Spanish Constitution of 1931
The Second Spanish Republic (1931 – 1939) was the second period in Spanish history in which the election of both the positions of Head of State and Head of government were in the hands of the people. The First Spanish Republic was from 1873 – 1874.
The Second Republic began on 14 April 1931 after the abdication of King Alfonso XIII, following local and municipal elections in which republican candidates won the majority of votes in urban areas. The abdication led to a provisional government under Niceto Alcalá Zamora, and a constituent Cortes to draw up a new constitution, adopted on 9 December 1931. This led to a republican-socialist government under Manuel Azaña. A new constitution was adopted that provided for universal suffrage and complete separation of Church and State.
The Second Spanish Republic lasted from April 14th 1931 to July 18th 1936 (military uprising) or April 1st 1939 (republican defeat).
The Flag
The flag of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939) was a tricolour (red, yellow and purple) in horizontal stripes of the same dimension, unlike the traditional red-yellow-red spanish flag, with a shield in the middle. The purple colour is inspired in the second quarter of the Spanish arms (both republican and monarchist), Leon (argent a lion purpure). A shield with squared-edges topped by a mural crown and quartered with the coats of arms of these four regions: Castile (a castle), Leon (a lion), Navarre (golden chains in asterisk shape on a purple shield), Aragon-Catalonia (vertical yellow-red stripes), clockwise. Left and right of the shield are the "Hercules columns" with the motto "Plus Ultra".
Influence of the 1931 Constitution
The Second Republic in 1931 brought enormous hopes for Spanish workers and peasants, and in social terms some advances were made, especially for women. In the 1931 Constitution, women won the right to vote, and also the right to be elected to any public office. In 1932 laws on civil marriage and divorce were introduced. For the period they were the most advanced in Europe for they recognised divorce by mutual consent, and the right of women to custody of children. This was a severe blow to the Catholic Church, which saw its role and influence within the family reduced. An enormous improvement was achieved for women as they were thus able to escape from the of influence of the Catholic Church.
In 1936, the Generalitat of Catalonia legalised abortion. It is no coincidence that this was in a region where women were a much larger part of the industrial workforce.
In 1935, prostitution, which had previously been recognised by law, was declared illegal. Until then, a woman's body was legally considered as a commodity by the bourgeoisie, like a sack of potatoes or a chair. In the field of general working conditions, some improvements were achieved, for example, the right to freedom of association and the right to belong to a union. On 1st July, 1931, the 8-hour working day was decreed. Night work was regulated, obliging bosses to allow 8 hours of rest, and the Sunday Rest Law was granted to all workers. However, this did not include domestic work, which was overwhelmingly done by women.
External Links
The Spanish Revolution 1931-37
1931 Constitution Full text in Spanish from Wikisource