1931-33 Right Response

• Azana's reforms alienated conservative forces in Spain. Consequently, Azana made enemies of senior figures in the army, Church and among landowners. The conservative right saw reforms as a threat to traditional social and religious order. They believed the reforms would unleash forces of social revolution that would lead to communism and the wholesale destruction of the institutions they valued.
• Landowners responded to agrarian reforms by refusing to allow workers to plant or harvest crops. Consequently, unemployment rose significantly in the southern agricultural regions as large landowners laid off workers. Other landowners simply ignored the new regulations as they had discovered the government had no way of enforcing the new rights.
• The Bloque Agrario of Salamanca co-ordinated a campaign to encourage landowners not to grow crops on their land. They argued that government policies were increasing cost of crop production so much that it was no longer profitable to produce food. The government responded by arresting leading members, prompting protests from RW politicians. The FNTT argued that they should take over the land and produce food for its members. However, landowners employed armed gangs to force peasants off their land. Therefore, the land in Salamanca remained uncultivated for much of 1932 and 1933.
• General Jose Sanjurjo's military uprising was the most extreme form of RW opposition. It took pace in Seville in August 1932. Sanjurjo claimed to support the republic but he rejected Azana's policy of granting autonomy to Catalonia and the government's anti-clerical policies.
• However, Sanjurjo's uprising was poorly thought through. He expected to receive the support of the army and the people of Seville but received neither. He attempt to seize Madrid was easily defeated, and once it was clear his plans were unravelling he acted indecisively. The government responded with minimum force and allowed the revolt to collapse of its own accord.
• Sanjurjo's uprising was a unexpected boost for the republic. Workers in Seville responded with a general strike in support of the republic. Moreover, the rebellion against the legal government was a disaster for the RW who had presented themselves as respectable guardians of peace and order before the uprising.