April 14, 1931, the ample majority of the Spanish people were with the new Republic. In the precedent years, the King Alphonse XIII had brought discredit to the Monarchy. He had been supporting a dictator for near 10 years and consequently earned the disaffection of the spaniards.
As many other of my generation I was raised with the idea of II Republic had brought all the evil, suffering and, finally, the Civil War to Spain. The historic facts are however quite stubborn and prove just the contrary, the new Constitution of 1931 allowed freedom of speech, extended the suffrage to women, permitted divorce and stripped the Catholic Church of schools (quality education from primary to high schools had been ruled by the Church up until then) and public subsidies, which made the Pope Pius XI to condemn the Spanish Government in the encyclical “Dilectissima Nobis”. According to the new Constitution, the Spanish regions acquired the right to install their own laws according to a limited range of subjects and administrative functions. Any try of installing a modern, functioning, laical but non religion-hostile, government had been aborted by military coups for more than one century and a half by then (1931).
Summing up, the recurrent characteristic old problems of Spain --that had prevented to constitute a modern government for more than 150 years-- were tackled by the new Constitution of 1931, i.e., 47 years before the current one, approved in 1978, also tried to solve these.
Unfortunately, our Republic was established during a world wide economic depression in the wake of 1929 Wall Street Crash. There was rising unemployment and poverty everywhere (also in other European countries). As consequence, revolutionary general strikes and civil unrest over all the Spanish territory, which also integrated African possessions at the time, took place during all the time period of the Republic. Special mention deserves here the military plots to bring down the Republic since the beginning. General Sanjurjo, an old monarchist, had tried a coup in 1932 and was in control to the new one that led to the Civil War. An “unfortunate” plane crash in Portugal in which Sanjurjo resulted killed made the way to General Franco for taking over the military rebellion that, from the African territories, started the Civil War in 1936.
Last minute information: Our beloved King Juan Carlos I broke His Majestical hip in a hunters camp in Bostwana, where He set off for an elephant hunting trip on last wednesday. Since early hours in the morning we (the spaniards) are suffering a mass media bomdardement about His Majesty health evolution. The unemployment reaches 5 millions and the Spanish Chief of State hunting in Africa, though ethically outrageous, it might be understood given the lust character of the monarch, who needs to let off steam by banging "whatever" can be targetted. Nations need leaders and be talked to by them when they are going through troubled times. I know that Juan Carlos cannot resemble Franklin D. Roosevelt in the big Depression, but what would have thought US citizens if their President had been hunting in Africa when people lined for food at the Salvation Army community kitchen.
Song's lyrics (summary):
De pena suspira mi corazón | My heart is sighing of sorrow,
Tierra bendita de mi querer | Blessed Land of my love
Tierra gloriosa de perfume y pasión | Glorious Land plenty of perfumes
España ponga una flor a tus pies | and passion. Spain, I want to lay
suspira mi corazón | a flower to your feet, and sighing,
my heart is willing to do this.
¡Ay, tierra mía! | Aie my beloved land !
¡ay! quién pudiera | Aie !, who could
ser luz del día | be like the daylight
y al llegar la amanecía | and when the dawn is appearing,
sobre España renacer. | to be born in Spain again.
a
Mis pensamientos | My thoughts
han renacido | have reborn
del firmamento | from the sky of
del verso mío | (where) my verse (comes),
y sobre España |
como gotas de rocío | and like dew drops,
los dejó caer. | let them fall over the land of Spain.
