The First Generalitat de Catalunya in Modern Times (1931-1939)

Francesc Macià, the prestigious leader of Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya (ERC), a Republican left-wing party, won a clear victory in the elections held on 12 April 1931. On 14 April, Macià proclaimed the Catalan Republic within an Iberian Federation. A few hours later the second Spanish Republic was proclaimed in Madrid. Negotiations between the two new powers, in Madrid and Barcelona, resulted on 17 April in the provisional reestablishment of the Generalitat de Catalunya as the government of Catalonia with Francesc Macià as its first President.

President Francesc Macià (1859-1933)

Decrees issued on 28 April by President Macià established the provisional structure of the Generalitat and appointed its first Government, in which Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya had a clear majority. The Generalitat was composed of a Council or provisional Government, a provisional Assembly (forty-five deputies elected by the town councillors of all of the Catalan municipalities) and commissioners delegated by the Government who took over the services previously run by the Provincial Councils, which no longer existed in Catalonia. One of the first acts of the government of President Macià was to abolish all the public bodies which had no place within the structure of Catalan territory.

These events opened up a new chapter of history which proved, however, not to be exempt from serious problems. Despite the fact that this period represented only a brief interlude (1931-1939) and that the Statute of Autonomy was suspended between October 1934 and February 1936, it was sufficient to establish the foundation on which political power in Catalonia is still structured today.

The provisional Assembly was responsible for drafting a Statute of Autonomy which, after being approved by plebiscite, was presented to the Cortes of the Spanish Republic for ratification. However, the Statute was never ratified: the Cortes modified its contents and limited the scope of the powers of the Generalitat. On 9 September 1932, the Cortes approved the revised Statute, and a few weeks later parliamentary elections were held in Catalonia. The Parliament of Catalonia was constituted on 6 December 1932, with Lluís Companys as its first President.

The Generalitat was composed of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat and the Government. Shortly afterwards, with the creation of the Supreme Court of Appeals in 1934, Catalonia assumed judicial powers in addition to its executive and legislative powers. Additional executive powers, including jurisdiction over matters relating to public order, were also assured by the Generalitat when the governmental structure of the Civil Governors, representing the Spanish Government in Catalonia, was eliminated in January 1934. However, the creation of this new power structure in Catalonia and the granting to the Generalitat of powers of government in no way represented a return to the sovereignty enjoyed prior to the abolition of the Generalitat by Philip V.

On Christmas Day 1933, President Macià, the man who had succeeded in restoring the Generalitat and the Parliament of Catalonia, chose Lluís Companys as his successor.

President Lluís Companys (1882-1940)

The mandate of Lluís Companys (1933-1940), second President of the modern Generalitat, was an extremely dynamic period for the Parliament of Catalonia, particularly from a legislative standpoint. The Supreme Court of Appeal was created, the Municipalities Act was passed, and numerous other laws and statutory instruments affecting Finance, Justice, Labour, Cooperatives, Agriculture, Education, Culture, Health, Civil Law, etc. were approved.

On 6 October 1934, President Lluís Companys, considering that the stability of the Republic and the autonomy of Catalonia were in danger, clashed with the central Spanish Government and proclaimed the Catalan State within the Spanish Federal Republic. The movement was quashed by the army, the Statute of Autonomy was suspended and the Government of Catalonia and many other citizens, both officials and non-officials, were imprisoned and handed down long sentences. As a result of the general elections held in February 1936, the members of the Government of Catalonia were released from prison and the Generalitat resumed its functions.

General Franco led a military uprising against the Republic which began on 18 July 1936. This attempted coup marked the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. In Catalonia, however, the people and the police force directed by the Generalitat put down the military revolt. Nevertheless, the uprising provoked a revolutionary explosion which had been building up for some time, particularly within the ranks of the “anarcho-syndicalists” of the CNT-FAI. This resulted in serious conflicts with the Generalitat lasting until the end of 1936, when ministers following the anarchist ideology joined the Government. This chapter was fated to be a short one. In May 1937, the CNT-FAI lost its hegemony, which passed over to the communists and the governing party, Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.

During the first phase of the Civil War, the Government of the Generalitat assumed full emergency powers to deal with the situation. This allowed them to make the decisions necessary to defend the governing institutions of Catalonia. Thus, the legislature and Lluís Companys’ term as president were prolonged owing to the impossibility of holding legislative elections.

Towards the end of 1937, the central Government in Madrid took back the powers which it had granted to Catalonia with the 1932 Statute of Autonomy, in particular those relating to public order. Once again internal socio-political struggles in Catalonia were to have negative repercussions on its political autonomy.