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Azaña, Manuel
(1880-1940)
Spanish statesman
A lawyer and civil servant who gained
attention as a journalist and author, Azaña
found his true vocation in politics. During
the 1920s he rose to prominence as an
antimonarchist and took part in the oust-
ing of A
LFONSO
XIII in 1931. He was war
minister in the first cabinet of the repub-
lic, during which his antimilitarist and
anticlerical rhetoric antagonized conser-
vatives but endeared him to the parties of
the Left. As prime minister from October
1931, he pursued a wide range of reforms,
only to be defeated by moderates in the
1933 elections.
Out of office Azaña fended off repeated
charges of fomenting conspiracy, endured a
period of imprisonment, and constructed a
new radical coalition, the Frente Popular
(Popular Front), which won control of par-
liament in February 1936. Azaña soon
forced the resignation of Niceto Alcalá
Zamora, whom he succeeded as president
of the republic. The accession to power of
Azaña and his leftist allies precipitated a
long-planned military uprising in July 1936.
The S
PANISH
C
IVIL
W
AR
that followed pitted
Spanish conservatives of many factions
against even more fragmented Loyalists
defending the republic. Azaña attempted to
persuade international opinion that Spain
was being attacked by the forces of fascism
but won little help from abroad. When the
military situation deteriorated his regime
fell steadily into the hands of more extreme
elements, and he found it impossible to
regain control. As the war drew to a close
in early 1939 Azaña resigned, declaring that
he had no wish to prolong the suffering of
his nation. Across the Pyrenees, with the
remnant of his followers, he took up resi-
dence in France, where he died in Novem-
ber 1940.
Aznar López, José María
(1953- )
Spanish politician
Although destined to lead Spain away from
its post-Franco experiment in socialism,
Aznar advocated a more moderate conser-
vative line than that which the Franco
regime had followed. His family had worked
for that regime, and he himself had served
as a tax inspector after his graduation from
the University of Madrid. As the country
strove to come to terms with its political
heritage during the later 1970s and early
1980s and finally brought F
ELIPE
G
ONZÁLEZ
M
ÁRQUEZ
of the Socialist Party to power in
1982, Aznar chose to join the right-wing
Popular Alligiance (later known as the Pop-
ular Party). He rose steadily in its ranks,
becoming its national leader in 1989. He
continued to advocate a centrist line, easing
out the old-guard Franco supporters and
bringing in younger activists, including
women whose role in conservative politics
had hitherto been limited. Both in the Cor-
Castile-León he emphasized sober, prudent
policies, deliberately contrasting himself, as
a solid ordinary Spaniard, with the flam-
boyant González.
As the economic failures of the later
Socialist period were compounded by cor-
ruption, scandals, and abuse of power,
González lost public support and was
finally ousted from the premiership in
1996. Aznar, falling short of a parliamen-
tary majority, was forced to form an alli-
ance with the nationalists of C
ATALONIA
. It
was Basque nationalists, however, who
proved the greatest thorn in this side (see
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