First Biennium

Up until October 15, 1931, the Provisional Government was presided by Niceto Alcalá-Zamora, who resigned after his strong opposition to the Article 26 of the Constitution, which addressed the "religious question", Manuel Azaña followed him.

Azaña intended to implement a vast reform program in order to imitate the politics of the Restoration.

However, both social and corporate groups fiercely opposed the reforms, claiming that the government was attempting to "dismount" them from the positions they had earned.

[5] The Azañist government's popularity peaked in autumn 1932, as it effectively contained the anarchists and defeated the monarchist uprising in the Spanish military.

Along with a recession and rising unemployment and the growth of National Catholicism, Azaña resigned as President of the Republic.