Poverty

• • widespread in rural south
• • 1930's most peasants worked 16 hour days and only earned 5 pesetas a day
  • wage had to cover debt and living costs
• • peasant families could not afford meat, fish or eggs
• • wages could rise to 15 pesetas a day at harvest time
  • agricultural work was seasonal
  • some were only employed 130 days a year and had to save a large proportion of their wages to get through the periods of unemployment.
• • peasants were hit hard by a drought and the impact of the Great Depression, peasants were known to steal acorns and animal fodder to live on.
  • Rural churches organised charity
  • landowners did little to help
• • urban w/c were better of than rural peasantry
  • urban worker earned 3x more than a rural daily worker.
• • peasants moved to cities to escape poverty
  • 1920's - population of Spain's major cities doubled.
  • conditions were harsh - no houses or facilities, which led to the introduction of shanty towns
  • new factories were often hastily put together and dangerous
• • spanish society was highly unequal
  • compared to r/c the w/c were impoverished
  • poverty and inequality = social conflict. - wanted better pay and working conditions