Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja (1870-1930) was a Spanish military officer and politician who rose to prominence during a tumultuous period in Spain's history. Born to an aristocratic family and influenced by his uncle, a distinguished military officer, Primo de Rivera entered the military and climbed the ranks to brigadier general by 1911. Disillusioned by the political instability in Spain, he became a key figure in a military coup that overthrew the parliamentary government in September 1923, subsequently being named dictator and prime minister by King Alfonso XIII.
Primo de Rivera’s regime was characterized by attempts to stabilize the nation through modernization efforts and infrastructure development, which initially garnered popular support amid widespread social unrest. However, his government faced significant challenges, including economic hardship exacerbated by the Great Depression, civil rights suppression, and lack of civilian backing. By the late 1920s, discontent had grown, leading to his resignation in 1930 and subsequent exile in Paris. His dictatorship is often viewed as a precursor to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), contributing to the political fragmentation that followed and ultimately setting the stage for the rise of Francisco Franco's fascist regime.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Miguel Primo de Rivera
General and dictator of Spain (1923-1930)
- Born: January 8, 1870
- Birthplace: Jerez de la Frontera, Cádiz, Spain
- Died: March 16, 1930
- Place of death: Paris, France
Cause of notoriety: Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship helped discredit the Spanish constitutional monarchy and contributed to the onset of the Spanish Civil War.
Active: 1923-1930
Locale: Spain
Early Life
Born in 1870 to an aristocratic family from southern Spain, Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja (mee-GEHL PREE-moh day ree-VIHR-ah ee ohr-bahn-EH-hah) graduated in 1888 from the Military General Academy in Toledo. His uncle Fernando, the first marquis of Estella and a distinguished military officer, inspired Primo de Rivera’s career. When Fernando died in 1921, the nephew inherited his uncle’s title. Gregarious, charismatic, and philandering, Primo de Rivera served with distinction throughout the Spanish empire and in 1911 was promoted to brigadier general. Meanwhile Primo de Rivera married Casilda Sáenz de Heredia y Suárez de Argudín in 1902, and they had six children, including José Antonio, founder of the Spanish Falange Party, and Pilar, active in both the Falange government and that of General Francisco Franco.
As Spain lurched from one political crisis to the next, Primo de Rivera became convinced that his nation’s political system had failed. He was perturbed with Spain’s loss to the United States in the Spanish-American War (1898) and the insurgency that threatened his nation’s hold on Morocco. Equally frustrating was the breakdown of order within Spain, which was beset by poverty, unemployment, strikes, and leftist labor agitation. The constitutional monarchy seemed incapable of solving any of the problems. In 1921, the Moroccans inflicted a major defeat on the Spanish army, and some politicians accused the military of corruption and incompetence.
Political Career
Exasperated by the accusations and the political mess, the military overthrew the parliamentary government on September 23, 1923, and made Primo de Rivera dictator. King Alfonso XIII named him prime minister, tying the monarchy’s fortunes to the dictatorship. Many Spaniards supported the dictatorship because of the political and social turmoil, although the Left opposed it. Primo de Rivera considered himself a Spanish patriot who would briefly govern Spain to right the economic and political ills caused by the politicians. He suppressed Catalan and Basque separatists and, in alliance with the French, dealt the Moroccans a crushing defeat in 1927. Under the guidance of economic minister José Calvo Sotelo, the regime built infrastructure to modernize Spain and provide public employment. The Primo de Rivera government mediated disputes between labor and management, which helped the workers. For a time, Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship enjoyed broad popular support.
Nonetheless, it was a dictatorship, even if a mild one. It depended on the acquiescence of the Roman Catholic Church and the military, whose power and interests he could not challenge. Spain needed agrarian reform, but the Church and the elite prevented it. Primo de Rivera lacked a civilian constituency to whom he could turn over political power, although in 1924, he organized the Patriotic Union, a political movement that failed to generate popular enthusiasm. In 1926, he held a plebiscite to demonstrate support for his government, and the following year he convened an advisory National Assembly. It created a new constitution in 1929, to be approved by plebiscite the following year.
In 1929, however, the seeds of the dictatorship germinated. Spaniards tired of Primo de Rivera and his regime. Intellectuals resented his suppression of civil rights. Massive public spending caused rapid inflation. The post-World War I economic boom ended, and the Great Depression of the 1930’s was on the horizon. When the king and military turned against Primo de Rivera, he resigned on January 26, 1930, and went into exile in Paris. He died of complications from diabetes on March 16.
Impact
A populist dictator, Miguel Primo de Rivera saw himself as a patriot, but despite his good intentions, his regime contributed to Spain’s downward spiral into civil war, which occurred between 1936 and 1939. Discredited by his support for Primo de Rivera, the king abdicated in 1931. A republic replaced the monarchy, but it could not deal with the political factionalism, which the Depression intensified. The civil war gave birth to Franco’s far more brutal fascist dictatorship.
Bibliography
Ben-Ami, Shlomo. Fascism from Above: The Dictatorship of Primo de Rivera in Spain, 1923-1930. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983. Compares Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship to contemporary European regimes and, despite the book’s title, argues that Primo de Rivera fell in part because his movement was not fascist.
Carr, Raymond. Spain, 1808-1975. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press, 1982. A detailed and insightful survey with a substantial section devoted to Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship and its consequences for Spain.
Rial, James H. Revolution from Above: The Primo de Rivera Dictatorship in Spain, 1923-1930. Fairfax, Va.: George Mason University Press, 1986. A clearly organized but traditional account that emphasizes Primo de Rivera’s personal failings as the reason for his regime’s demise.