Legislation 1931-33

• Law of Municipal Boundaries (April 1931):

  This law meant that landowners could only employ labourers from the surrounding areas and therefore couldn't employ cheaper labour from the other side of Spain.
• Separation of Church and State (1931):

  • Article 3: declared Spain had no official religion
  • Article 26: state no longer gave economic aid to churches
  • Article 27: banned funeral processions and the ringing of church bells
  • Article 44: gave the state the right to take away church property in return for compensation
• The Review of Promotions (1931):

  This meant that the government could revoke the promotion of military officers awarded by Primo de Rivera. As part of this, 500 officers were investigated.
• Law of Obligatory Cultivation (May 1931):

  This forced landowners to use their land for arable purposes, with the aim that it would increase employment. If landowners didn't comply, their land could be confiscated.
• Agrarian Reform Law (1932):

  This law was focused on land redistribution, allowing the government to take land from landowners to give to the landless peasantry. Landowners were only able to keep 23 hectares of land. However, it only resettled 4400 peasants during the first year, which was less than 10% of the population the government wanted to help. Not only this, but the government also had no way of enforcing the law.
• Catalan Statute (1932):

  This gave Catalonia autonomy and independence from Spanish parliament on things such as domestic policies.