On November 19, 1933, Spanish right-wing parties won the general election over a divided left, ushering in a period of conservative government under Prime Minister Alejandro Lerroux. The election was marked by the disunity of the Republican left, which had fractured over Azaña's reforms, and the effective mobilization of Catholic and conservative voters. The victory of the right led to the reversal of many Republican reforms, including land redistribution and church-state separation, intensifying political polarization.

The 1933 election defeat was a profound shock to left-wing poets who had invested their hopes in the Republic. Rafael Alberti, who had served as a Republican cultural official, began writing more explicitly political poetry that denounced the rise of the right. The election also marked the beginning of the end for the cultural unity of the Generation of '27, as poets increasingly aligned with opposing political camps.