The Coup of 25 November 1975 (usually referred to as the ' in Portugal) was a failed military ''

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

'' against the post-

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

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 Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

state.

Vasco Gonçalves General Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves OA (; Lisbon 3 May 1921 – 11 June 2005) was a Portuguese army officer in the Engineering Corps who took part in the Carnation Revolution and later served as the 104th Prime Minister from 18 July 1974 to ...

, the previous Prime Minister (July 1974 to September 1975), later described the coup as a "provocation" organised by the sixth provisional government, saying that the government had ordered the paratroopers to bomb the occupied . These orders, carried out by low-level paratroopers, had subsequently led the paratroopers to invade air bases in an attempt to force the resignation of the Air Force chief of staff.Hugo Gil Ferreira, Michael W. Marshall, ''Portugal's Revolution: Ten Years On''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

(2011 986
p94
/ref> Gonçalves blamed the

Group of Nine The Group of Nine (G9) was an alliance of European states that met occasionally to discuss matters of mutual pan-European interest. The alliance formed in 1965, when the nine countries presented a case study at the United Nations. They co-sponso ...

and related elements.

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 The Hot Summer of 1975 ( pt, Verão Quente de 1975) was a tumultuous period in Portuguese history characterized by political, social and military instability. At the center of the conflict was the rift between rightist and leftist groups, as ...

. This marked the start of the counter-revolutionary movement. This caused a division in the

Armed Forces Movement 230px, A mural dedicated to the MFA, it reads: "Towards freedom. Long live the 25th of April!" The Armed Forces Movement ( pt, Movimento das Forças Armadas; MFA) was an organization of lower-ranking, politically left-leaning officers in the Por ...

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 Ramalho is a Portuguese surname. Ramalho may refer to: People *João Ramalho (1493–1580), Portuguese explorer *Ramalho Ortigão (1836–1915), Portuguese writer * Rosa Ramalho (1888–1977), Portuguese ceramist * José Ramalho (rower) (1901–?un ...

, 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, in a coup attempt that was easily defeated by commandos loyal to the government. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coup of 1975 11 25 Carnation Revolution 1975 in Portugal Attempted coups d'état Military coups in Portugal Communist rebellions 1970s coups d'état and coup attempts Conflicts in 1975

Events

25 of November

See also

References