Republicanism in Spain

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Republicanism in Spain is a political position and movement that holds that Spain should be a republic.

There has existed in Spain a persistent trend of republican thought, especially throughout the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, that has manifested itself in diverse political parties and movements over the entire course of the history of Spain. While these movements have shared the objective of establishing a republic, during these three centuries there have surged distinct schools of thought on the form republicans would want to give to the Spanish State: unitary or federal.

Despite the country's long-lasting schools of republican movements, the government of Spain has been organized as a republic during only two short periods in its history, which totaled 9 years and 8 months of republican government. The First Spanish Republic lasted from February 1873 to December 1874, and the Second Spanish Republic lasted from April 1931 to April 1939.

Under the monarchical regime currently in force in Spain, there are movements and political parties throughout the entire political spectrum that advocate for a Third Spanish Republic. Despite enjoying a wider support within the left wing political camp, there are also liberal, right-wing, conservative and nationalist parties espousing republican stances.

History

Origins, the First Republic, and the Bourbon Restoration

The roots of Spanish

(1833–1868) that the first clearly republican and anti-monarchist movements appeared.

Le Monde Illustré

.

Federalist republicanism, emerged in the 1850s and 1860s, had a key figure in the person of Roque Barcia Martí [es].^[1]

The

; thus King Amadeo abdicated on 11 February 1873.

On that same day in 1873, the Cortes proclaimed the First Spanish Republic.

However, the Republic fell victim to the same instabilities provoked by the ongoing wars and the division amongst republicans. The majority of republicans were

.

On 3 January 1874, General

Alfonso XII

(son of Isabella II) to the throne.

After being banished from the institutions, republicanism underwent a heap of troubles, with differences of approach becoming apparent between those followers of Pimargallian "pactist" federalism and those ready to jump into Castelar's possibilism in regard of the new conservative regime.

created the Partido Republicano Progresista (PRP), and Nicolás Salmerón established the Partido Republicano Centralista (PRC). These parties contributed a diverse set of independent republican deputies to the Spanish parliament.

Factions of the PDP and the PRP branched off and fused to form the Partido Republicano Nacional. In 1898 the Fusión Republicana was formed, and in 1903 the creation of the

.

Primo de Rivera, the Second Republic, and Francoist Spain

plaça de Sant Jaume, Barcelona

(14 April 1931)

After 1917, the Restoration regime entered a state of crisis, which finally resulted in the

Niceto Alcalá Zamora

was formed.

The Second Republic adopted the form of a unitary republic, allowing a group of provinces to form self-governing regions, a provision availed of to form the regions of Catalonia and the Basque Country. Its first President of the Republic (head of state) was Niceto Alcalá Zamora, of the liberal-Catholic Liberal Republican Right party.

After the victory of the socialist and left-republican coalition in the June 1931 elections, Manuel Azaña, of Republican Action (later the Republican Left) was elected president of the Council of Ministers (premier). Azaña's government attempted to pass many reforms, such as the Agrarian Reform Law, and is consequently known as the Bienio Reformista ("Two Reformist Years"). 1931 also saw the introduction of truly universal suffrage, for the first time in Spanish history: previously restricted to men, the right to vote was now extended to women.

The Republic soon had to confront the political polarization of the era, at the same time that totalitarian dictatorships were rising in power in Europe. The political instability of the time can be seen by the fact that, in 1932, there had already been a failed coup led by General José Sanjurjo.

The general elections of 1933 saw the emergence of

parties. The CEDA emerged as the largest single parliamentary group, but lacked a majority of its own. As a result, Alcalá Zamora opted to appoint a cabinet made up of various centre-right radical and liberal parties led by Alejandro Lerroux. This cabinet too suffered from too narrow a majority, and Lerroux was eventually obliged to extend its support by including several CEDA ministers.

The inclusion of the CEDA, considered to be insincere in its support for the existing regime, was the trigger for the incidents of October 1934. Various initiatives were launched, ranging from a declaration of federal autonomy by

.

The violent repression of the Rising, especially in Asturias, the suppression of Catalan home rule, and the arrest of numerous prominent political figures who had been uninvolved in the unrest, motived the formation of the Spanish Popular Front. This included the socialist movement (the PSOE and UGT), the communist PCE and POUM parties, and the left-republican parties Republican Left, the Republican Union and Catalan Republican Left, as well as several minor political parties.

The Popular Front emerged victorious in the legislative elections of 1936, forming a government of republican parties and elevating Manuel Azaña as head of state.

On 17 July 1936, there was a

death in 1975.

Exile and Holocaust

A

in 1940, returning to Paris in 1946.

Transition to democracy

The anti-Francoist opposition failed in their attempts to bring about

However, in the 80s, the Communist Party (PCE) and its coalition the United Left resumed advocating for a Third Spanish Republic. There are also other regional parties advocating republicanism.

In 2016 an unpublished interview with the former president Adolfo Suarez in 1995 came to light, where he confesses that he included the word king and monarchy in the

In 2018, the

Public opinion

Spain's government-run Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas ("CIS", Sociological Research Centre) has not conducted any surveys in which respondents were asked their preference of the system of government, monarchy or republic. However, the CIS has published surveys on the "value" respondents place on the monarchy, and the agency has occasionally published questions regarding the current monarch, observing a progressive decline in support for the monarchy.^[11] In fact, although the monarchy has normally been one of the most valued institutions, studies have shown that the monarchy has experienced serious loss in public confidence, more than any other government institution, especially among youths aged 18 to 24, who have expressed negative opinions about it repeatedly in CIS studies since 2006.^[12][13] For the first time ever in 2011, a majority of the population said they did not support the current monarchy.^[14] However, the CIS ceased surveying views of the monarchy after April 2015, when poll respondents gave it an average rating of 4.34 out of 10.^[15][16]

A study published on 24 June 2004, even yield a result of 55% of Spaniards somehow agreeing ("más bien de acuerdo") with the statement that "the Monarchy discussion is long ago a thing of the past."

Spanish newspapers also sporadically publish surveys and opinion polls with questions related to the monarchy and of the survey respondents political affiliation as monarchists or republican, among other options, with results generably in favor of the monarchy until the year 2013:

Fieldwork date	Polling firm	Republican	Monarchist	Indifferent/ No opinion
6 Jan 2024	Sociometrica	32.8%	58.6%	8.6%
Nov 2023	Simple Lógica	44.7%	43.5%	11.8%
31 Oct 2023	NC Report	31.4%	65.7%	2.9%
31 Oct 2023	Leonor, Princess of Asturias turns 18 and swears allegiance to the Constitution
26 Jul–4 Aug 2023	Electomania	53.1%	44.7%	2.2%
29 Jan–4 Feb 2022	Electomania	51.7%	44.3%	4%
23–24 Nov 2021	SW Demoscopia	43.8%	56.2%	–
11–15 Oct 2021	Invymark	45.8%	44.3%	9.9%
24 Sep–4 Oct 2021	40dB	39.4%	31.0%	29.6%
27 Aug–3 Sep 2021	Electomania	48.0%	49.9%	2.1%
16–22 Jul 2021	GAD3	36.9%	55.3%	7.8%
16–18 Jun 2021	NC Report	38.9%	53.7%	7.4%
14 Apr 2021	Electomania	46.8%	49.4%	3.9%
5 Oct 2020	40dB	40.9%	34.9%	24.2%
14 Sep 2020	Electomania	47.6%	48%	4.3%
16 Aug 2020	GAD3	33.5%	56.3%	10.1%
10 Aug 2020	Sigma Dos	38.5%	48.4%	13.2%
6–8 Aug 2020	NC Report	38.5%	54.8%	6.7%
4–5 Aug 2020	Sociometrica	40.8%	54.9%	4.3%
3 Aug 2020	Electomania Archived 5 August 2020 at the Wayback Machine	55.5%	39.4%	5.1%
21–24 Jul 2020	NC Report	31.5%	58.3%	10.2%
9–10 Jul 2020	Electomania Archived 13 July 2020 at the Wayback Machine	53.1%	44.4%	2.6%
6–10 Jul 2020	Invymark	39.0%	31.2%	29.3%
6–10 Jul 2020	SocioMétrica	49.3%	48.9%	1.8%
17–19 Jun 2020	Electomania	47.6%	48.4%	4.0%
28 Apr–4 May 2020	Sináptica	51.6%	34.6%	13.8%
8–12 Apr 2020	Electomania Archived 27 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine	47.0%	47.5%	5.4%
28 May–3 Jun 2019	IMOP Insights	46.1%	50.8%	3.1%
22 Dec–5 Jan 2019	SocioMétrica	41.9%	43.1%	15.0%
2–5 Nov 2018	YouGov	48%	35%	17%
10 Oct 2018	Electomania	45.6%	48.1%	6.3%
Sep 2018	Podemos	46.0%	26.8%	27.2%
25 Jul 2018	Electomania	47.4%	49.9%	2.7%
23 Mar–6 Apr 2018	Ipsos	37%	24%	40%
9–11 Jun 2015	Sigma Dos	33.7%	61.5%	4.8%
23 Jun 2014	NC Report	28.3%	57.6%	14.0%
19 Jun 2014	King King of Spain
7 Jun 2014	TNS Demoscopia	35.5%	60.0%	4.5%
4–5 Jun 2014	Metroscopia	36%	49%	15%
3–5 Jun 2014	Sigma Dos	35.6%	55.7%	8.6%
2 Jun 2014	Invymark	36.3%	53.1%	10.6%
28–31 Dec 2013	Sigma Dos	43.3%	49.9%	6.8%
14 Apr 2013	NC Report	?	63.5%	?
21–28 Dec 2012	Sigma Dos	41.0%	53.8%	5.2%
23 Apr 2012	Invymark	34.0	57.9%	8.1%
22 Apr 2012	NC Report	35.5%	48.5%	15.9%
27–29 Dec 2011	Sigma Dos	33%	60%	7%
14–15 Dec 2011	Metroscopia	37%	49%	14%
12 Dec 2011	Invymark	37.0%	59.3%	3.7%
20 Jun 2011	Invymark	36.8%	42.1%	21.1%
14 Apr 2011	Metroscopia	39%	48%	10%
2–4 Nov 2010	Metroscopia	35%	57%	8%
31 Oct 2010	ASEP	26%	57%	17%
6 Dec 2009	Metroscopia	25%	66%	9%
15 Aug 2008	Sigma Dos	16.2%	22.7%[a]	57.9%
5 Jan 2008	Sigma Dos	12.8%	43.1%[c]	39.9%
6 Oct 2007	GESOP	24.8%	50.6%	24.6%
4–5 Oct 2007	Metroscopia	22%	69%	9%[19]
28 Sep 2006	Opina	25%	65%	10%
20 Nov 2005	Sigma Dos	23.5%	38.0%	38.5%
20 Nov 2000	Sigma Dos	15.9%	43.0%	41.1%
1998	Metroscopia	11%	72%	17%
1997	Metroscopia	15%	65%	20%
Nov 1996	Metroscopia	13%	66%	21%
30 Sep–2 Oct 1996	Opina	15.9%[d]	46.9%[e]	37.2%

After 2005, surveys have measured a larger support for republicanism amongst Spanish youth, with more 18- to 29-year-olds identifying themselves as republicans than those identifying as monarchists, according to El Mundo.

, republican support has begun to increase greater than ever before.

When Juan Carlos announced his

Political party positions

• The
  39th PSOE Congress, Pedro Sánchez's team negotiated for the withdrawal of an amendment from the Socialist Youth that demanded "implanting the republic as a model of the State through a constitutional reform and the convening of a referendum". The amendment was withdrawn and the resolution finally stated that "PSOE has its own conception of the State model and the form of government towards which it wants to advance, strengthening republican values and promoting a federal model".^[36]
• The conservative People's Party (PP) strongly supports the monarchy.^[37]
• The
  far-right party Vox supports the monarchy. However, its leader Santiago Abascal has defended that "Spain, its sovereignty and its unity are above the Monarchy, the Republic, the Constitution and Democracy", suggesting a conditional support to the Crown.^[38]

• Unidas Podemos is a left-wing to far-left electoral alliance formed by Podemos, United Left (IU) and other left-wing parties. It entered a coalition government with the PSOE in 2020.
  • Podemos advocates to establish a republic^{[39][40][41][42]} holding a referendum on whether or not to abolish the monarchy.^[43] Former leader, Pablo Iglesias, said that he does not advocate changing to a presidential republic but maintain parliamentary democracy.^[44]
  • The United Left (IU) is a federation of left-wing parties and organizations dominated by the Communist Party of Spain (PCE). The IU states its mission is "to transform gradually the capitalist economic, social, and political system into a democratic socialist system, founded on the principles of justice, social equality, solidarity, respect of nature, and organized in conformity with a federal and republican "state of rights".^[45] IU and the PCE advocate the establishment of a Third Spanish Republic.^[46][47]
• The right-of-centre Citizens does not have a defined position vis-à-vis the form of government but the party has praised the monarchy and its role. Former leader, Albert Rivera, declared that he does not define himself as a monarchist.
• Más País advocates to establish a "federal republic".^[48]
• Equo is a green eco-socialist party. Equo advocates for a "federal, secular, and republican state".^[49]
• Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC), Junts and CUP all advocate to establish a Catalan republic and are strongly against the present monarchy.

Constitutional procedure to establish a republic

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Title X of the Spanish Constitution establishes that the approval of a new constitution or the approval of any constitutional amendment affecting the Preliminary Title, or Section I of Chapter II of Title I (on Fundamental Rights and Public Liberties) or Title II (on the Crown), the so-called "protected provisions", are subject to a special process^[50][51] that requires:

1. that two-thirds of each House approve the amendment,
2. that elections are called immediately thereafter,
3. that two-thirds of each new House approves the amendment, and
4. that the amendment is approved by the people in a referendum.

See also

• History of Spain
• Politics of Spain
• Republicanism
• Spanish Monarchy
• First Spanish Republic
• Second Spanish Republic
• Spanish Civil War
• Francoist Spain
• Alliance of European Republican Movements

Notes

1. ^ The statement "the Monarchy is something that has long overstayed its welcome", is badly translated. The actually Spanish wording used is "la Monarquía es algo superado hace tiempo", which means "that discussion is long ago a thing of the past".

References

1. ^ Higueras Castañeda 2016, p. 17.
2. ^ Penche 2011, p. 156.
3. ISSN 0214-400X
   .
4. ^ "Franco, Mola y Queipo de Llano, ante Los tribunales – 17/10/08 – 808961 – EcoDiario" (in Spanish). 17 October 2008.
5. ISBN 978-0-415-22780-3
   . London, 2000.
6. ^ "Izquierda Republicana" (PDF) (in Spanish).
7. ^ The parliamentary monarchy, approved with the abstention of the socialists, El País 12 May 1978
8. ^ eldiario.es (18 November 2016). "Adolfo Suárez no sometió a referéndum la monarquía porque las encuestas le dijeron que perdería". eldiario.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 April 2020.
9. ^ Terol, Alan Ruiz. "Spain threatens 'legal measures' after Catalan parliament rejects monarchy". www.catalannews.com.
10. ^ "Argumentos contra la monarquía". 15 April 2012.
11. ^ "Escolar.net:La monarquía se desgasta en España" (in Spanish).
12. ^ "Público" (PDF) (in Spanish).^{[permanent dead link]}
13. ^ "El Confidencial" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2014.
14. ^ M, F. (27 October 2011). "El País" (in Spanish).
15. dw.com
    . 10 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
16. ^ "Monarchy or Republic? Spanish king questioned as universities hold symbolic votes". Catalan News Agency. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
17. ^ "Más de la mitad de los españoles dice que la Monarquía es algo "superado desde hace tiempo" / EL MUNDO" (in Spanish).
18. eldiario.es
    . 18 November 2016.
19. ^ "Intención de voto". El País. 18 December 2011 – via elpais.com.
20. ^ "Los españoles dan un notable a la Monarquía pero un 38% de jóvenes prefiere la República / EL MUNDO" (in Spanish).
21. ^ "'Indiferentes' ante la Corona o la República / EL MUNDO" (in Spanish).
22. ^ "Público.es – La reforma de la Constitución gana adeptos en el último año" (in Spanish).
23. ^ "Público.es – Dos ideas de España frente a la Constitución" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
24. ^ "Spanish cabinet to discuss King Juan Carlos's abdication". BBC News. 3 June 2014. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
25. ^ "empate técnico entre monárquicos y republicanos". Electomanía. Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
26. ^ "España sigue siendo monárquica gracias a los andaluces y a pesar de catalanes y vascos". El Confidencial (in Spanish). 19 June 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
27. ^ "#ElectoPanel Octubre:los españoles suspenden a la Monarquía. – Electomanía" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
28. ^ "Rodríguez Zapatero y Rajoy elogian el 'digno' papel de la monarquía y reiteran su 'lealtad' a la Corona – EL MUNDO" (in Spanish).
29. ^ "Zapatero defiende el "cumplimiento ejemplar del papel constitucional" de Doña Sofía / EL MUNDO" (in Spanish).
30. ^ "BLANCO: 'Los alcaldes socialistas que incumplen la Ley de Banderas son una minoría, saben que deben cumplirla y lo harán' – PSOE" (in Spanish).
31. ^ "Juventudes Socialistas reivindica "avanzar hacia la Tercera República" con motivo del 14 de Abril. | Juventudes Socialistas de España".
32. ^ PSOE Resolutiones for the 37th Congress of Deputies (2004–2008). Page 101 says: "Para los socialistas, la defensa y la regulación de derechos arranca de la idea misma del republicanismo cívico que propugnamos."
33. ^ Pedro Sánchez: "I'm a Republican", Onda Cero 15 April 2016
34. ^ Pedro Sánchez: "The PSOE is republican, but constitutional", RTVE 4 June 2014
35. ^ Sánchez: "We Republicans feel very well represented in this parliamentary Monarchy", ABC 15 June 2016
36. ^ Pedro Sánchez restrains an initiative of his Youth that asked to establish the Republic, eldiario.es 18 June 2017
37. ^ "Casado defiende la Monarquía y rechaza una comisión de investigación para analizar las revelaciones de Corinna". Europa Press. 16 July 2018.
38. ^ Casals, Xavier (13 September 2019). "Vox, Podemos y Ciudadanos: tres miradas a la Transición". El Periódico.
39. ^ "Unidas Podemos tiñe su campaña de republicanismo". Leonoticias (in Spanish). 13 April 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
40. ^ "El republicanismo como nuevo eje político de Podemos". ELMUNDO (in Spanish). 31 December 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
41. ^ Iglesias continues his offensive against the King: "Nobody has chosen him, less protocol and more Republic", El Español 14 October 2018
42. ^ Iglesias: "Patriotism is called Republic", El Periódico 14 October 2018
43. ^ Podemos to offer referendum on Spanish monarchy. Newsweek. Published 22 December 2014. Retrieved 24 May 2018.
44. ^ "Iglesias: "Estamos más cerca" de unas elecciones anticipadas". RTVE.es. 5 November 2018.
45. ^ "Izquierda Unida" (PDF) (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 9, 2013.
46. ^ "Izquierda Unida" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 20, 2009.
47. ^ "Público.es – Lara y Anguita encabezan la lucha por la III República" (in Spanish).
48. ^ "Más País apuesta por una república federal como nuevo modelo para España" (in Spanish). 22 October 2019.
49. ^ "Equo website" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 5, 2014.
50. ^ Article 168 states:
    1. If a total revision of the Constitution is proposed, or a partial revision thereof, affecting the Preliminary Part, Chapter II, Division 1 of Part I; or Part II, the principle of the proposed reform shall be approved by a two-thirds majority of the members of each House, and the Cortes Generales shall immediately be dissolved.
    2. The Houses elected thereupon must ratify the decision and proceed to examine the new constitutional text, which must be passed by a two-thirds majority of the members of each House.
    3. Once the amendment has been passed by the Cortes Generales, it shall be submitted to ratification by referendum.
51. ^ The steps to hold a referendum on the republic, El Mundo 27 June 2014

Bibliography

• Higueras Castañeda, Eduardo (2016). "Presentación del dossier". Espacio Tiempo y Forma. Serie V, Historia Contemporánea (28). Madrid:
  ISSN 1130-0124
  .
• Penche, Jon (2011). "Republicanismo en España y Portugal (1876-1890/91): una perspectiva comparada". Revista da Faculdade de Letras. Historia. 1 (1): 155–170.
  ISSN 0871-164X
  .

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Republicanism in Spain.

• Red Inter Civico Republicana, a Spanish republican movement.
• Alliance of European Republican Movements, the umbrella organization of the RICP.