The governing Republican-Socialist coalition had fallen apart, with the Radical Republican Party beginning to support a newly united political right.

The newly formed Catholic conservative Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right (Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas or CEDA) gained 115 seats and the Radicals 102.

[2] The government also attempted to tackle poverty in rural areas by instituting an eight-hour day and giving security of tenure to farm workers, drawing criticism from landlords.

[nb 2][4] The second group consisted of organisations that had supported the monarchy, such as the Renovación Española and Carlists, who wanted to see the new republic overthrown in a violent uprising.

[9] The constitution was reformist, liberal, and democratic in nature, and was welcomed by the Republican-Socialist coalition, but opposed by landowners, industrialists, the organised church, and army officers.

[11][13] On 1 October 1933, Socialist left leader Largo Caballero spoke out against Lerroux's Republicans, suggesting the reform programme of the government, and thus the basis for the Republic itself, was under threat.

Socialist opposition on both constitutional and ideological grounds meant the PSOE withheld its support for the Barrio government, which was formed on 8 October, but called for fresh elections to be held on 19 November 1933.

[15] Nobody should vote, because politics means immorality, shameful business practices, growing fat, excessive ambition, uncontrolled hunger to become rich, to dominate, to impose oneself, to possess the privileges of State, both in the name of democracy and in the name of God, the Fatherland and the King.In common with the 1936 election, Spain was divided into multi-member constituencies; for example, Madrid had 17 representatives.

This meant it strongly favoured coalitions and it had been passed by the Azaña government in the hopes it would secure electoral victory for the Spanish left.

The political right, on the other hand, formed the Union of the Right (Spanish: Unión de Derechas) which incorporated CEDA, agrarian parties and traditionalists.

[18] These parties threw vast resources into their campaign, with ten million leaflets, 300,000 posters, radio and cinema addresses and aerial propaganda drops.

They used mass-appeal slogans such as 'Republic, order, freedom, social justice, amnesty' and were confident following successes at municipal level in 1933.

The second Azaña government had amended the law to give disproportionate seats to pluralities and majorities, which ended up favouring broad coalitions.

However, the refusal for the Socialists to collaborate with the left Republicans made such a left-wing alliance impossible, while the Spanish right had managed to form its own coalition.

[23] The left Republicans and Socialists attempted to pressure Niceto Alcalá Zamora, the president of the Republic, into cancelling the election results.

[32] The president of the Republic, Niceto Alcalá Zamora entrusted the formation of a cabinet to Alejandro Lerroux, who was reliant on the support of CEDA.

Most fighting took place in Zaragoza and Barcelona but also occurred elsewhere, as did indiscriminate acts of terrorism; trains were derailed and in Valencia, a bridge was destroyed causing a wreckage.

In the town of Villaneuva de la Serena, an army sergeant in charge of the local recruitment post mutinied, along with several soldiers and fifteen civilian anarchists.

The CNT-FAI also took control of several small towns, declaring the establishment of libertarian communism, burning records and abolishing money.