Coup of 25 November 1975
Failed Portuguese far-left military coup
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The Coup of 25 November 1975 (usually referred to as the 25 de Novembro in Portugal) was a failed military coup d'état against the post-Carnation Revolution governing bodies of Portugal. This attempt was carried out by Portuguese far-left activists, who hoped to hijack the Portuguese transition to democracy in favor of a communist state.[1]
| Coup of 25 November 1975 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Group of Nine Council of the Revolution |
Far-left coup plotters Parachute Troops School | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ramalho Eanes Mário Soares António Pires Veloso | unknown | ||||||
Events
The political, economic, and social crisis in post-Carnation Revolution Portugal, a period known as PREC, and the make-up of The Constituent Assembly, the first democratically elected organ after the fall of the previous regime, gave rise to serious confrontations during what became known as the Hot Summer of 1975. This caused a division in the Armed Forces Movement which had been responsible for the overthrowing of the Estado Novo regime. It was the coup on 25 November 1975, followed by a counter-coup led by Ramalho Eanes, a pro-democracy moderate (and supported by moderate socialist Mário Soares), that re-established the democratic process.
25 of November
On this day, dissident paratroopers tried to seize military complexes across the country,[2] in a coup attempt that was easily defeated by commandos loyal to the government.[2][3] With the country engulfed in political chaos, some hundreds of military personnel sympathetic to the extreme left seized the Monsanto Air Base, the Air Force School, and five other air bases in the capital and in the south of Portugal.[4]