I love the idea of anarchists and Socialists and democrats pulling off a win in the SCW, however unlikely after 1937.



Let's say the Spanish Nationalist cause becomes fizzled pustch #1674- Franco never joins or the Guardia Civil wrap up the plotters (Sanjurjo, Mola and Franco) very quickly in 1936,

the Moorish legion never makes it past the Pillars of Hercules,

the Carlists, Falange, etc spend more time sniping at each other than revolting against the Republic... pick from the pack.



For the Republic to avoid pissing off the center and Catholics especially, the anti-clerical campaigns have to be a dead letter, full stop to keep CEDA on-side.



It sounds counter-intuitive for the Republic to be reform-minded because the Republic was very much a revolutionary development after Primo de Rivera's fall. Trouble was, as much as everyone felt things needed to change in Spain, exactly how, how fast, and how violently was where nobody agreed and nobody wanted compromise.



As a bourgeois American who's played wayyyy too many RTS games building badass ant farm factions- you gotta build industry, commerce, and technology to be competitive so you have the muscle, the money, and boffins developing the spiffy gear to kick ass.



All the things Americans take for granted (technically, politically, socially, economically) from the Enlightenment through the Industrial Revolution, and formation of a competent unitary state had largely bypassed Spain during the 1800's. Spain had some of the modern tools but still mired in 1700 on how to run the country. Folks knew it and wanted to be real Europeans enjoying the fruits of the 20th century ASAP.



Trouble was, even in 1931, Spain was still mired in feudalism, with latifundia tying up the land, people, and capital in inefficient estates. Commerce was still mercantilist as if Bourbon France were still European hegemon.

Spanish universities were of decent quality but starved of capital and funds and only for the well-heeled, not to mention still having to bow to Catholic and political orthodoxy therefore, no true intellectual freedom or or tradition of debate new ideas rocking the status quo.



However, education in primary and secondary grades for men outside the cities was abysmal for men and women were even worse off.

Trade schools and technical institutes educating folks with practical skills and empowering them to prosper and innovate that made the UK, Germany, and the USA into industrial, technical, and commercial powerhouses were practically non-existent.

LSS, poor Spaniards had a damned difficult time bettering themselves, so political radicalism was one of many ways that frustration manifested itself.



If agriculture's messed up, how in blazes are you getting enough people in the cities so industry can get going if everyone's threshing wheat and stomping grapes? Industrialization had come to Spain, but slowly, hesitantly, starved of capital and talent.



Building a bourgeois liberal democracy takes decades of patient upgrading of physical and intellectual infrastructure educating and gainfully employing the populace. That's what Spain needed.



So coming roughly around 1935, you'd see public-private partnerships where public agencies put out the best info on crop cultivation, soil conservation, and try to help productively channel the rivers.



Various volunteer groups whether Socialist, Quaker, Catholic or vanilla secular groups educate kids (and adults!) encouraging literacy , numeracy, and personal development.



Entrepeneurship gets some positive press and becomes less taboo.