Political Clientelism and Localism in Cantabria during the Restoration Period

Abstract

Localism and clientelism were two basic characteristics of the Spanish politics from the liberal regime origins. In this article, it analyses particularly their influence on the political life of Cantabria from 1875 until the beginning of Second Republic. Such influence was consolidated, as in the whole country, by the electoral legislation approved in that period, which favoured the representation of local interests and administrative clientelism as a means of integrating their in the political regime. In Cantabria, localism basically guaranteed the local influences and regional bourgeoisie interests. Nevertheless, historical, ideological and economical factors obstructed the appearance of a political regionalism.