Azaña and Gil Robles

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  • Tension and division in Spanish society: Azaña and Gil Robles
    • Manuel Azaña
      • Had led two of the three republican government between 1931 and the civil war in 1936
      • Neither a Socialist nor a radical reformer, opposition from both the left and the right -> further polarisation and radicalisation
      • Against CEDA, monarchists and clericalism
        • Didn't effectively address the violence of radical left-wing groups but rather claimed right-wing groups to be the threat to society
      • Unable to prevent violence after he became president of the Republic in 1936 and his government didn't react quickly to punish the perpetrators when Calvo Sotelo was killed
        • Ultimately he failed to unify the left behind his regime and was unable to defuse the rightist plot to overthrow it
    • Gil Robles
      • Part of the right-wing and a critic to Azaña
      • Able to gather support from different factions; e.g. Catholic republicans and monarchists
        • However, his policies were often inconsistent, he believed in an "accidentalist"approach -> that the nature of the ruling regime didn't matter but its religious principles did
          • Historian Paul Preston argues that he was essentially a Fascist and would have gained more power under a Fascist dictatorship
            • Other historians argue him to be a traditional politician who wanted to unite the right behind a legal framework and in line with Catholic values
      • Founded CEDA and attempted to use it against the government after winning the 1933 elections
        • Later he led the National Front coalition that opposed the Popular Front government in the February 1936 elections
          • The support for the CEDA started to decline after the Popular Front lost the election
            • Gil Robles tried to get Franco to take military action against the Popular Front but the military refused to take action
              • Gil Robles tried to manipulate the Prime Minister and Franco into believing that Popular Front = anarchy and violence
      • Inspiration from Nazi propaganda to whip up fear of a Marxist revolution

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