The government of Antonio Aguilar y Correa, Marquis of Vega de Armijo, was formed on 4 December 1906, following the latter's appointment as prime minister of Spain by King Alfonso XIII on 3 December and his swearing-in the next day, as a result of Segismundo Moret's resignation from the post on 3 December in the wake of the "crisis of the letter" (). It succeeded the second Moret government and was the government of Spain from 4 December 1906 to 25 January 1907, a total of days, or .
The cabinet comprised members of the LiberalâÂÂDemocratic alliance and two military officers. With the Liberals deeply divided over the Law of Associations and a proposal to reform consumption taxes, the government collapsed on 23 January, unable to arrange an agreement between the various party factions.
The Spanish Constitution of 1876 enshrined Spain as a semi-constitutional monarchy during the Restoration period, awarding the monarchâÂÂunder the royal prerogativeâÂÂthe power to appoint government members (including the prime minister); the ability to grant or deny the decree of dissolution of the , or the adjournment of legislative sessions, to the incumbent or aspiring government that requested it; and the capacity to inform, inspect and ultimately control executive acts by granting or denying the signature of royal decrees; among others.
The monarch would play a key role in the system by appointing and dismissing governments, which would then organize elections to provide themselves with a parliamentary majority. As a result, governments during this period were dependent on royal confidence, which was frequently secured or lost based on the leaders' ability to guarantee the internal unity and parliamentary cohesion of their parties. In practice, the royal prerogative was not exercised freely by the monarch, but was carried out through the opening of a round of consultationsâÂÂwith the presidents of the chambers, the leaders of the main parties, the potential candidates and other notable figuresâÂÂprior to government formation, or when prime ministers raised a matter of confidence to the monarch.
The political fallout from the "crisis of the letter" (), which had brought down the previous cabinet under López DomÃÂnguez, was instrumental in causing the downfall of Segismundo Moret's second government after only four days in power. Having been rejected by several high-profile Liberal members during the cabinet's formation, internal turmoil within his partyâÂÂwith resignation threats from the presidents of the Congress and Senate (José Canalejas and Eugenio Montero RÃÂos, respectively) and the tabling of a motion of no confidence in the Senate by members of his own groupâÂÂforced Moret to preemptively resign on 3 December 1906 to avoid a major parliamentary defeat.
Unlike common practice, and due to the previous round of consultations having been held only five days earlier on 28 November, King Alfonso XIII opted instead for directly summoning prospective prime ministerial candidates to determine a solution to the political crisis arising from Moret's resignation.
The outcome of the consultations led Alfonso XIII to entrust the formation of a new government to Eugenio Montero RÃÂos, who declined the nomination out of his desire to prevent further divisions within the Liberal Party; then to the Marquis of Vega de Armijo, who accepted the nomination. A cabinet comprising members of the LiberalâÂÂDemocratic alliance and two military officers was formed and sworn in the next day.
The Council of Ministers was structured into the office for the prime minister and eight ministries.