La Crisi econòmica dels anys trenta del segle XX

Abstract

The Great Depression affected Spain and Catalonia less than other countries that were more integrated within the world economy but it made it difficult to consolidate the Second Republic of 1931. Economic policy held on to parity with the French franc, which was not devalued until 1936 unlike the pound sterling and the dollar. The stability of the financial system was notably greater than in other countries. But the Republics economic policy was not effectively deflationary, as seen in the persistence of the budget deficit as well as the comparatively moderate fall in inflation. This negative economic situation aggravated the difficulties resulting from structural problems. Political intransigence and a lack of fundamental consensus were as important as the impact of the economic crisis in the tragic end to the Second Republic and the first autonomous regime for Catalonia of the modern era. Its fate cannot be analysed separately from the background of the so-called European civil war from 1914 to 1945 and from the questioning of parliamentary democracy given the dilemma of Fascism or Communism, although we must still prioritise internal factors over external ones, albeit without any determinist stance.