Accidentalism and catastrophism

They were particularly noticeable among opponents of Spain's Second Republic (1931–1939) – most significantly of the liberal and socialist governments of 1931–1933 and 1936 until the start of the Spanish Civil War.

Accidentalists believed that the faults of the Republic (and other types of government, like the preceding monarchy) were not based in the institution itself, but rather in the way it was being run.

[4] The Spanish Confederation of the Autonomous Right's (CEDA) victory in the elections of 1933 was seen as a triumph for democratic means, and accidentalist opposition to the previous government.

[5] In contrast, the elections in 1936, when the political right was beaten by the Popular Front, represented the futility of the accidentalist approach, and heralded the start of a period where opposition was mostly catastrophic in nature.

[6] After the election José Calvo Sotelo became the leading speaker of the anti-revolutionary right in the Parliament, preparing the mood of the right wing masses for a coup d'état.