La destrucción de la democracia en España

Since its first edition in 1978 this book is a work of obligatory reference about the Second Republic when opening a new perspective: the interaction of the two main left and right mass parties, and how the antagonistic socioeconomic interests represented by the Spanish Socialist Workers Party and the Spanish Confederation of Right Autonomous ones could not be resolved in the parliamentary arena and led to urban and agrarian conflicts that were used to justify the coup d'état of July 18. Throughout these pages, Preston reflects on the progressive radicalization of the Socialist Party in response to the pressure exerted by its grassroots membership; studies the relations of both parties with related political formations; It explains the willingness of the military establishment to intervene in internal politics when the success of the civil right seemed uncertain, and highlights the crucial role played by leaders such as Manuel Azaña, José María Gil Robles, Francisco Largo Caballero and Francisco Franco.