The financing of the Civil War by the Government of Catalonia within the framework of the Constitution of 1931

Abstract

During the Spanish Civil War, the government of Catalonia exceeded the limits established in the 1931 Constitution by financing its war expenses through a financial policy dissociated from that of the central government. The measures adopted included the requisition of state resources, illegal exports and the issuance of currency. These decisions were not imposed by the libertarians, possessors of the streets in Barcelona, but were coherent with a deep-rooted federal ideal of republican catalanism. The financial policy of the Catalan government hindered the Republic’s war effort, diverting resources, hindering the implementation of the central government’s financial policies and adding confusion and distrust to the Republic’s diminished economic situation.