ABSTRACT
Two months after the departure of the chambers of agriculture, Francisco Silvela formed an administration committed to implementing many of the regenerationists proposals. The Union Nacional, declared the statement, was no class movement, as its enemies claimed, but a broadly based national movement, unanimous and disinterested. Another weapon which was lacking in the armoury of the regenerationists was a clearly delineated policy on social reform designed to win over the proletariat. In the immediate aftermath of the colonial debacle Spain was gripped by what one popular newspaper referred to as national asphyxia, for which the nation's political leaders offered no solutions. Throughout the three decades prior to the colonial disaster intellectuals such as Giner and Azcarate, disciples of the German philosopher Karl Krause, sharply attacked the political, economic and social system in Spain. Tax system measures, aimed at normalizing the financial situation, were seen as the first phase of a long-term policy for the economic regeneration of Spain.
