In Spanish politics during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ''El Turno Pacífico'' ("The Peaceful Turn") was an informal system operated by the two major parties for determining in advance the result of a
general election. The system ensured that the
Conservative Party and the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
would have alternating periods in power.
Operation
Under the ''turno'', the incoming government would first be chosen by the king and would then "make" the election (the so-called ''encasillado'' or "pigeonholing"), ensuring victory. After a period in office, it would then be the turn of the opposition. The key to the system was the link between the minister of the interior, the provincial civil governors, and the local bosses (''
caciques
A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...
''). These ''caciques'' in most constituencies would instruct their clients how to vote. A similar system in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
was called .
Motivation
The ''Turno Pacífico'' was put in place by
Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and saw to it that the two "official" parties of the Cánovas Restoration, the Partido Conservador (or Liberal-Conservatives) and Partido Liberal (or the Liberals), retained power in alternation. Both parties upheld the monarchy and could be seen as factions of the "governing class".
After almost a century of political instability and many civil wars, the
Restoration of 1874 sought to achieve political stability in Spain. Under the ''turno'', no sector of the bourgeoisie felt isolated and patronage could be doubled. It worked effectively until 1898, surviving the death of
Alfonso XII
Alfonso XII (Alfonso Francisco de Asís Fernando Pío Juan María de la Concepción Gregorio Pelayo; 28 November 185725 November 1885), also known as El Pacificador or the Peacemaker, was King of Spain from 29 December 1874 to his death in 1885 ...
in 1885, but then became more difficult to operate because of divisions within the major parties and the growing mobilization of sectors of the electorate.
Cessation
Despite being modelled on the United Kingdom, Spanish democracy lacked a responsiveness to popular opinion as (until about 1914) the outcome of elections was broadly decided in advance. Growing opposition was first apparent after Spain's defeat in the
Spanish–American War
, partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence
, image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg
, image_size = 300px
, caption = (cloc ...
. A period of grave instability occurred in 1918 and 1919, but between 1920 and 1923, a serious attempt was made to reconstruct the ''turno''. It was brought to an end by the military coup by General
Miguel Primo de Rivera
Miguel Primo de Rivera y Orbaneja, 2nd Marquess of Estella (8 January 1870 – 16 March 1930), was a dictator, aristocrat, and military officer who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1923 to 1930 during Spain's Restoration era. He deepl ...
in September 1923.
[Angel Smith]
''Historical Dictionary of Spain''
p. 624.
Election results under the ''turno''
References
Political history of Spain
Elections in Spain
Electoral fraud
{{Spain-hist-stub