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Municipal elections in 1931
The municipal elections on April 12, 1931, were convoked with the aim of giving Spanish society a real change. The Republicans won 43 provincial capitals, which gave them a chance to establish a democratic republican regime. Even though the monarchists won in terms of councilors, the laws still gave the republicans the winning hand, and the Conjunción Republicano-Socialista succeeded in forming a government; the Segunda República Española had started -
Proclamation and the Constitution
On April 14, 1931, the Spanish Republic was proclaimed. A provisional government led by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora governed over the country until October 14, 1931. The elections held on June 28 of the same year created a new Parliament, which started creating the Republican Constitution of 1931. This constitution was an avant-garde text; it enshrined the personal and social rights and liberties of the Spanish society gave women the right to vote, introduced the "unicameralidad", amongst many others. -
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What is the Second Republic?
The Second Republic (Segunda República Española) was the period comprehended between 1931 and 1939. After the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, Alfonso XIII tried to make the monarchic regime gain back power and named president the general Dámaso Berenguer, but failed. He then tried to proclaim different leaders like the presidents of government and proposed a new electoral calendar: 12 of April was going to be the municipal election day. -
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Simbolism during the Republic
There are multiple symbols and signs that represent the Republic; the flag made by the colors red, yellow, and purple, the "Himno de Riego" which was formerly created by the Valencian musician José Melchor Gomis in 1822, and the scale which represented justice and it had been in use since the First former Spanish Republic in 1873. These transcended from the Republic and were also similar to other signs found in other countries that had similar political views and similar systems such as France. -
Coup d'état
Because Sanjurjo had been murdered on his way to Morocco, Franco took his position and declared himself as the general leader of the revolters. They broke into all of the public buildings of Melilla and applied martial law until a further change in the course of the coup/war. This insurrection in Melilla was repeated through the entire Moroccan protectorate and later through all of Spain's territory. The coup itself finished on the 23rd, but the Spanish War had just started. -
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Uprisings, coup d'état and Spanish Civil War
The Frente Popular had won the February 1936 elections and replaced the right forces, who had been in power since 1933. This caused a great division between ideologies, military, religion, social tendencies, etc. The three generals that were in favor of proceeding with the coup were Emilio Mola as the intellectual leader, José Sanjurjo, and soon-to-be dictator Francisco Franco. With the coup d'état on July 17/18, 1936, the Civil War had begun and was going to last until April 1, 1939. -
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Course of the War
This war wasn't only between revolters and republicans. Class, viewpoints of religion, dictatorship and democracy, fascism and "communism". The war resulted in more than 600.000 deaths. approximately 200.000 people went into exile in other countries and an already weakened economy because of the Great Depression. Seville, Andalucia, Castilla La Vieja, León, Galicia, Navarra, etc., all of the cities kept falling into Franco's hands and weakening the Republic. -
End of the War and Francoist Dictatorship
The war officially ended on April 1st, 1939, when general Franco claimed: "En el día de hoy, cautivo y desarmado el Ejército Rojo, han alcanzado las tropas nacionales sus últimos objetivos militares. La guerra ha terminado." It gave Franco enough power to declare himself dictator and the new ruler of Spain. After the proclamation, he established the Francoist dictatorship, which was going to be military supported by the Nazis and Fascists as well as a period of terror until 1975, Franco's death.