Politician. He was a Spanish politician, who helped to form a coalition of parties on the left to fight the national elections in 1936. The coalition became know as the Popular Front. Right-wing groups in Spain formed the National Front. The Popular Front received 34.3% of the election votes and the National Front received 33.2%. Martinez Barrio became speaker in the Cortes, the Spanish Parliament. The Popular Front government immediately released all left-wing political prisoners. Other measures included transferring right-wing military leaders such as Francisco Franco to posts outside Spain. Due to these measures wealthy conservatives took vast sums of money out of the country, creating an economic crisis, which led to a series of strikes. In May of 1936 Spanish Army officers, including Francisco Franco, began plotting to overthrow the Popular Front government. This resulted in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 17, 1936. Martinez Barrio was appointed as Prime Minister on July 18, 1936 with the task of negotiating with the rebels. When the President realized that the rebels were unwilling to compromise, Martinez Barrio was sacked. He was forced to flee from Spain when General Franco took control of the country in March 1939. He died in exile in Paris.
Politician. He was a Spanish politician, who helped to form a coalition of parties on the left to fight the national elections in 1936. The coalition became know as the Popular Front. Right-wing groups in Spain formed the National Front. The Popular Front received 34.3% of the election votes and the National Front received 33.2%. Martinez Barrio became speaker in the Cortes, the Spanish Parliament. The Popular Front government immediately released all left-wing political prisoners. Other measures included transferring right-wing military leaders such as Francisco Franco to posts outside Spain. Due to these measures wealthy conservatives took vast sums of money out of the country, creating an economic crisis, which led to a series of strikes. In May of 1936 Spanish Army officers, including Francisco Franco, began plotting to overthrow the Popular Front government. This resulted in the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War on July 17, 1936. Martinez Barrio was appointed as Prime Minister on July 18, 1936 with the task of negotiating with the rebels. When the President realized that the rebels were unwilling to compromise, Martinez Barrio was sacked. He was forced to flee from Spain when General Franco took control of the country in March 1939. He died in exile in Paris.
Bio by: Bunny Boiler
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