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58-701: Manuel Portela Valladares (acting) PCD Manuel Azaña IR Legislative elections were held in Spain on 16 February 1936. At stake were all 473 seats in the unicameral Cortes Generales . The winners of the 1936 elections were the Popular Front , a left-wing coalition of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), Republican Left (Spain) (IR), Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), Republican Union (UR), Communist Party of Spain (PCE), Acció Catalana (AC), and other parties. Their coalition commanded

116-470: A "police action" akin to Asturias , Valladares resigned, even before a new government could be formed. However, the Popular Front, which had proved an effective election tool, did not translate into a Popular Front government. Largo Caballero and other elements of the political left were not prepared to work with the republicans, although they did agree to support much of the proposed reforms. Manuel Azaña

174-446: A deep sense of patriotism (he claimed to "carry Spain within his heart" and "in the marrow of his bones" ) was celebrated by the republican press, and it was received well even by José Antonio, then in prison. However, it was met with hostility among the radicals, deepening the rupture within the party. On 31 May 1936, Prieto was shot at a socialist rally in Ecija . After the beginning of

232-492: A gallows. The Popular Front offers no more and no less than it will bring: Bread, Peace and Liberty! There was significant violence during the election campaign, most of which initiated by the political left, though a substantial minority was by the political right. In total, some thirty-seven people were killed in various incidents throughout the campaign, ten of which occurred on the election day itself. Certain press restrictions were lifted. The political right repeatedly warned of

290-505: A more radical line than Largo Caballero, but he would now be identified as a relative moderate and opposed Largo Caballero's more revolutionary tendency. Prieto gave a thrilling campaign speech in Cuenca on 1 May 1936, prior to the 3 May repetition of the February 1936 election in the district in which the Popular Front would face among the right-wing rival José Antonio Primo de Rivera and, after

348-503: A narrow lead over the divided opposition in terms of the popular vote, but a significant lead over the main opposition party, Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (CEDA), in terms of seats. The election had been prompted by a collapse of a government led by Alejandro Lerroux , and his Radical Republican Party . Manuel Azaña would replace Manuel Portela Valladares , caretaker, as prime minister . The electoral process and

406-643: A return to autocratic government was implied. Funded by considerable donations from large landowners, industrialists and the Catholic Church – which had suffered under the previous Socialist administration – the Right printed millions of leaflets, promising a 'great Spain'. In terms of manifesto, the Popular Front proposed going back to the sort of reforms its previous administration had advocated, including important agrarian reforms, and reforms relating to strikes. It would also release political prisoners, including those from

464-445: A spontaneous popular wave of collectivisation and cooperativism, engaging up to three million people, which was ignited by the victory of the left in the general election of 1936, a wave described by historian James Woodcock as “the last and largest of the world's major anarchist movements”. The below table summarises results of the first round, i.e. of the voting which took place on February 16. It does not take into account elections of

522-433: A takeover of that sort. The allocation of seats between coalition members was a matter of agreement between them. The official results ( Spanish : escrutinio ) were recorded on 20 February. The Basque Party, who had not at the time of the election been part of the Popular Front, would go on to join it. In 20 seats, no alliance or party had secured 40% of the vote; 17 were decided by a second vote on 3 March. In these runoffs,

580-583: A un escultor: pequeños detalles de grandes sucesos ( Letters to a Sculptor: Small Details of Great events , 1962). Supporting of the notion of further devolution to the Basque Provinces and Navarra , Prieto was greatly opposed to separatism as well as towards the plans of the Basque nationalists in the draft of the Estella Statute, fearing the prospect of the territory becoming a "reactionary Gibraltar and

638-473: Is recorded as expressing his pessimism with these words: "with this brutality we have lost the war". However, historian Julius Ruiz argues that Prieto was not necessarily a steadfast moderate, as he held that Republican victory would require stripping the Church, capitalists and army of their power as they were deemed collectively responsible for the rebellion. In August 1936, Prieto also stated that Republican terror

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696-536: The 1933 general election which had brought the first of Lerroux's governments to power. The uncontested victory of the political left in the elections of 1936 triggered a wave of collectivisation , mainly in the south and west of the Iberian Peninsula , engaging up to three million people, which has been identified as a key cause of the July coup . The right-wing military coup initiated by Gens . Sanjurjo and Franco ,

754-685: The Basque Country . Spain's neutrality in World War I greatly benefited Spanish industry and commerce, but those benefits were not reflected in the workers' salaries. The period was one of great social unrest, culminating on August 13, 1917, in a revolutionary general strike . The government's fear of unrest like that of the February Revolution that year in Russia (the October Revolution there

812-638: The Izquierda Republicana parliamentary group with IR . Joined the Bloque Nacional parliamentary group with RE . Manuel Portela Valladares Manuel Portela y Valladares ( Pontevedra , 31 January 1867 – Bandol , Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur , France 29 April 1952) was a Spanish political figure during the Second Spanish Republic . He served as the 43rd Attorney General of Spain between 1912 and 1913. A member of

870-661: The Liberal Party , he served as civil governor of Barcelona in 1910 and 1923, and as Minister of Promotion in September 1923. After the socialist revolution against the republican government in October 1934, Alejandro Lerroux named him Minister of the Interior in 1935 and named Prime Minister by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora on 14 December 1935. He formed two governments prior to the elections of 16 February 1936 where he attempted to stabilise

928-690: The Rif War , or "War of Melilla" (1919–1926), Prieto spoke out strongly in the Congress after the Battle of Annual (1921). He also addressed the likely responsibility of the king in the imprudent military actions of General Manuel Fernández Silvestre in the Melilla command zone. Prieto was opposed to Francisco Largo Caballero 's line of partial collaboration with the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera . He had bitter confrontations with both men. In August 1930, despite

986-641: The Straperlo and the Nombela affairs. However, president Niceto Alcalá Zamora did not allow the CEDA to form a government, and called elections. Zamora had become disenchanted with Robles's obvious desire to do away with the republic and establish a corporate state , and his air of pride. He was looking to strengthen a new center party in place of the Radicals, but the election system did not favour this. Manuel Portela Valladares

1044-609: The winning coalition: some socialists took to the streets to free political prisoners, without waiting for the government to do so officially; similarly, the caretaker government quickly resigned on the grounds that waiting a month for the parliamentary resumption was now unnecessary. In the thirty-six hours following the election, sixteen people were killed (mostly by police officers attempting to maintain order or intervene in violent clashes) and thirty-nine were seriously injured, while fifty churches and seventy conservative political centres were attacked or set ablaze. Almost immediately after

1102-533: The Asturian rebellion (though this provoked the right), helping to secure the votes of the CNT and FAI , although as organisations they remained outside the growing Popular Front; the Popular Front had the support of votes from anarchists . The Communist Party campaigned under a series of revolutionary slogans; however, they were strongly supportive of the Popular Front government. "Vote Communist to save Spain from Marxism"

1160-601: The Civil War, when news of the ruthless and systematic executions of Loyalists by the Nationalists, as part of General Mola 's policy of instilling terror in their ranks, began to filter to the areas held by the government, Prieto made a fervent plea to Spanish republicans on 8 August in a radiocast: Don't imitate them! Don't imitate them! Surpass them in moral conduct; surpass them by being generous. I do not ask you, however, that you should lose either strength in battle or zeal in

1218-594: The Popular Front won 8, the Basques 5, the Right 5 and the Centre 2. In May, elections were reheld in two areas of Granada where the new government alleged there had been fraud; both seats were taken from the national Right victory in February by the Left. Because, unusually, the first round produced an outright majority of deputies elected on a single list of campaign pledges, the results were treated as granting an unprecedented mandate to

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1276-478: The Popular Front would still have won a slight electoral majority even if all of the charges were true. The political centre did badly. Lerroux's Radicals, incumbent until his government's collapse, were electorally devastated; many of their supporters had been pushed to the right by the increasing instability in Spain. Portela Valladares had formed the Centre Party, but had not had time to build it up. Worried about

1334-441: The Popular Front's victory into one that gave them control of over two-thirds of the seats, allowing it to amend the constitution as it desired. Payne thus argues that the democratic process had ceased to exist. Roberto García and Manuel Tardío also argue that the Popular Front manipulated the results, though this has been contested by Eduardo Calleja and Francisco Pérez, who question the charges of electoral irregularity and argue that

1392-456: The Popular Front, with vastly smaller resources than the political right, who followed Nazi propaganda techniques. The exact numbers of votes differ among historians; Brenan assigns the Popular Front 4,700,000 votes, the Right around 4,000,000 and the centre 450,000, while Antony Beevor argues the Left won by just 150,000 votes. Stanley Payne reports that, of the 9,864,763 votes cast, the Popular Front and its allies won 4,654,116 votes (47.2%), while

1450-456: The accuracy of the results have been historically disputed. Some of the causes of this controversy include the formation of a new cabinet before the results were clear, a lack of reliable electoral data, and the overestimation of election fraud in the official narrative that justified the coup d'état. The topic has been addressed in seminal studies by renowned authors such as Javier Tusell and Stanley G. Payne . A series of recent works has shifted

1508-541: The center ground political parties. In the end, the leftist party, Popular Front won. He went into exile during the Spanish Civil War . This article about a Galicia politician is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Indalecio Prieto Born in Oviedo in 1883, his father died when he was six years old. His mother moved him to Bilbao in 1891. From a young age, he survived by selling magazines in

1566-1015: The electoral districts, from 16 in Barcelona (city) to 1 in Álava, Ceuta and Melilla. All the selections made for individual candidates (there were 993 contestants running) are summarised. Example: Partido Republicano Federal fielded 3 candidates: Luis Cordero Bel on Frente Popular list in Huelva got 79.667 votes, Bernardino Valle Gracia on Frente Popular list in Las Palmas got 32.900 votes and José Bernal Segado running as independent in Murcia (city) got 1.329 votes, which produced sub-totals of 112.567 votes on Frente Popular lists and 1.329 votes for independents, which totals in 113.896 votes. All tables purporting to present number of voters, which supported specific parties or blocs, are based on various statistical methodologies, constructed ex post by historians and intended to translate

1624-547: The ensuing civil war , and the establishment of Franco's dictatorship ultimately brought about the end of parliamentary democracy in Spain until the 1977 general election . After the 1933 election, the Radical Republican Party (RRP) led a series of governments, with Alejandro Lerroux as a moderate Prime Minister . On 26 September 1934, the CEDA announced it would no longer support the RRP's minority government, which

1682-438: The evening, it looked like the Popular Front might win and as a result in some cases crowds broke into prisons to free revolutionaries detained there. Just under 10 million people voted, with an abstention rate of 27-29 per cent, a level of apathy higher than might be suggested by the ongoing political violence. A small number of coerced voters and anarchists formed part of the abstainers. The elections of 1936 were narrowly won by

1740-530: The fight. I ask for brave, hard and steely breasts for the combat,... but with sensitive hearts, capable of shaking when faced with human sorrow and being able to harbour mercy and tender feelings, without which the most essential part of human greatness is lost. However, a couple of weeks after those words, the Modelo Massacre took place in Madrid, much to the dismay of many Popular Front leaders. Saddened, Prieto

1798-493: The focus from the legitimacy of the election and the government to an analysis of the extent of irregularities. Whilst one of them suggests that the impact of fraud was higher than previously estimated when including new election datasets, the other disputes their relevance in the election result. The elections were the last of three legislative elections held during the Spanish Second Republic , coming three years after

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1856-517: The government after the March 1938 defeat on the Aragon front after an escalating dispute with the communists. He refrained from active political life for the remainder of the war, exiling himself to Mexico . In 1945, toward the end of World War II , he was one of those who attempted to form a republican government-in-exile and hoped to reach an accord with the monarchist opposition to Francisco Franco ,

1914-631: The government forces tried to establish control over the Workers' Party of Marxist Unification (POUM) and the anarchist Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), the government of Largo Caballero was replaced by that of Juan Negrín , with Prieto being Minister of Defense. Lacking support from the democratic powers, such as France , the United Kingdom and the United States , the Spanish Republic

1972-405: The imbalance caused by the nature of Spain's electoral system since the 1932 election law came into force. The same system had benefited the political right in 1933. However, Stanley Payne argues that the leftist victory may not have been legitimate; Payne says that in the evening of the day of the elections leftist mobs started to interfere in the balloting and in the registration of votes distorting

2030-606: The incumbent government; there also, in A Coruña , by the political left. The voting in Granada was forcibly (and unfairly) dominated by the government. In some villages, the police stopped anyone not wearing a collar from voting. Wherever the Socialists were poorly organised, farm workers continued to vote how they were told by their bosses or caciques . Similarly, some right-wing voters were put off from voting in strongly socialist areas. However, such instances were comparatively rare. By

2088-486: The military purged of republican members and reformed; those loyal to Robles had been promoted. However, since CEDA's entry into the government, no constitutional amendments were ever made; no budget was ever passed. In 1935, Manuel Azaña and Indalecio Prieto worked to unify the left and combat its extreme elements in what would become the Popular Front ; this included staging of large, popular rallies,. Lerroux's Radical government collapsed after two significant scandals,

2146-418: The new Chamartín railway station and the tunnel under Madrid linking it to Atocha railway station . Most of those works that would not be completed until after the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War . Unlike Largo Caballero, he opposed the general strike and the failed armed rising in October 1934, but he again fled to France to escape possible prosecution. Before the republic, Prieto had arguably maintained

2204-623: The number of votes into the number of voters; this applies also to tables presented in the section below. Their accuracy might be and is disputed. The below table is not based on any such data manipulations and summarises number of votes received by individual candidates as recorded by electoral authorities. Joined the Republican parliamentary group together with the PCNR . Joined the Esquerra Catalana parliamentary group together with ERC . Joined

2262-517: The opposition of party leader Julián Besteiro Fernández , Prieto participated in the Pact of San Sebastián . The broad coalition of republican parties proposed doing away with the Spanish monarchy. In that matter, Prieto was supported by Largo Caballero's wing of the party, as the latter believed that the fall of the monarchy was necessary so that socialism could rise to power. When the Second Spanish Republic

2320-594: The other side won, civil war would follow. 34,000 members of the Civil Guards and 17,000 Assault Guards enforced security on election day, many freed from their regular posts by the carabineros . The balloting on 16 February ended with a draw between the left and right, with the center effectively obliterated. In six provinces left-wing groups apparently interfered with registrations or ballots, augmenting leftist results or invalidating rightist pluralities or majorities. In Galicia , in north-west Spain, and orchestrated by

2378-400: The problems of a minority party losing out due to the electoral system, he made a pact with the right, but this was not enough to ensure success. Leaders of the centre, Lerroux, Cambó and Melquíades Álvarez , failed to win seats. The Falangist party, under José Antonio Primo de Rivera received only 46,000 votes, a very small fraction of the total cast. This seemed to show little appetite for

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2436-447: The resignation of General Francisco Franco as candidate, Manuel Casanova . He brought Regenerationist memories and proposed Keynesian measures to develop the domestic market of the country. In words directed towards the firebrand faction of Largo Cabrello, Prieto asked for moderation, discipline and the disregarding of revolutionary excesses that would put the democratic government in peril. The speech in which Prieto also displayed

2494-407: The results were known, a group of monarchists asked Robles to lead a coup but he refused. He did, however, ask prime minister Manuel Portela Valladares to declare a state of war before the revolutionary masses rushed into the streets. Franco also approached Valladares to propose the declaration of martial law and calling out of the army. It has been claimed that this was not a coup attempt but more of

2552-403: The results; Payne also argues that President Zamora appointed Manuel Azaña as head of the new government following the Popular Front's early victory even though the election process was incomplete. As a result, the Popular Front was able to register its own victory at the polls and Payne alleges it manipulated its victory to gain extra seats it should not have won. According to Payne, this augmented

2610-450: The right and its allies won 4,503,505 votes (45.7%), however this was heavily divided between the right and the centre-right. The remaining 526,615 votes (5.4%) were won by the centre and Basque nationalists. It was a comparatively narrow victory in terms of votes, but Paul Preston describes it as a 'triumph of power in the Cortes' – the Popular Front won 267 deputies and the Right only 132, and

2668-567: The risk of a 'red flag' – communism – over Spain; the Radical Republican Party , led by Lerroux, concentrated on besmirching the Centre Party. CEDA, which continued to be the main party of the political right, struggled to gain the support of the monarchists, but managed to. Posters, however, had a distinctly fascist appeal, showing leader Gil-Robles alongside various autocratic slogans and he allowed his followers to acclaim him with cries of "Jefe!" (Spanish for "Chief!") in an imitation of "Duce!" or "Führer!". Whilst few campaign promises were made,

2726-551: The ruler of Spain since the end of the Civil War, with a view to restoring Spanish democracy. The failure of that initiative led to his definitive retirement from active politics. He died in Mexico City in 1962. In Mexico, he wrote several books, such as Palabras al viento ( Words in the Wind , 1942), Discursos en América ( Discourses in America , 1944) and at the end of his life, Cartas

2784-476: The second round, which took place in 5 electoral districts (Álava, Castellón, Guipúzcoa, Soria, Vizcaya provincia) on March 1. It includes results in electoral districts (Cuenca, Granada), where results would be declared invalid, elections annulled and repeated in May. The numbers given are votes, not voters. Each voter was entitled to vote for a number of candidates; the maximum number of selections allowed differed across

2842-473: The street. He eventually obtained work as a stenographer at the daily newspaper La Voz de Vizcaya , which led to a position as a copy editor and later a journalist at the rival daily El Liberal . He eventually became the director and owner of the newspaper. In 1899, at the age of 16, he had joined the PSOE. As a journalist in the first decade of the 20th century, Prieto became a leading figure of socialism in

2900-409: Was a Socialist joke at the time. Devoid of strong areas of working class support, already taken by syndicalism and anarchism, they concentrated on their position within the Popular Front. The election campaign was heated; the possibility of compromise had been destroyed by the left's Asturian rebellion and its cruel repression by the security forces. Both sides used apocalyptic language, declaring that if

2958-422: Was a single district electing 17 representatives. However, a voter could vote for fewer than that – in Madrid's case, 13. This favoured coalitions, as in Madrid in 1933 when the Socialists won 13 seats, and the right, with just 5,000 votes fewer, secured only the remaining four. Vatican Fascism offered you work and brought hunger; it offered you peace and brought five thousands tombs; it offered you order and raised

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3016-402: Was called upon to form a government, but would shortly replace Zamora as president. The right reacted as if radical communists had taken control, despite the new cabinet's moderate composition, abandoned the parliamentary option and began to conspire as to how to best overthrow the republic, rather than taking control of it. The military coup in Spain triggered the so-called ‘Spanish Revolution’,

3074-468: Was proclaimed on April 14, 1931, Prieto was named finance minister in the provisional government, presided by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora . As Minister of Public Works in the 1931–1933 government of Manuel Azaña , he continued and expanded the policy of hydroelectric projects that had been begun during the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, as well as the ambitious plan of infrastructural improvements in Madrid, such as

3132-493: Was replaced by a RRP cabinet, led by Lerroux once more, that included three members of the CEDA. The concession of posts to CEDA prompted the Asturian miners' strike of 1934 , which turned into an armed rebellion. Some time later, Robles once again prompted a cabinet collapse, and five ministries of Lerroux's new government were conceded to CEDA, including Robles himself. Since the 1933 elections, farm workers' wages had been halved, and

3190-509: Was still to come) caused it used the military to put down the general strike. Members of the strike committee were arrested in Madrid . Having been involved in organizing the strike, Prieto fled to France before he could be arrested. He did not return until April 1918, when he had been elected to the Spanish Congress of Deputies . Very critical of the actions of the government and army during

3248-525: Was subject to severe international isolation during Prieto's last ministry in Spain. Maritime access for Soviet material aid was effectively cut off by the attacks of Italian submarines , and the French border remained closed. After the defeat of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces on the northern front in October 1937, he offered his resignation, which was rejected. Prieto finally left

3306-428: Was thus chosen to form a caretaker government in the meantime. The Republic had, as its opponents pointed out, faced twenty-six separate government crises. Portela failed to get the required support in the parliament to rule as a majority. The government was dissolved on 4 January; the date for elections would be 16 February. As in the 1933 election, Spain was divided into multi-member constituencies; for example, Madrid

3364-520: Was unnecessary because their internal opponents were already cowed and that Nationalist terror was because of their relative weakness. In September 1936, after the fall of Talavera de la Reina , in Toledo Province , to the rebels, Largo Caballero became the head of the government, and Prieto became Minister of Marine and Air. After the May 3–8, 1937 events in Barcelona in which the communists and

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