On January 15, 1936, the left-wing Popular Front coalition finalized its electoral platform in Madrid, uniting Republicans, Socialists, Communists, and other leftist groups against the conservative government. The Popular Front promised to restore the reforms of the early Republic, including land redistribution, secular education, and regional autonomy. The coalition's victory in the February elections would trigger the military conspiracy that led to the civil war, as right-wing generals saw the Popular Front as a revolutionary threat.

The Popular Front electoral agreement galvanized left-wing poets across Europe, who saw Spain as the frontline of the struggle against fascism. Rafael Alberti, Pablo Neruda, and other poets actively campaigned for the Popular Front, writing poems and speeches that mobilized voters. The agreement also inspired the formation of the International Association of Writers for the Defense of Culture, which brought together poets from around the world.