The 1821 elections: first attempt of competition among political parties in Spanish liberal constitutionalism

Abstract

The elections held in Spain in 1821 were the first ones that led to the transition from one constitutional parliament to another, and the sole ones under the rule of the 1812 Constitution. For the first time, the liberals go into an election split in various tendencies, representing the forerunners of modern political parties. Even though this is the denomination used in historiography –and the one used at the time-, the term ´party´ had a negative connotation: their structure was more or less that of secret societies, and they were neither homogeneous nor disciplined. Heterogeneity was bigger than that meant by the traditional opposition between ´moderates´ and ´radicals´, labels the meaning of which is either not very precise or simply confusing. The electoral campaign was marked by a high pitched political situation and the peculiarities of the competing parties. That the party in office lost is another circumstance that added to the exceptional nature of the 1821 elections. The victory of the radicals was neither as neat as it is usually considered nor the members of Parliament supporting the Government as extremist as conservative historiographers have represented them to be.

Fecha de envío / Submission date: 12/02/2020

Fecha de aceptación / Acceptance date: 23/04/2020