What happened in the 23-F coup attempt in Spain in 1981?
The coup attempt of 23-F
El golpe de Estado del 23-F
23–24 February 1981. On the evening of 23 February 1981, while Congress was voting on a new prime minister, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero burst in with…
Where: Spain, Madrid, Valencia
What happened
On the evening of 23 February 1981, while Congress was voting on a new prime minister, Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero burst in with armed civil guards and held the deputies hostage; in Valencia General Milans del Bosch sent tanks into the streets. At about one in the morning King Juan Carlos appeared on television in uniform and ordered the army to uphold the constitution. By midday on the 24th the coup had collapsed. Most historians see the king's message as decisive, though how much he and those around him knew beforehand is still argued about. Spaniards simply call it el 23-F.
Say it
El 23 de febrero de 1981, unos guardias civiles entraron armados en el Congreso.
On 23 February 1981, armed civil guards burst into Congress.
Why it matters
23-F was the moment Spain's new democracy could have died and did not; the images of Tejero with his pistol in the Congress are the country's shared memory of how close it came.
Read about it
- El franquismo y la Transición — Franco's regime and the Transition
- La monarquía a debate — The monarchy question
Connected
- The coup of 11 September 1973 in Chile (11 September 1973–11 March 1990)
- Franco dies and the Transition begins (20 November 1975–15 June 1977)
- Franco dies and the Transition begins (20 November 1975–15 June 1977)
- The Constitution of 1978 (6 December 1978)
- The Constitution of 1978 (6 December 1978)
- Spain joins the European Community (1 January 1986)
- Spain joins the European Community (1 January 1986)
Sources
- Landelino Lavilla Alsina — Presidentes del Congreso — Congreso de los Diputados
- Biografía de S.M. el Rey Don Juan Carlos — Casa de S.M. el Rey
- Documentación desclasificada relativa al intento de golpe de Estado del 23 de febrero de 1981 — La Moncloa