Coup of 25 November 1975

The Coup of 25 November 1975 (usually referred to as the 25 de Novembro in Portugal) was a failed military coup against the post-Carnation Revolution governing bodies of Portugal. This attempt was carried out by Portuguese communists and other left-wing extremists, who hoped to change the course of the Portuguese transition to liberal democracy in favor of a communist system.^[1]

Vasco Gonçalves, the previous Prime Minister, from 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 Rádio Renascença. These orders, carried out by low-level paratroopers, had subsequently led the paratroopers to invade airbases in an attempt to force the resignation of the airforce chief of staff.^[2] Gonçalves blamed the Group of Nine and related elements.^[2]

Events

The political, economic and social crisis in post-Carnation Revolution Portugal, a period known as PREC, and the make up of the new government, the first democratically elected government after the fall of the previous regime, gave rise to serious confrontations during what became known as the “hot summer” of 1975. This marked the start of the counter-revolutionary movement. This caused a division in the Armed Forces Movement which had been responsible for the overthrown 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.

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