The Spanish Courts and the Poor, 1926–1936

This chapter traces the growth of juvenile courts in Spain and the support they attracted from across the political spectrum. Under the surface of this support lay conflict between Catholic, liberals, and socialists over the degree to which secular principles and practices should govern the courts. With the support of the Primo de Rivera dictatorship, the Catholic viewpoint proved ascendant and did not come under serious threat after the democratic Second Republic arrived in 1931. The chapter studies the personnel and practices adopted by the largely Catholic-dominated courts. It also offers a case study of social conditions in Madrid and explores the vulnerability of poor families to removal, the role of support networks, and the agency of poor families who turned to the courts to take children into care as a stop-gap measure while they put their lives in order.