But by doing this it angered all those sectors in society that had the potential to fight back – the military, industrialists, land owners and the Roman Catholic Church. The government tried to attack those it deemed as having too many privileges in society. The wages of those who worked in industry were increased but they were to be paid by the owners of those industries not by the government. taken over by the government which would control what was done on them etc. Many army officers were made to retire early The huge estates in Spain were nationalised i.e. Religious education in schools was stopped. Jesuits – seen as hard line Roman Catholics – were expelled from Spain – ironically the country that had founded the movement. The government and the Roman Catholic Church were made two separate entities. Their salaries now came out of the Roman Catholic Church’s purse. Priests were no longer paid by the state. The historic privileges of the Roman Catholic Church were attacked. The middle ground in Spain’s parliament – the socialists and middle-class radicals – did try to resolve outstanding problems.Ĭatalonia did receive some degree of self-government. Political infighting was in danger of pushing Spain into social revolution. The wishes of the left alarmed those on the right and vice versa. Those who governed Spain had differing views on what to do. The Republic faced losing the support of those whose support it desperately needed – the working class. Unemployment in both agriculture and industry rose and those in work had to put up with a cut in wages as the economy struggled to survive the Depression. Iron production fell by 33% and steel by 50%. Iron and steel were especially hit as no-one had the money to pay for the products. The little industry that Spain had was also hit by the Depression.
Prime exports such as olive oil and wine fell in value and previously used agricultural land fell into disuse. Spain was primarily an agricultural nation and the 1930’s Depression had hit prices for crops. The government believed that the army had too much say in politics and determined to reduce its influence. The Roman Catholic Church was hostile to the republic and the republic was hostile to the highly influential Roman Catholic Church. Had their requests been successful, it would have lead to the break-up of Spain. Two important regions in Spain wanted independence – Catalonia and the Basque region.
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