El control campesino y jornalero de los Ayuntamientos de la Alta Andalucía durante la crisis de los años treinta (1931 - 1939)

Abstract

Using the case of Eastern Andalusia for empirical support, this paper argues that the control of local power in Andalusia during the Republican period immediately preceding the Civil War was of paramount importance. Between 1931 and 1936, municipal governments played a crucial role, as they were used by different rural groups to satisfy their specific material and cultural needs in the midst of a political and economic crisis. During the first Republican biennium, rural workers used municipal governments to reinforce their control of the job market, forcing landowners strictly to apply labour legislation. The landowners reaction during the second biennium put the rural bourgeoisie back into municipal governments, who used them to reestablish the old oligarchic system. With the advent of the Popular Front, social issues became more radical, ultimately leading up to the Civil War in 1936, where once again municipal governments played a decisive role.