The Party of the Democratic Centre ( es, Partido del Centro Democrático, PCD) was a

centrist Centrism is a political outlook or position involving acceptance or support of a balance of social equality and a degree of social hierarchy while opposing political changes that would result in a significant shift of society strongly to the l ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

active in the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII, and was di ...

History

The origins of the PCD can be traced back to a note issued to the press on 31 December 1935. The note attempted to justify the previous day's cabinet reshuffle, carried out by

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Manuel Portela Valladares Manuel Portela y Valladares (Pontevedra, 31 January 1867 – Bandol, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France 29 April 1952) was a Spanish political figure during the Second Spanish Republic. He served as the 43rd Attorney General of Spain betw ...

with the support of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...

, by describing it as 'a necessary effort to create a Republican center'. A number of those appointed to Portela's new cabinet would go on to join the PCD. The party's manifesto, published on January 28, 1936, 'rejected both "civil war" and "red revolution"' whilst 'stressing constitutional process, national unity and progress.'. 2nd Government of Manuel Portela Valladares

2nd Government of Manuel Portela Valladares

In the run-up to the 1936 Spanish general elections, Portela and the PCD initially tried to forge an alliance with the

political left Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

. Portela's offer was 'roundly rejected' in all provinces but

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

and

Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...

, and he instead turned to the

political right Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...

. In total 89 PCD candidates stood for election in 1936. However, by the time the elections took place this number had fallen to 78 - the result of numerous defections; with only 23 securing places on 'broader center-right coalition tickets'. The PCD's failure to make a breakthrough in the 1936 elections has been attributed to both Portela's attempt to try and rapidly build a new party ''ex nihilo'' in a period of increased radicalisation, and his failure to build the strong alliance with either the left or the right that he deemed necessary. The PCD initially won 21 seats in the 1936 elections. This total later fell to 18 when elections in Cuenca and

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

were re-held in an attempt to mitigate the impact of acts of

electoral fraud Electoral fraud, sometimes referred to as election manipulation, voter fraud or vote rigging, involves illegal interference with the process of an election, either by increasing the vote share of a favored candidate, depressing the vote share of ...

carried out by the political right. It has been alleged that Alcalá-Zamora pressured the ''comisión de actas'', the committee for examining electoral validity, into approving the election of Portela in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

despite the existence of evidence of electoral malpractice in the city. The PCD's participation in government came to an end with the resignation of a 'terror-stricken' Portela on 19 February 1936. 5 members of the PCD were the only deputies to vote against the removal of Alcalá-Zamora as President of the Republic.

References

{{reflist 20th century in Spain Defunct political parties in Spain Republican parties in Spain Political parties established in 1936 Liberal parties in Spain Second Spanish Republic