February 23rd, 1981

In my social history class this week we discussed the attempted coup d'etat of 1981.  It's a pretty fascinating story:

In 1975 Franco finally dies and Spain starts moving toward democracy.  By 1978 there's a constitution (which gets rid of the death penalty), political parties are legalized (including the communist party...had Franco been alive he would have died again over that news), moderate politicians are vastly popular, and things generally seem to be going pretty well.
But some radical members of the army are not pleased with the transition to democracy and decide something needs to be done.
So on February 23rd 1981 a coup d'etat is attempted...and the crazy awesome part?  you can watch it on youtube!  (some of the camera guys in congress secretly kept their cameras running.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pcc0_8i0CYs&feature=related

So here's what you'll see if you watch the video:
The first image is of president Suarez (young with brown hair) and his military adviser Gutierrez Mellado (the old bald guy)...these two, along with every important elected official, are sitting in congress. 
Members of the military break in.  The brains of the operation, Antonio Tejero (wearing the hat), demands silence.  Everybody hides under their seats except for president Suarez and General Mellado. 
Mellado immediately gets up and walks over to Tejero ordering him to stop (remember that Mellado is Tejero's superior in military terms).  Warning shots are fired into the ceiling but Mellado refuses to sit down.  Tejero tries and fails to push the old man back into his seat (what a loser)
The next part of the video shows part of the King's televised speech announcing that he has ordered the military and police to do everything they can to uphold the constitution and stop the coup.  This speech was key to the coup's failure as many military members involved in the coup nation-wide had been told the King supported them. 
Also key were civilian demonstrations and rallies that condemned the coup and called for continued democracy.

By the next morning the coup had ended...unsuccessfully.  What happened afterward? Those responsible were prosecuted and Spain remained a democratic country.  In fact, in 1982 the socialist party won the general elections...take that, Franco.

Some interesting things you won't see in the video 
--> many of the politicians held hostage in congress ate their black books page by page while they hid under their seats so that, if the coup stuck, the names and addresses of their friends and families wouldn't fall into dangerous hands. 
--> the bullet holes in the ceiling of congress are still there as a reminder of the event.
--> the king is said to have been wearing his pajamas under his military uniform when he gave his televised speech.