4) Failure of the Popular Front, 1936

• End of 1935 president Zamora dissolved the Cortes and called for an election for February 1936.
• The election saw the Popular Front, a coalition of l/w groups, emerged victorious.
• The l/w victory intensified m/c fears that Spain would become an irreligious, lawless and socialist country.
• Leading members of the military felt the new government posed a direct threat to Spain's national security. They feared that a republic was not strong enough to stand up to what they considered to be the growing threat of a communist takeover, or determined enough to keep Spain unified in the face of demands for autonomy from the Spanish regions.
• Some military leaders believed it was not simply the new government that was a threat to Spain, the republican constitution also needed to be overthrown.
• R/W fears increased as Azana agreed to grant more autonomy to Catalonia and failed to stop peasants from seizing land illegally.
• These tensions resulted in an attempted coup d'etat in July 1936, which led to the Spanish Civil War.