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A ''pronunciamiento'' (, pt, pronunciamento ; "proclamation , announcement or declaration") is a form of military rebellion or ''
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 ...
'' particularly associated with
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
and
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, especially in the 19th century.


Typology

The ''pronunciamiento'' is one category of praetorianism: the practice of military figures acting as political actors in their own right, rather than as the politically-neutral instrument of civilian government. In a classic ''coup d'état'' a rebel faction which controls some critical element of the armed forces seizes control of the state by a sudden movement, organized and executed in stealth. A ''pronunciamiento'', in contrast, is by definition a public performance designed to rally public opinion to a dissident faction. A group of military officers, often mid-ranking, ''publicly'' declare their opposition to the current government (head of state and/or cabinet, who may be legally elected civilians or the result of a previous coup). ''Pronunciamientos'' are normally 'bloodless' or close to it, intending to bring about a change in government or regime by ''threatening'' violence and publicly demonstrating the lack of support for a given government, rather than the swift actual violence of a normal coup. The goal may be, as in the classic coup, to install one of the military rebels in power. But more often its aim is to tip the balance of public opinion so that a favoured prominent civilian opposition leader might called to form a government. Stanley Payne characterises the ''pronunciamiento'', in contrast to the "''classic military coup''", thus:
"''The pronunciamiento was sometimes oblique and indirect, consisting of no more than strong statements, encouragements, or threats by powerful generals intended to influence the government's policy. However, the most spectacular and important pronunciamientos were those that involved some form of force. Ordinarily, the armed pronunciamiento was a revolt by one section of the Army –sometimes a very small section– which raised the flag of rebellion in its district and hoped that its example would lead other units to rally round, or would at least break the government's nerve''"
Generally, a ''pronunciamento'' originated with a small number of officers motivated by fear of the current government's persecution of political dissidents, or of its perceived inability to resist invasion or revolution. This small group would then spend a preparatory period "sounding out" the larger community of officers to determine if their views are widely shared. After the pronunciamiento the would-be rebel officers then wait for the rest of the armed forces to declare for or against the government. There is no fighting at this point; if the rebellion has no support the organizers lose. They may have to flee the country or retire from the armed forces, or they may be arrested, and typically they would face a lenient fate. If the bulk of the armed forces declare in favor of the ''pronunciamiento'' the government resigns. It is similar to a
vote of no-confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
, except that it is issued by the armed forces, not by the legislature.


History

The origins of the ''pronunciamiento'' lie in the Spanish and Portuguese resistance to Napoleonic rule. The
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...
created the conditions for the intervention of the military in a plebiscitary act of 'no-confidence' on the presumed behalf of the nation. The wars had brought together large groups of ordinary men from all across a given state, while at the same time exposing them en masse to political ideas. Conscription to fight a foreign occupier or invader had the effect of subjecting individuals from different corners of the multiethnic dynastic state to similar experiences, generating a practical sense of belonging to one same 'nation'. After brief experiences of democratic government and constitutional liberties, 1814-15 saw the restoration of
absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...
under dynastic houses such as the
Bourbons The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...
or
Habsburgs The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...
. This gave rise to the sentiment that the conscript army of citizen-soldiers (see Levée en masse and Milicia Nacional) was a truer expression of the people and the nation than the monarchs themselves, paving the way for elements within the army to take politics into their own hands. This process in Spain has been compared to the experience of France during the same period: from Bonaparte's own military-backed coup of 1799, to the participation of liberal generals
Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...
, Gérard and Mouton in the 1830 overthrow of the Bourbon Restoration. The ''pronunciamiento'' was also used under parliamentary regimes where the legislature had split into many micro-factions, rendering it impossible for the government to identify the public mood. Elements within the army might then intervene as a 'referendum' to influence parliament or government towards a desired direction. In Spain, the principle of a segment of the military intervening in politics through a plebiscitary gesture had been generated by the national mass mobilisation of the
War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...
against Bonapartist France. Subsequently, the restoration of the absolute monarchy prompted the liberal General Riego to mount a military rising in 1820, demanding the restoration of the
Constitution of 1812 The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy ( es, link=no, Constitución Política de la Monarquía Española), also known as the Constitution of Cádiz ( es, link=no, Constitución de Cádiz) and as ''La Pepa'', was the first Constituti ...
. For the next half-century a cycle of military interventions, both ''pronunciamientos'' and classic ''coup d'états'', would occur whenever Spain entered a deadlocked political crisis. Intervention could come from generals associated with the Radical-democratic left (
Prim Prim may refer to: People * Prim (given name) * Prim (surname) Places * Prim, Virginia, unincorporated community in King George County *Dolní Přím, village in the Czech Republic; as Nieder Prim (Lower Prim) site of the Battle of Königgrätz ...
), the
Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
centre-left (
Espartero Baldomero Fernández-Espartero y Álvarez de Toro (27 February 17938 January 1879) was a Spanish marshal and statesman. He served as the Regent of the Realm, three times as Prime Minister and briefly as President of the Congress of Deputies. ...
), the conservative-liberal centre(
O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...
) or the Conservative-liberal right ( Narváez, Martínez Campos). This particular fifty-year cycle came to a fifty-year close with the Bourbon Restoration of 1874.


Examples

* The first modern ''pronunciamiento'' in Spanish history was that of Lieutenant-Colonel Rafael Riego against King Ferdinand VII, in 1820. * Another prominent ''pronunciamiento'' was the successful rebellion of September 1868 against
Isabella II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successio ...
, by Generals
Juan Prim Juan Prim y Prats, 1st Count of Reus, 1st Marquis of los Castillejos, 1st Viscount of Bruch (; ca, Joan Prim i Prats ; 6 December 1814 – 30 December 1870) was a Spanish general and statesman who was briefly Prime Minister of Spain until h ...
and Francisco Serrano, initiating the Six Democratic Years and First Republic. * The First Republic ended with the ''pronunciamiento'' of General Martínez Campos in 1874, leading to the First Bourbon Restoration. * The unsuccessful 1932 rebellion against the
Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 A ...
by
José Sanjurjo José Sanjurjo y Sacanell (; 28 March 1872 – 20 July 1936), was a Spanish general, one of the military leaders who plotted the July 1936 ''coup d'état'' which started the Spanish Civil War. He was endowed the nobiliary title of "Marquis o ...
(known as the ''sanjurjada''), was also an example. However, the military uprising of 1936 that initiated the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
was not. Hugh Thomas writes that "Mola's plans were made clear in a circular in April. The planned rising was to be no ''pronunciamiento'' of the old style. Two branches of the plot, one civil, one military, were to be set up in all the provinces of Spain." * In
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, where such declarations were often quite detailed, formal, and issued as written texts, they were given the name of
plans A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. ...
. The most famous one was spoken, the ''Grito de Dolores'' (
Cry of Dolores The Cry of Dolores ( es, Grito de Dolores, links=no, region=MX) occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican W ...
) of
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Don (honorific), Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753  – 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo (), was a Catholic priest, leader ...
in 1810, which initiated the
Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...
. Outside of the Hispanophone and Lusophone world, events that have been termed a "pronunciamiento" include: * The 1815 'Flight of the Eagle', Napoleon Bonaparte's march on Paris while converting to his cause the royalist soldiers dispatched to intercept him; *the Greek Goudi Pronunciamiento of 1909, a proclamation by the officers of the Military League that power be handed to the Liberal leader Venizelos; *
General Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
's Appeal of 18 June 1940, a proclamation urging military and civilian disobedience against the Vichy Regime; * the 1961
Algiers Putsch The Algiers putsch (french: Putsch d'Alger or ), also known as the Generals' putsch (''Putsch des généraux''), was a failed coup d'état intended to force President of France, French President Charles de Gaulle not to abandon French Algeria, ...
by French generals against De Gaulle's planned decolonisation of Algeria;De Gaulle, broadcast of 23 April 1961: "An insurrectionary power has established itself in Algeria through a military pronunciamento" * the Turkish Military Memorandums of
1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...
(a proclamation by right-wing nationalist officers against the Demirel government) and 1997 (by secularist liberal officers against the Islamist Erbakan government).


See also

* Coup d'État * Praetorianism *
Caesarism Caesarism is an authoritarian or autocratic political philosophy inspired by Julius Caesar. It has been used in various ways by both proponents and opponents as a pejorative. Historical use of the term The first documented use of the word is ...
* Bonapartism * Spanish coup of July 1936


References

{{Reflist Coups d'état Military history of Spain Spanish words and phrases 19th-century coups d'état and coup attempts 20th-century coups d'état and coup attempts