COUP OF 23 TH FEBRUARY

1. The attempt of coup of
23th February 1981

2. Main goal :
To finish with the democratic
transition in Spain

3. Political environment of the attempt of coup:
Four elements which were not controlled by government caused a
permanent tension:
1.- An economic crisis (inflation, unemployement)
2.- The territorial dispute (centralism / decentralization) and the
problem of independence or separatism.
3.- The terrosism (especially the attacks made by ETA)
4.- The resistence of part of the Spanish army to accept a
democratic regime

4. People who played a leading role:
The three most important organizers of the coup
.-Colonel of Guardia Civil Antonio Tejero Molina
.-The General Captain of the 3rd Military Region
(Valencia): Jaime Milans del Bosch
.- General Alfonso Armada
And many military men and policemen

6. People in the government who defended the
democracy:
.- King Juan Carlos I
.- Adolfo Suárez
.- Liutenant General Gutiérrez Mellado
.- Sabino Fernández Campo (the King´s
personal assistant)

7. King Juan Carlos I
Adolfo Suárez, the prime minister
Litutenant General
Gutiérrez Mellado,
Minister of Defense
Sabino Fernández Campo,
the King´s assistent

8. People in the opposition who defended the democracy:
Felipe González,
the socialist leader
Santiago Carrillo,
the communist leader Fraga Iribarne,
the conservative leader

9. Events:
The colonel of Guardia Civil Tejero stormed the Parliement
(Congress of Deputies) and knidapped them

10. The General of the 3rd Military Region, Jaime Milans del Bosch, deployed
tanks, other military vehicles and troops in the streets of Valencia (the third
city of Spain in population)
The seat of the
3rd Military
Region in
Valencia

11. At 1:14pm on 24th February, the king interceded on
television, in uniform as the Captain General of the Armed
Forces, the highest Spanish military rank, to position himself
against the insurgents, defend the Spanish democracy.
From that moment the coup could be considered failed

12. The King´s speech
Addressing all Spaniards, with brevity and concision:
"In the extraordinary circumstances that we are currently experiencing, I ask of everyone the greatest
serenity and confidence and I inform you all that I have given the Captains General of the military, the
navy, and the air force the following order:
"Given the situation created by the events that took place in the Palace of Congress and to avoid any
possible confusion, I confirm that I have ordered Civil
Authorities and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to take all
necessary measures to maintain constitutional
order, within the law.
"Should any measure of a military nature need to be taken, it must be approved by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff.
"The Crown, the symbol of the permanence and unity of the nation, cannot tolerate, in any form, actions
or attitudes of people attempting by force to interrupt the democratic process of the constitution, which
the Spanish people determined at the time of the referendum.

13. All countries of European Community condemned the coup,
especially vigorous was Margaret Tatcher, who described the coup as
terrorist act.
Alexander Haig, Secretary of State of USA, was neutral and declared the
coup was an internal affair of Spaniards. At the next day USA rectified
and supported the Spanish democracy

14. A few hours after the King´s speech Milans del Bosch removed tanks and
troops from the Valencia streets and Tejero abandoned the Congress of
Deputies.
Both and many others were arrested the next days.
Tejero and his “guardia civiles” abandoning
the Congress of Deputies

15. A day after the coup (24th February) a huge demostration in Madrid and in
another cities showed the most of Spanish people was in favor of democracy and
against freedom

16. In the trial against the responsible people 12 military men, 17
policemen (members of the Guardia Civil) and a civilian were
sentenced to years of imprisonment (from 30 to 1 years)
All the military
and policemen
accused in the
trial posed in
this picture

17. Some enigmas and Theories of Conspiracy
Who was the real lider of coup, whose key name was “White Elephant”?
Was the King involved indirectly in the coup and he changed his opinion
later?
The journalist Pilar Urbano
suggested in this book the King
was indirectly involved in the
coup.