[Alcoholism and reformism in restoration Spain]

The number of medical pamphlets dealing with the problem of alcoholism, especially in the working classes, increased during the Restoration. At the same time, the State began to show concern about establishing social policies directed at improving the life-style of the proletariat and at their moralization. This study is attempting to establish the relationship that existed between these two phenomens via the debate about the social causes of alcoholism. The controversy about the closing of taverns on Sundays, developed between the Partido Socialista Obrero Español (Spanish Socialist Party) and certain sectors of the bourgeoisie synthesize the problem to be addressed.