203-39289-2 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-39573-5 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-06354-X (hbk) ISBN 0-415-06355-8 (pbk) CONTENTS Acknowledgements vi List of abbreviations viii PROLOGUE 1 1 THE ORIGINS OF THE SOCIALIST SCHISM: 1917–31 7 2 BUILDING BARRICADES AGAINST REFORM The legalist Right, 1931–3 38 3 SOCIAL DEMOCRACY AND SOCIAL CONFLICT The PSOE in power, 1931–3 74 4 THE POLITICS OF REPRISAL The CEDA, the PSOE and the polarisation of 1934 120 5 A BLUFF CALLED The insurrection of 1934 161 6 THE LEGAL ROAD TO THE CORPORATE STATE The CEDA in power, 1934–5 180 7 SOCIALISM UNDER STRESS Repression, radicalisation and the Popular Front 211 8 THE ABANDONMENT OF LEGALISM The PSOE, the CEDA and the coming of war in 1936 239 EPILOGUE 276 Notes 283 Bibliography 319 Index 338 v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the preparation of the first edition of this book, I lived for more than three years in Spain as well as making many shorter visits. Not surprisingly, given the open-heartedness of Spaniards in general, I incurred a number of debts of gratitude for which I would again like to express my appreciation. Many hours of conversation with two participants in the events described here helped me to comprehend the daily brutality of Spanish rural life in the 1930s. Miguel González Inestal was one of the libertarian movement’s greatest experts on the land question. Ignacio Arenillas de Chaves, Marqués de Gracia Real, was a monarchist landowner from Salamanca who was active in Acción Popular and the Comunión Tradicionalista. After the Civil War, his experience as defending lawyer at the trial of Julián Besteiro together with Franco’s failure to restore the monarchy inclined him to undertake a critical reassessment of the role of the Right during the 1930s. Both were more generous with time and information than a young unknown foreign historian could ever have expected. Two Spanish scholars and friends helped me not to see Spain through English eyes. Jerónimo Gonzalo Rubio has been for many years unstinting with ideas, hospitality and friendship. Joaquín Romero Maura deepened my sense of the workings of Spanish history and taught me much about scholarship in general. Without wishing to implicate them as accomplices in the book’s shortcomings, I reiterate my thanks to both for their contribution to it. Norman Cooper, Frances Lannon and Martin Blinkhorn went to considerable trouble to read and comment on the text of the first edition. Christopher Seton-Watson supervised with unfailing patience the doctoral thesis on which the book is based. Hugh Thomas showed great kindness with books and advice in the early days of the research. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Herbert R.Southworth has for many years unstintingly made available to me the unrivalled resources of his library and his knowledge of the Spanish Right. I also benefited from the suggestions and criticisms of the following friends and colleagues: the late Edward A.Bayne, Juan José Castillo, Elías Díaz, Juan Pablo Fusi, Juan García Durán, Gabriel Jackson, Joe Harrison, Alistair Hennessy, James Joll, Victor Kiernan, Edward Malefakis, José Ramón Montero Gibert, Eduardo Sevilla Guzmán and Angel Viñas. Subsequent to the publication of the first edition, I have derived enormous benefit from contact with many of the Spanish historians working on this period, particularly José Manuel Macarro Vera in Seville, Salvador Forner in Alicante, Francisco Moreno Gómez in Córdoba and Julio Aróstegui in Madrid. A great intellectual debt is also owed to Santos Juliá, who is responsible for some of the most important advances in the history of the Left in the Second Republic. I have derived the greatest pleasure and profit from ongoing collaboration with my friends Julián Casanova of Zaragoza, Enrique Moradiellos of Oviedo and Ismael Saz of Valencia, first during their periods as visiting scholars in London and thereafter in Spain. Among the growing band of British experts on Spain who have influenced my thinking through their work and given me encouragement to continue with my own, I would like to thank Helen Graham, Sheelagh Ellwood, Paul Heywood, Adrian Shubert and Nigel Townson. Had it not been for the kindly prodding of Professor Robert F.Lesley when I was a recently appointed lecturer at Queen Mary College, this study might never have seen the light of day. However, he meant well and neither he nor anyone else mentioned above can be held responsible for any of the judgements or errors contained herein. vii ABBREVIATIONS ACNP: Asociación Católica Nacional de Propagandistas—an élite organisation of prominent Catholic rightists with influence in the press, the judiciary and the professions, linked to Acción Católica. ASM: Agrupación Socialista Madrileña—the Madrid section of the PSOE, a stronghold of the Socialist Left. BOC: Bloc Obrer i Camperol—the quasi-Trotskyist Worker and Peasant Bloc, led by Joaquín Maurín, which joined the POUM in 1935. CEDA: Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas—Spanish Confederation of Autonomous Right-Wing Groups, the largest political grouping of the legalist Right. CMI: Círculo Monárquico Independiente—the monarchist organisation whose appearance in May 1931 triggered off church burnings across the country. CNCA: Confederación Nacional Católico-Agraria—the political organisation of the Catholic smallholding peasantry in north and central Spain which provided the mass base of the CEDA. CNT: Confederación Nacional del Trabajo—the anarcho-syndicalist National Confederation of Labour. DRV: Derecha Regional Valenciana, led by Luis Lucia Lucia, the Valencian section of the CEDA. FAI: Federación Anarquista Ibérica—the insurrectionary vanguard of the anarchist movement. FJS: Federación de Juventudes Socialistas—PSOE youth movement which amalgamated with the Communist Youth in April 1936 to form the JSU. FNTT: Federación Nacional de Trabajadores de la Tierra, the land-workers’ union of the UGT. JAP: Juventud de Acción Popular—the uniformed youth militias of the CEDA. viii ABBREVIATIONS JSU: Juventudes Socialistas Unificadas—the joint Socialist—Communist Youth. PCE: Partido Comunista de España—the Spanish Communist Party. POUM: Partido Obrero de Unificación Marxista—the group of Left Communist dissidents from the BOC and the Izquierda Comunista who joined forces in late 1935 to create a revolutionary alternative to the PSOE and the PCE.