Gilena, Spain

Gilena is a city located in the province of Seville, Spain. According to the 2005 census (INE), the city has a population of 3898 inhabitants.Historic events in GilenaIn 1931, Gilena had over four thousand inhabitants and almost all of them worked in the agriculture. The work conditions were very hard; therefore the life standards were very difficult. The workers did not earn much money; they were unemployed most of the days. The poverty and even the famine were present in most of the Gilena families.On 12 April 1931 the local elections were celebrated in Spain. It was the first time for nearly sixty years that a free election had been allowed in Spain. The republican parties and left-wing parties won the elections in the cities. The Alfonso XIII’s, monarchy and Primo de Rivera’s dictatorship –before- were both a failure. Spanish people wanted a change in the government which could sort out their problems. On 14 April the Second Spanish Republic was announced; most Spaniards thought that their life would improve.The historians have always said that the change was required in the cities; the rural areas did not have freedom to choose their representatives because the “caciques” (or local political bosses) controlled the whole system. For example, in Gilena there was not any election; the law of 1907 allowed that the election was not needed if the number the vacancies were equal to the number of candidates. But the news told us that in Gilena, before the election, the socialists already were well organized; however, the system did not allow them to take part in the aforementioned election. On the other hand, on 14 April all of them went out to the streets to demonstrate their support to the Republic.During the Republic, in Spain, there were a lot of parties, however in Gilena there were only two: PSOE, the left-wing party, and IR, the centre party. Actually, this party, IR, was led by a landowner, a farmer “cacique”. The workers could choose either of them, but if you chose the Socialist Party, you did not work. The two parties had union headquarters in the same street. This location caused many tensions.