In April 1931 elections were held, they supported republicans, liberals, socialists and Catalans. Alfonso XIII decided to abdicate because of fear, monarchy was abolished, and the Second Republic established. The new republic immediately faced a number of major problems, that consequently led to the Spanish Civil War. .
Several issues concerning to the army, unleashed the war. The government believed that the army had too much say in politics and determined to reduce its influence. The army thought that they had the right to intervene in politics and crisis eg. in 1820, 1871, 1923, during the Second Republic, and in 1936, which led to the civil war. However, it did not in 1931, when the king was put to exile. A major problem of the army was that it was unpopular among the working class, because of their brutality and because it was expensive and required heavy taxes to maintain. The army had lost the Spanish Empire during the 19th century, lost the war in America in 1898, and struggled to keep control of Morocco (1906-1926); all this made it more and more unpopular. The army also needed a reform, it was too big, and had too many officers. Consequently many army officers were made to retire early. A problem arose from this because the upper and middle class didn't want the army to stop being in control, as this benefit them. They controlled and dominated the officer corps, making them defend their interests. A new party was formed when in 1932 a number of army officers tried to overthrow the government lead by Manuel Azaña, the prime minister. This attempt was unsuccessful as the army was loyal to the government, after all, it had won the elections fairly. This new party was called the Ceda, and it was dedicated to protect the Roman Catholic Church and landlords. Again putting the middle and upper class above the working class, causing tension in the population of Spain. .
The church was rich and powerful in Spain, and defended their self-interest in a corrupt way, leading to the instability of Spain, causing the war.
