The Rule of Primo Di Rivera

Miguel Primo de Rivera was born into a wealthy family in Jerez, Spain, in 1870. He joined the
army and took part in the colonial wars in Morocco, Cuba and the Philippines.
After the First World War Primo de Rivera held several important military posts including the
captain-generalship of Valencia, Madrid and Barcelona. On the death of his uncle in 1921 he
became Marques de Estella.
With the support of Alfonso XIII and the army Primo de Rivera led a military coup in September
1923. He promised to eliminate corruption and to regenerate Spain. In order to do this he
suspended the constitution, established martial law and imposed a strict system of censorship.
Primo de Rivera initially said he would rule for only 90 days, however, he broke this promise
and remained in power. Little social reform took place during the Primo Di Rivera years but he
did have several projects
Success: Ending the Rif War
Alfonso XIII had lost a great deal of support because of the Rif War, a conflict that was caused
by his short-sighted plan to defeat Moroccan rebels and take greater control of Morocco and
build a new Spanish empire. The lengthy and destructive conflict created divisions between the
Africanists (Spaniards who wanted to build an empire) vs. the abandonistas (Spaniards seeking
to abandon Morocco) had pushed Spain to the brink of civil war, and once Primo De Rivera
seized power he decided to find a way out of the crisis. He soon concluded that the war was
unwinnable, and considered pulling back his troops to the coast with the aim of at least
temporarily abandoning Spain’s Moroccan territory. He managed to limit involvement in the
conflict until the French joined and helped Spain defeat the rebels.
Success: Building infrastructure
Primo de Rivera also worked to build infrastructure for his economically backward country.
Spain had few cars when he came to power; by 1930, it possessed Europe's best network of
automobile roads. The Barcelona Metro, started many years earlier, opened in 1924. His
economic planners built dams to harness the hydroelectric power of rivers, especially the Duero
and the Ebro, and to provide water for irrigation. For the first time, electricity reached some of
Spain's rural regions. Foreign trade also increased greatly
Failure: Lack of Freedoms
Primo de Rivera brought order to Spain with a price: his regime was a dictatorship, albeit a mild
one. One of his chief objectives was to limit political radicalism, and so he felt justified in his
aggressive measures. He censored the press. When intellectuals criticized the government, he
closed El Ateneo, the country's most famous political and literary club. The largely anarchist
CNT was decreed illegal and, without the support of the Socialist Party, the general strikes
organised by the organisation where dismantled violently by the army. To suppress the separatist
fever in Barcelona, the regime tried to expunge Catalan culture. It was illegal to use Catalan in
church services
Failure: Inflation
Primo Di Rivera tried to reduce Spain’s rate of unemployment by spending money on public
works, and this was initially successful, but eventually the government needed money to pay its
deficit. To raise money, Primo de Rivera considered higher taxes on the rich. When they
complained he changed his policies and attempted to raise money by public loans. This caused
rapid inflation and ultimately made the economic situation worse. Eventually, despite Primo De
Rivera’s numerous reforms, economic decline began in 1929. The king began distancing himself,
and protests against the dictatorship grew. Primo De Rivera eventually decided to resign.

Overview of the Primo De Rivera years

- Was considered a ‘moderate’ dictator
- Had some success in modernizing Spain
- Ultimately failed because he didn’t go far enough in creating lasting reforms
- Genuinely wanted his rule to be temporary; made attempts to create a non-military
political system but success was limited
- Lost support from the king and military as his policies began failing
- Decided to resign after the military officers did not offer support