The Civil Guard officer whose 1981 attempted coup d’état shook Spain’s fledgling democracy, Antonio Tejero, has died at the age of 93. His death in Alzira, Valencia, was announced by the law firm A. Cañizares Abogados on behalf of the Tejero family. “His death occurred peacefully, surrounded by his entire family and after receiving the holy sacraments,” the firm said.
Tejero is best remembered for storming Spain’s parliament on February 23, 1981, in a dramatic bid to restore dictatorship just five years after the death of Francisco Franco had ushered in Spain’s first free elections in four decades.
At 6:23 p.m., wearing a tricorn hat and brandishing a pistol, Tejero entered the chamber and ordered lawmakers to the floor. Moments later, more rebel Civil Guards joined him, wielding machine guns. Shots rang out in the air as terrified legislators crouched behind their seats. RTVE, the national broadcaster, was eventually ordered to cut its cameras, but not before recording half an hour of the tense standoff. Footage aired the following day and for years thereafter, embedding the image of Tejero’s attempt in the national memory.
The coup disrupted parliament’s swearing-in of a newly elected government and lasted approximately 17 hours. Its objective was to force a return to authoritarian rule. The event became a defining moment in Spain’s transition to democracy and bolstered the reputation of then-King Juan Carlos I, who quickly moved to quell the putsch with a live broadcast supporting the constitutional government.
Born on April 30, 1932, in Malaga, Tejero grew up in a military environment under the shadow of the Spanish Civil War. Historian Roberto Muñoz Bolaños notes that his upbringing instilled in him “the fascist values of Franco’s regime: anti-communism, anti-liberalism, opposition to the distribution of power among Spain’s regions, and above all the awareness of the superiority of the military over the civilian sphere.” At 19, he joined Spain’s military academy and was assigned to the Civil Guard, where he rose swiftly through the ranks, sharing the ideological fervour of his superiors.
After Franco’s death, Tejero became increasingly rebellious as the influence of Francoists waned in the military. He blamed democracy for Spain’s problems and was repeatedly disciplined for insubordination. In 1977, he was removed as commander of a Civil Guard post in Malaga after refusing to allow an authorised demonstration, insisting the day should be reserved for mourning a fallen officer.
Tejero spent his life loyal to Franco’s ideals and advocating for a far-right return to power. His attempted coup remains one of the most dramatic episodes in modern Spanish history, a stark test of a young democracy.
Boluwatife Enome
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