7. The General Elections of 1940.
7. The General Elections of 1940.
"... While Manuel Azaña was President of the Spanish Republic, the fate of the Right parties and of the Spanish Church remained insecure. The reforms of the economy and the undisguished support of the state to the social-democratic parties were the trademark of the Azaña period. It was the institutionalized way for Azaña and his supporters to control presidential succession. Azaña's allies secured revenue and organizational strength by requiring members of constituent organizations be dues-paying members of the party. Eventually, this block became an institution and only was a coalition during elections. Furthermore, the General Elections of 1940 were marred by violence and fraud.
According to the official results, the 1940 presidential elections were won by Santiago Casares Quiroga, who received 91.3% of the vote. The opposition candidate, Dimas de Madariaga, who had just been released from prison to be the figure head of the disaster of the Right coalition, refused to recognize the official results, claiming that a massive electoral fraud had taken place and then tried to leave the country, but was arrested and jailed again. Released a few weeks later, he moved to France.
Many modern analysts claim that the 1940 elections were indeed rigged and a few of them argue that Dimas de Madariaga had won them. Now without Azaña, the new Frente Popular was to perpetuate itself in power by continued resorting to electoral fraud".
taken from "Memory, Myth, and History of the Spanish Revolution", by Paul Preston
"... While Manuel Azaña was President of the Spanish Republic, the fate of the Right parties and of the Spanish Church remained insecure. The reforms of the economy and the undisguished support of the state to the social-democratic parties were the trademark of the Azaña period. It was the institutionalized way for Azaña and his supporters to control presidential succession. Azaña's allies secured revenue and organizational strength by requiring members of constituent organizations be dues-paying members of the party. Eventually, this block became an institution and only was a coalition during elections. Furthermore, the General Elections of 1940 were marred by violence and fraud.
According to the official results, the 1940 presidential elections were won by Santiago Casares Quiroga, who received 91.3% of the vote. The opposition candidate, Dimas de Madariaga, who had just been released from prison to be the figure head of the disaster of the Right coalition, refused to recognize the official results, claiming that a massive electoral fraud had taken place and then tried to leave the country, but was arrested and jailed again. Released a few weeks later, he moved to France.
Many modern analysts claim that the 1940 elections were indeed rigged and a few of them argue that Dimas de Madariaga had won them. Now without Azaña, the new Frente Popular was to perpetuate itself in power by continued resorting to electoral fraud".
taken from "Memory, Myth, and History of the Spanish Revolution", by Paul Preston