Liberalism and radicalism in Spain facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

This article tells you about liberalism and radicalism in Spain. It focuses on political parties that were liberal or radical and had a lot of support, usually by having members in parliament. The arrow sign (⇒) means that a party came from or joined another party mentioned earlier. Parties don't always have to call themselves "liberal" or "radical" to be included here.

Understanding Liberalism in Spain

In the 1800s, liberalism was a very important political idea in Spain. However, the word "liberal" could mean different things. It's important to understand these differences.

During the 1800s, Spanish history often involved conflicts. These fights were between three main types of liberal ideas. These were:

Radicalism
Progressive classical liberalism
Conservative classical liberalism

All three groups disagreed with the old system in Spain. This old system was called the Old Regime. It was based on absolute monarchy, the Catholic Church, and old traditions. However, each liberal group had different ideas. They disagreed on how quickly and how much Spain needed to change. They wanted to update its values and institutions.

The word 'liberal' usually meant classical liberalism. This type of liberalism had two main parts:
- A progressive-liberal part: This was like the Fusionist Liberal Party. They preferred slow changes. They were willing to make deals with the radical groups.
- A conservative-liberal part: This was like the Liberal Conservative Party. They liked traditions more. They were willing to make deals with groups who supported absolute monarchs, like the Carlists.

These different liberal groups generally shared some beliefs:

In politics: They supported a parliament. However, they usually wanted only property owners to vote. This was called censitary suffrage.
In economics: They believed in free-market capitalism. This means businesses operate with little government control.
In society: They were generally conservative. For example, they did not support universal suffrage. This means everyone voting. They also did not want a strict separation of church and state.
In government: They were flexible about the type of government. They could support a monarchy or a republic.

For the more left-leaning liberal groups, like social liberals, "liberal" was not their only label. These groups often used words like radical, democratic, or republican. You can read more about this in republicanism. These groups generally shared these beliefs:
- They supported universal manhood suffrage. This means all adult men could vote.
- They believed that power should come from the people of the nation. This is called popular sovereignty. It was not from the royal parliament.
- They wanted big changes to remove the political power of the monarchy, the church, and rich families.
- As the 1800s went on, they started to support some ideas of social democracy. This means the government helps people with things like education and healthcare.
- They believed the government should be strong and centralized. It should actively carry out these changes.

History of Liberal Parties

This section describes different liberal and radical groups in Spain. Most of them started in the 1800s.

Early Liberals and the Fusionist Party

A common grave for six Liberal politicians from the 19th century in Madrid.

1808-1812: Early Spanish liberals were not one organized party. They formed different groups. During the Spanish War of Independence and the creation of the Spanish Constitution of 1812, the term Liberals was used. It described groups who were against the absolute monarchy. They were influenced by new ideas from the Enlightenment in Spain and the French Revolution.
1820-1839: The Liberals split into two main groups. The 'Radicals' (Exaltados) wanted a new, more progressive constitution. They wanted all men to vote. The 'Moderates' (Moderados) wanted to bring back the older, more limited constitution of 1812.
1839-1879: Most Radicals and Moderates formed a group called the Progressives (Progresistas). Leaders included Baldomero Espartero and Práxedes Sagasta. From this group, other parties later formed:
- In 1843, the ⇒ Democratic Party.
- In 1854, the ⇒ Liberal Union.
- In 1869, the Democratic Radical Party.
- In 1879, the ⇒ Democratic Progressive Party.
1880: Most liberal groups joined together. They formed the Fusionist Liberal Party. Sagasta led this party. Some more radical groups stayed outside.
1882: A left-wing group from the party created the ⇒ Dynastic Left. Most of its members returned to the Fusionist Liberal Party by 1886.
1890: The ⇒ Possibilist Democratic Party joined the Fusionist Liberal Party.
1907: A left-wing group left the party. They formed the ⇒ Monarchist Democratic Party.
1918: Another group left and formed the ⇒ Liberal Left.
1923: The party ended because of a military takeover by Miguel Primo de Rivera.

Democratic Party

1843: The left-wing of the ⇒ Progressives created the Democratic Party. This party brought together left-wing liberals and moderate socialists.
1868: The republican part of the party formed the ⇒ Federal Republican Party.
1871: The party ended. Some members continued as a monarchist party.

Liberal Union

1854: Moderate ⇒ Progressives formed the Liberal Union. Leopoldo O'Donnell led this group.
1868: The party joined with conservative Moderates. They formed the Liberal Conservative Party.

Federal Republican Party

1868: The republican part of the ⇒ Democratic Party formed the Federal Democratic Republican Party. It was also called the Republican-Democratic Party.
1878: A group joined the ⇒ Reformist Republican Party.
1879: A group left and formed the ⇒ Possibilist Democratic Party.
1891: The party took in a group from the ⇒ Democratic Radical Party.
1923: The party ended because of the Primo de Rivera military takeover.

From Democratic Radical to Centralist Party

1869: A left-wing group of the Progressives left. They formed the Democratic Radical Party. Ruiz Zorilla led them.
1876: The party was reorganized into the Reformist Republican Party. Nicolás Salmerón led it.
1878: A group from the ⇒ Federal Republican Party joined this party.
1879: A group joined the ⇒ Democratic Progressive Party.
1890: The party changed its name to Centralist Party.
1891: The party was absorbed by the ⇒ Federal Republican Party.

Possibilist Democratic Party

1879: A group from the ⇒ Federal Republican Party formed the Possibilist Democratic Party. Emilio Castelar led them.
1890: The party joined the ⇒ Liberal Fusionist Party.

Democratic Progressive Party

1879: A left-wing group of the ⇒ Progressives, along with members from the Reformist Republican Party, formed the Democratic Progressive Party.
1882: The party merged into the ⇒ Dynastic Left.

Dynastic Left

1882: A group from the ⇒ Liberal Fusionist Party and the Democratic Progressive Party formed the Dynastic Left. Francisco Serrano led them.
1886: Most members returned to the ⇒ Liberal Fusionist Party between 1884 and 1886.

Liberal Democratic Party

1913: A group from the ⇒ Fusionist Liberal Party left. They formed the Liberal Democratic Party. Manuel García Prieto led them.
1923: The party ended.

Republican Union (1906)

1906: A group from the ⇒ Federal Republican Union left. They formed the Republican Union. Nicolás Salmerón led them.
1908: A group left and formed the ⇒ Radical Republican Party.
1923: The party ended because of the Primo de Rivera military takeover.

Monarchist Democratic Party

1907: A left-wing group from the ⇒ Liberal Fusionist Party left. They formed the Monarchist Democratic Party. José Canalejas led them.
1923: The party ended.

Radical Republican Party

1908: A group from the ⇒ Republican Union formed the Radical Republican Party. Alejandro Lerroux led them.
1929: A left-wing group formed the ⇒ Radical Socialist Republican Party.
1933: The party became more conservative. So, its liberal members left. They formed the ⇒ Radical Democratic Party. The original party ended in 1939.

Liberal Left

1918: A group from the ⇒ Fusionist Liberal Party left. They formed the Liberal Left.
1923: The party ended.

From Republican Action to Republican Left

1926: Manuel Azaña created Republican Action. This was a group for discussing ideas. It worked closely with the Radical Republican party at first.
1931: Republican Action became a political party.
1934: The party joined with a similar regional party from Galicia. It also joined with the left-wing group of the ⇒ Radical Socialist Republican Party. They formed the Republican Left.
1939: The party was banned. There were attempts to bring it back after 1976.

Radical Socialist Republican Party

1929: A left-wing group from the ⇒ Radical Republican Party formed the Radical Socialist Republican Party.
1934: The party was dissolved. Members joined the ⇒ Republican Left or the ⇒ Republican Union.

From Democratic Radical Party to Republican Union

1933: The ⇒ Radical Republican Party became more conservative. So, its liberal members left. They formed the Democratic Radical Party.
1934: The party joined with a group from the ⇒ Radical Socialist Republican Party. They formed the Republican Union.
1939: The party was banned.

Democratic Convergence of Catalonia

1974: Democrats in Catalonia formed the Democratic Convergence of Catalonia. This was a democratic nationalist party with liberal ideas. Jordi Pujol led it.

Democratic and Social Centre

1982: Former prime minister Adolfo Suárez left his old party. He formed the liberal Democratic and Social Centre. The party lost its seats in parliament in 1993. However, it continued to exist until 2006.

Citizens

2005: The Citizens party was founded.

Union, Progress and Democracy

2007: Union, Progress and Democracy was formed. Rosa Díez, a former member of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, created it. She worked with thinkers like Fernando Savater.

Important Liberal Leaders

Liberals before 1912: Emilio Castelar y Ripoll and José Canalejas y Mendez.
Izquierda Republicana: Manuel Azaña.
Centro Democratico y Social: Adolfo Suárez.

Liberal Thinkers

Here are some Spanish thinkers who contributed to liberal ideas:

José Ortega y Gasset (Spain, 1883-1955)
Salvador de Madariaga (Spain, 1886-1978)