On April 12, 1931, local elections were held throughout Spain, which would lead to the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic after the victory of anti-monarchist candidates in most provincial capitals. In Cádiz, the elections were between the Monarchical Coalition and the Republican-Socialist Conjunction, with a total victory for the former, which managed to win all the council seats. After the proclamation of the Second Spanish Republic, the Provisional Government of the Republic would call for repeat elections in those municipalities where complaints had been filed against the results, including Cádiz.
Electoral System The number of councilors in each municipal council was determined by the population census. According to the Municipal Law of 1877, Cádiz was assigned 40 councilors, as it had a population between 75,001 and 80,000 inhabitants.
The Electoral Law of 1907 established that councilors had to be elected in districts of 4 members, although districts with between 3 and 7 members were also allowed. Voters were required to select several candidates through limited voting, which allowed them to vote for fewer candidates than the number of seats to be filled. The candidates who obtained a plurality of votes in each district were elected. If the number of candidates was equal to or lower than the number of seats to be filled, the candidates were automatically proclaimed without the need for elections. Voting was compulsory, although this was not enforced, and was based on universal male suffrage; eligible voters were men over twenty-five years of age with at least two years of residence in a municipality. Mayors were indirectly elected by the municipal council at the first session following the elections.
Cádiz was divided into 9 electoral districts that elected 4 councilors each, except for "Hospicio and Palma" and "Escuela and Pópulo", which each elected 6 councilors.
Parties and campaign
Monarchist Coalition The Cádiz caciques reached an agreement on March 4 to form the monarchist candidacies of the province. Led by José León de Carranza, a member of the Conservative Party and son of the mayor of Cádiz Ramón de Carranza, and the Count of the Andes, they sought to restore the old cacique-based pacts of the Restoration period. They agreed to divide the province into two spheres of influence: the capital and its surroundings for the Carranza family, and Jerez and the Sierra of Cádiz for the Count of the Andes.
This agreement excluded the supporters of former dictator Primo de Rivera grouped around the National Monarchist Union. They were led by José María Pemán and would break off their collaboration with the Cádiz oligarchs as a result of the aforementioned pact, criticizing the return of “cacique-style practices” that they considered contrary to the “work of Primo de Rivera.”
Despite these divisions, Mayor Carranza would present an electoral list together with the Liberal Party, led by the cacique Juan Aramburu e Inda. This candidacy sought to achieve a "copo", which meant winning all council seats. The monarchist electoral campaign would be led by the National Monarchist Union (UMN), which supported the candidacy despite it being excluded from it and ideological reservations. Through Diario de Cádiz, the UMN would seek to gain support for the monarchists by emphasizing “the work carried out during the years of the Dictatorship” and focusing the campaign on purely administrative issues, in contrast to the political program of the opposition. The main monarchist electoral rally was held on April 9 at the Teatro Cómico in Cádiz, where the mayor stated that “the elections that are about to take place are not just any elections, like those prior to 1923, but elections in which the future of the Homeland is at stake.”
Republican-Socialist Conjunction The Republican-Socialist list was formed quite quickly and without major complications, following the pattern of other lists put forward by the parties that had signed the Pact of San Sebastián. The campaign of the Conjunction would be much more active and dynamic than that of the monarchists, holding various rallies in the weeks and days leading up to the elections. The most important of these was the one held on the 11th in the San José neighborhood.
The desire of the civil governor to ensure the fairness of the elections worked in favor of the Republican-Socialists, who were able to carry out their rallies without complications. In an effort to prevent electoral manipulation, the governor even issued a series of regulations addressed to election monitors, urging them “not to yield to any kind of pressure.”
The National Confederation of Labor The CNT also took part in the electoral campaign in defense of abstentionism and political amnesty, organizing several rallies in which it urged its members not to take part in the elections and called on the authorities to release political prisoners.
Results PartyVotes%CouncillorsMonarchist Coalition (PL-PLC-UMN)24.08181.1540Republican-Socialist Conjunction (Rep-PSOE)5.59518.850Votes29.676100.00Turnout9.41656.63Electors16.627100.00Source:
Results by district 1st District: Constitución, San Francisco and San Carlos (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesLuis Beltrami UrquizaMon783Julián Hervias SánchezMon766Germán Garcés y CarnaceaMon730Enrique Muñoz BeatoMon536José Luis FabreCRS240Manuel Barás ArtesCRS235Antonio Cano DomínguezCRS231Voters3.521 2nd District: Cortes and Correos (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesGabriel Matute y VallasMon475Roberto González NadínMon463José María Puelles y PuellesMon441Joaquín Fernández RepetoMon397José del Corripio ReyCRS189Rafael Sostoa ElosarbeCRS173Emilio San Vicente de la MazaCRS161Votes2.299 3rd District: Hércules and Moreno de Mora (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesFederico Víctor y Martínez-VillaMon645Diego Mateo y ParedesMon608Manuel Bernal y BernalMon608Francisco HoyosMon579Manuel Agudo DomínguezCRS220Emilio Margaleff VillaltaCRS206José Pérez CanoCRS199Votes3.065 4th District: Hospicio and Palma (6 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesJuan Luis Martínez del CerroMon743Francisco Aguirre MayorMon725Luis Arroyo CrespoMon704Constantino Mateo y ParedesMon691Enrique Pérez FiguierMon527Aurelio FernándezMon344Manuel de la Pinta LealCRS194Pedro Muñoz ArenillaCRS189Manuel Pérez MartínCRS181Alonso Peña HidalgoCRS164Votes4.462 5th District: Libertad and San Lorenzo (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesDarío LazoMon667Manuel CastroMon645Rafael ManzanoMon620Servando RamaMon564Santiago Rodríguez PiñeroCRS281Mariano CanceloCRS264Antonio Periñán FernándezCRS250Votes3.291 6th District: Escuela and Pópulo (6 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesManuel Díaz PérezMon1.004José AbellaMon1.002José CadratoMon977José M. MarzanMon953Cayetano del ToroMon702Manuel de la Fuente VereaMon642Tomás FabrellasCRS312Manuel PrietoCRS305Manuel CampoCRS303Sr. CastilloCRS285Miguel Rodríguez NavarreteCRS132Rafael RevueltaCRS130Votes6.747 7th District: Merced (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesJosé MonisMon577Manuel Freire CostaMon547José BarreraMon545Manuel Freire BujanMon434José L. PérezCRS89Pedro IcardiCRS88Ángel Romaní ReyCRS81Votes2.361 8th District: Santa María (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesÁlvaro PicardoMon455Antonio MillánMon442Francisco Fuente VillarricaMon422Ricardo de la FuenteMon318Nicolás PitaCRS66Eduardo CollantesCRS63Votes1.766 9th District: Segismundo Moret (Extramuros) (4 councillors) CandidateAllianceVotesJosé León de CarranzaMon492Luis MexíaMon471Miguel GutiérrezMon453Antonio TreviñoMon384Emilio de SolaCRS186Sr. Jiménez MoralCRS178Votes2.164
Aftermath Despite some isolated incidents, the day proceeded with complete normality and resulted in a total victory for the Monarchist Coalition, with the mayor stating: “I am very grateful for the behavior of the people of Cádiz, of the entire city, and I will make this known in a manifesto.”
However, the victory of the Republican-Socialist Conjunction (CRS) in the rest of Spain and rumors that the king had abdicated led to celebrations in all neighborhoods of the city. On the night of April 12 itself, a demonstration was formed led by the Cádiz Republican leader Emilio de Sola, who headed to the City Hall to raise the republican flag, after which, he met with the civil governor requesting Carranza’s dismissal.
As news of events in Madrid started arriving in Cádiz, marches and celebrations followed one another. The proclamation of the Second Republic caused confusion among monarchist parties, with several fleeing the country and the National Monarchist Union (UMN) of Cádiz dissolving. The new government would annul Cádiz's electoral results and establish a municipal council made up of Republican-Socialist councilors, who appointed Emilio de Sola as mayor.
References