Andorran Revolution


The Andorran Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1933, was a democratic uprising led by the Young Andorrans that called for political reforms, universal suffrage for all Andorrans and acted in defense of the rights of local and foreign workers during the construction of FHASA's hydroelectric power station in Encamp. On April 5, 1933, the Young Andorrans seized the Andorran Parliament. These actions were preceded by the arrival of Colonel René-Jules Baulard with 50 gendarmes and the mobilization of 200 local militias or sometent led by the Síndic Francesc Cairat.

History

Context

The interwar period in Andorra was characterized by a continuation of the economic crisis that arose in the second half of the 19th century. The country lived very precariously on the economy of the Ancien Regime. Although an attempt was made to outsource the economy, it did not take off and waves of emigration continued to decimate the population and its activity. Over time, the interwar period in Andorra meant an extension of the popular revolts and noble uprisings of the previous decade.
It was at this time that the country saw a wave of protests with which, for the first time, it was possible to implement universal male suffrage – authorized only to men of legal age and Andorran nationality. This was an unprecedented fact because before that the country was still living under the New Reformation regime. Although it was a step forward to approve it, the New Reformation was completely obsolete and inadequate with the turn of the twentieth century. It continued to give the votes to a privileged few and did not contemplate the participation of women. This meant that the bulk of the population was excluded from being able to participate in the country's politics.
The waves of Andorrans fleeing the Andorran economic situation to settle in France or Catalonia lead Andorran politics to see the so-called Revolution of 1933. From outside the associations of Andorran emigrants virulently criticized the Andorran government's policy, through newspapers they brought new liberal and capitalist currents to Andorra. The General Council wanted to censor the opinion that was published abroad because it questioned the New Reformation.
Andorran politicians wanted to show that Andorra was a "bucolic" place, with the aim of avoiding any kind of foreign interference in Andorran affairs. The government tried to ban the collection of signatures that the emigrants carried out in Andorra, to give the right to vote to all adults and change the Constitution to transform Andorra into a constitutional monarchy. From Catalunya there was widespread support for this change of regime and thanks to each other, the Pariatges and their feudal character began to be criticized for the first time. The establishment of the Spanish Republic did not change Castilian ambitions towards Andorra. The country continued to be treated as part of Spanish territory. Spain sought to eradicate the co-principality, while France tried to preserve it.
The construction of the FHASA hydroelectric plant changed the country's economic course. The project was conceived as a mechanism for modernizing the country and economic activation. Its presence did not broadly change the country's politics, although it allowed the entry of new ideological currents that until then had never set foot in Andorran soil: socialism, communism and anarcho-syndicalism.
The universal suffrage granted to men managed to be approved, but the Spanish Civil War and subsequent Second World War stopped the modernization and economic activation of Andorra.

French and Spanish imperialism

France and Spain have always considered Andorra their territory. It has been disputed practically since Andorra obtained the Pariatge. The beginning of the era of nationalism did not change this situation much. Castile within its concept of pan-Hispanic nationalism dubbed Andorra an Hispanic territory. France, within its concept of "natural borders", treated Andorra as a French protectorate.
The Andorran protectorate regime made the governor the vicar and representative of the co-prince which should normally correspond. 20th century Andorrans had to register in France and the passport granted to them was protected by France.
Influenced by Catalanism, which found it incongruous that Andorra continues to be a fief, many Andorrans were taking steps to recognize Andorra as a separate nation-state. This is how the General Council addressed the League of Nations during the 1930s so that it could intervene in the Andorran affair in view of the paternalistic attitudes of Spain and France. At this time, Andorra achieved the Andorran national regime, which did not differ much from the national regime in the French colonies.
Spain claimed its "right to conquest" over Andorra and for this reason tried to influence education. Spain wanted to ban the Catalan Andorran schools. The desire to be and be independent ends up in the mood of Andorrans. Wanting to edit their own labels, looking to introduce a national system, would command on the Spanish school teachers looking to enter the Catalan school, addressing the United Nations, among others, are examples clear that Andorra did not want to belong to either side.

Catalan and Andorran nationalism

The Andorran position towards Catalanism was open, because many Andorrans defended the right of Catalans to self-determination, but contained, because the pan-Hispanic and pan-French projects clearly endangered the ill-defined status of Andorra. Although from Catalunya, Andorra was seen as a separate and admirable country as it was the only independent Catalan state, this independence was more de jure than de facto. The refusal of the League of Nations to accept Andorra as a full member exemplified this.
Andorrans felt and saw themselves as a separate country. None of this meant that Andorran politicians had to play the game of ambiguity to preserve the status of a territory that is being challenged everywhere. The Catalan press reported on various occasions that it was necessary to get rid of the Pariatges and transform the Andorran state into a republican regime. The currents of the time influenced many Andorrans and for this reason there were many who were committed to the Republic and the self-determination of Catalonia.
France and Spain never accepted the Andorrans in favor of the Andorran republic. Any republican claim was interpreted by these two states as a direct influence of Catalanism. Both averse to any right to self-determination, France and Spain often left their differences aside to impose their will on the Andorran parliament, to avoid progress in the Andorran territory.
For the representatives of the French co-prince, independence was a purely anti-French attitude, no matter where it came from, from Catalonia as much as from the colonies or Andorra.

Reasons for the Revolution

Grievances

Changes in the co-principality regime were vehemently demanded to advance the country's policy to improve the actions taken against the economic crisis. In addition, the Andorran parliament found itself in a series of situations that were contrary to the free exercise of its sovereignty. France and the Vatican repeatedly limited the action of parliament, questioning any decision. Decisions made by parliament that were interfered with include:
  • parliament granted the concession to a foreign betting agency to bet on horse racing in exchange for an annual payment. The aim was to build a hospital, a residence for the godparents of the country, spas, etc. The permanent delegates of the co-princes annulled the decision taken by parliament,
  • Spain established the first secular schools. Public education was within the power of parliament, so it asked for a subsidy from Spain. But the bishop did not accept it and refused because he wanted the church to continue controlling the school system,
  • parliament appointed a delegate, Andreu Massó i López, close to the Catalan government to support Catalan-language education in Andorra. But as Andreu was a Catalanist, France rejected his appointment and the co-princes expelled him,
  • the delivery of mail between Spain and France was not well received by the parliament, which requested the entry of the country as an autonomous member of the corresponding international body, without consulting the co-princes,
  • the parliament refused to recognize the appointment of the episcopal notary,
  • the parliament commissioned a study for a civil registry in the principality, a prerogative that belonged to the records of each parish, which were under the order of the bishop,
  • a parliamentary committee presented in 1933, to the French permanent delegate, a petition with 240 signatures for the establishment of universal male suffrage. The Permanent Delegate replied by shouting at the General Council for reasons unrelated to the plea.
  • parliament agreed to draft a Constitution for the country in 1933, but the bishop did not agree

    Bucolism and idealism

The crisis of the 19th century caused Andorrans to emigrate to other countries. Andorran emigrant communities were set up in Barcelona and Besiers. The one in Barcelona was the most important. Globally a part of the European continent lived to the rhythm of the Crazy Years. That is, the American Way of Life was imported from the United States, penetrating modern capitalism. Cinema, trusts, marketing, skyscrapers,... everything develops radically. It grows so much that the bubble bursts in 1929 causing the planet to invoke the so-called Great Depression. Andorrans living outside Andorra lived the Crazy Years in their skin. Life was going relatively well for them. Many decided to get started in business. There are many notable examples of this period. However, the most important thing to note is, at least, the change in mindsets. In Spain it had just been proclaimed in the Republic, France had been one for some time. At the same time, workers' strikes are beginning to be heard in France, in Europe universal male suffrage is being demanded... Obviously Andorrans living abroad were not left out of these events, on the contrary because in fact they sympathized with it.
In Andorra, history was something else. Andorrans who had stayed in the country had not experienced these changes. Life was monotonous, folkloric. The only relevant point was the religious festivities and the obsession with road construction which translated into FHASA. The First World War stopped the tension of the Andorra Question or, in any case, loosened it. The General Council was nourished by the model of the New Reformation. It was a totally estamental model in which only household heads could be chosen. The parliament was therefore very immobilist, with little desire for change, well established thanks to the privileges it had been accumulating. From the outside, mainly the Spanish press, there was an absolutely idealized, bucolic image, which the Andorran parliament reinforced. It was intended because in this way the maintenance of the established order was guaranteed.