Coup Atlas Research Database
← Back to explorer
16008111961AttemptedMilitary coup

Argentina, 1961 — military coup attempt

Argentina (ARG)South America, AmericasAugust 11, 1961

Event Summary

The dataset records an attempted military coup in Argentina on 11 August 1961, during the militarily besieged constitutional government of President Arturo Frondizi, whose developmentalist administration was subjected to constant pressure and dozens of ultimatums from the armed forces. Frondizi had won the 1958 election with proscribed Peronist support, a bargain that enraged anti-Peronist officers, and his foreign policy, including a controversial 1961 meeting with the Argentine Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara amid the wider Cold War tensions over Cuba, further inflamed the military. Any coup attempt in August 1961 came within that turbulence and did not unseat Frondizi at that time.

The cumulative weight of the military planteos, however, culminated in his overthrow in March 1962 after Peronists won provincial elections he had permitted, when the armed forces removed him and installed the civilian Jose Maria Guido.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: President Arturo Frondizi survived the August 1961 pressure but was overthrown by the military in March 1962
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Arturo Frondizi (president of Argentina, target)
Anti Peronist military officers (plotters)

Sources

Arturo Frondizi served as president of Argentina from 1958 until he was overthrown in a military coup in March 1962.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Arturo Frondizi open source ↗
Frondizi won the 1958 election with the support of proscribed Peronist voters, provoking repeated ultimatums and coup threats from anti-Peronist military officers throughout his term.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Arturo Frondizi open source ↗
Frondizi's government faced dozens of military planteos and constant pressure from the armed forces during its four years.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Arturo Frondizi open source ↗
Frondizi was overthrown in March 1962 after Peronist candidates won provincial elections he had allowed, and the military installed Jose Maria Guido in his place.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, Arturo Frondizi open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete documentation of a coup attempt precisely on 11 August 1961 was found in accessible English sources this session; the entry records the dataset's coding and the verified context of the besieged Frondizi government, with plotter identity for this specific date unconfirmed, flagged. Continues the Argentina Frondizi run from batch 62.

Cross-Reference

Datasets agree. At least two of the three reference datasets we check against carry this event, and none of them disagrees about its date or its result.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
16008111961
Albrecht/Koehler/Schutz (CAM) id
CAM-160-1961-08-11

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: President Arturo Frondizi survived the August 1961 pressure but was overthrown by the military in March 1962.

Baseline coding: Coup attempt failed to remove the incumbent. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

CSP

Named in the baseline source document; no article citation was recorded.

New York Times

“Argentine Rebels Seize 2 Buildings, Fight Police; Band Led By Air Officer Takes Some Radio Stations – Frondizi Declares Revolt by ‘Hotheads’ Fails,” August 12, 1961

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

Know something about this event?
Tips are reviewed against sources before anything is added.