Spanish Constitution of 1931
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The Spanish Constitution of 1931 meant the beginning of the Second Spanish Republic, the second period of Spanish history to date in which the election of both the positions of Head of State and Head of government was democratic. It was effective from 1931 until 1939.
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, that provided for universal suffrage and complete separation of Church and State. This led to a republican-socialist government under Manuel Azaña.
The Second Spanish Republic lasted from April 14, 1931 to July 18, 1936 (military uprising) or April 1, 1939 (republican defeat by Francoist forces).
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[edit] 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 Comuneros revolt and is a means to represent Castile and Leon. A shield with squared-edges topped by a mural crown and quartered with the coats of arms of these four regions, clockwise: Castile (a castle), Leon (a lion), Navarre (golden chains in asterisk shape on a purple shield), Aragon (vertical yellow-red stripes). Left and right of the shield are the "Hercules columns" with the motto "Plus Ultra".
[edit] 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.
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 and, also, one of the regions with a stronger anarchist movements.
In 1935, prostitution, which had previously been recognised by law, was declared illegal. 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 1 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.
