The insurrection was centred in Aragon and La Rioja, where revolutionaries took over the regional capitals and a number of small towns, proclaiming libertarian communism and destroying municipal documents.

After the suppression of the anarchist insurrection of January 1933, and the killing of 22 people in the Casas Viejas massacre, the left-wing government of Manuel Azaña came under attack by both the right-wing and the far-left.

Employers were quick to fire their workers, causing a rise in unemployment, aiming to demoralise the labour movement enough to elect a new dictatorial right-wing government under José María Gil-Robles.

The state provided no unemployment benefits at this time, so the CNT's attentions were turned towards helping workers survive and their revolutionary objectives were sidelined.

In mid-1933, the CNT's Economic Defense Commission called a rent strike and for the non-payment of utility bills, while neighbourhood committees prevented the police from carrying out evictions.

Individual activists of the CNT were also caught carrying out robberies, prompting the right-wing press to accused the Iberian Anarchist Federation (FAI) of banditry.

[5] Prominent activists of the CNT and FAI, including Buenaventura Durruti, were blacklisted by employers, who hoped to antagonise the union into taking premature action.

[7] By the time the CNT called a national meeting to respond to the upcoming general election, various right-wing factions, representing the aristocracy, military officers, bourgeoisie and clergy, joined into a unified bloc: the CEDA.

[10] Calls for abstentionism were even taken up by Benito Pabón, a future deputy of the Syndicalist Party, and Miguel Abós [es], a moderate who had previously voted in the 1931 Spanish local elections.

Building on previous collaborative efforts in Andalusia, the CNT improved relations with rank-and-file militants of the socialist-aligned Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT), aiming to create a revolutionary alliance in regions such as Asturias.

[14] The Nosotros group was divided over the proposed insurrection, with Joan Garcia Oliver believing that they did not have the time or resources necessary to put together a strong paramilitary force, while Buenaventura Durruti called for them to participate in any insurrectionary outburst, in order to warn the incoming government of their revolutionary potential.

[15] When the election campaign started, the CEDA immediately began calling for the establishment of a fascist dictatorship and broadcast speeches from José Calvo Sotelo, in exile since his participation in an attempted right-wing coup.

On the other side, the PSOE failed to mobilise their supporters, giving half-hearted speechs about revolution to unconvinced crowds, and the AR watched half of its voting bloc switch to Alejandro Lerroux's Radical Republican Party (RRP).

[17] On 16 November, the FAI held a rally at the Palau de les Belles Arts, where attendees vastly outnumbered the venue's 45,000-capacity, forcing more than half of the audience to listen to the speeches through amplifiers placed outside.

[18] The rally concluded with a call by the FAI General Secretary Alejandro Gilabert, in the event of a right-wing electoral victory, for people to unleash social revolution, establish libertarian communism and fight until the destruction of all forms of authoritarianism.

[19] On 19 November 1933, the day of the election, Solidaridad Obrera reaffirmed calls for abstention; they told readers not to fear a right-wing victory, as it would ultimately benefit the anarchist movement.

On 14 November, the National Committee established its new headquarters on Calle Argensola, 17, in Zaragoza, where it would continue its work under the General Secretaries Miguel Yoldi and Horacio Prieto.

[31] The insurrection was the most tightly organised in Albalate de Cinca, where on 9 December, insurgents stormed the Civil Guard barracks and proclaimed libertarian communism.

Police arrested 23 men and 3 women, including the local doctor, a schoolteacher, the mayor's wife and daughter and the town council's secretary Félix Carrasquer.

The city's mayor Federico Martínez Andrés [es] was requested to supply 8 drivers and 8 guards to restore the bus system, but when he refused, stating that they were needed by the fire service, he was suspended by Governor Ordiales.

[39] A wave of general strikes broke out throughout Spain, including in the cities of A Coruña, Badajoz, Barcelona, Córdoba, Granada, Huesca, Seville, València and Xixón.

[40] Nevertheless, over the subsequent week, revolutionary committees throughout Spain occupied centres of civil infrastructure, including town halls, courts and telephone exchanges.

[30] In Valencia, libertarian communism was proclaimed in Tormos and a union hall in Alfafar was bombed by the Spanish Army; railway tracks were also ripped up throughout the region.

[39] In the Extremaduran city of Villanueva de la Serena, a workers' militia barricaded itself inside a military recruitment centre, where for two days, they resisted attacks by infantry armed with mortars and machine guns.

[41] Although the chamber of commerce recommended that employers remain calm and civil, they quickly began dismissing and sanctioning workers involved in the insurrection.

They agreed to a plan concocted by Durruti, who suggested they make the case dossier disappear, allowing for prisoners who gave forced confessions to give new statements.

However, the President refused to allow them back to their posts, causing a political crisis that ended with Lerroux being replaced as prime minister by Alcalá-Zamora's ally Ricardo Samper.

They made a plan to carry out a military coup, which would overthrow the Republic and restore the Spanish monarchy; for this, the Italian government gave them 1.5 million pesetas, hoping to gain control of the Balearic Islands in return.

[50] On one occasion, Catalan police arrested the Italian anti-fascist Bruno Alpini for allegedly carrying out a robbery and executed him under the ley de fugas.

[53] In the afternoon of 6 May, thousands of people arrived outside the offices of Solidaridad Obrera on Carrer del Consell de Cent, where they were scheduled to collect the children at 18:00.