Coup Atlas Research Database
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16005111971ConspiracyDissident coup

Argentina, 1971 — dissident coup conspiracy

Argentina (ARG)South America, AmericasMay 11, 1971

Event Summary

This entry is coded 11 May 1971, in the early period of the presidency of General Alejandro Agustin Lanusse in Argentina, during the military dictatorship known as the Argentine Revolution. Lanusse had taken power on 26 March 1971 through an internal military coup that removed General Roberto Marcelo Levingston, the second of three de facto presidents produced by the infighting between military factions since the 1966 overthrow of Arturo Illia. Lanusse governed amid intense political unrest, a fractured and faction-ridden officer corps, and a sharp rise in guerrilla activity by groups such as the People's Revolutionary Army, the Peronist Montoneros, and the Revolutionary Armed Forces.

To defuse the crisis he pursued the Gran Acuerdo Nacional, promising a return to elections. The May 1971 coding sits in this volatile period of guerrilla insurgency and continued military factional plotting against the unpopular Lanusse junta, before the August 1972 Trelew massacre and the 1973 transition.

Researched Details

Researched

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

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Lanusse held power and managed a transition to elections in 1973; his junta survived this period of unrest
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
General Alejandro Agustin Lanusse (de facto president)
Peronist and leftist guerrilla groups (ERP, Montoneros, FAR)
Rival military factions of the Argentine Revolution

Sources

Lanusse was the de facto president of Argentina between 26 March 1971 and 25 May 1973, assuming the presidency in a totally unfavorable political climate as guerrilla violence and popular discontent grew.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Alejandro Agustin Lanusse open source ↗
After Levingston tried to dismiss Lanusse as commander-in-chief, Lanusse carried out a coup that overthrew Levingston and installed himself as president in 1971, then faced continuous political unrest and increasing guerrilla activity.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Alejandro Agustin Lanusse open source ↗
Infighting between military divisions during the Argentine Revolution led to two internal coups, with Ongania, Levingston and Lanusse succeeding one another as de facto presidents.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Military coups in Argentina open source ↗
With no elections since 1966, armed struggle groups such as the ERP, the Montoneros and the FAR came into existence and escalated their activity during this period.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia: Argentine Revolution open source ↗

Editorial Note

No discrete plot is precisely dated 11 May 1971 in the sources located this session; the coding sits in the early Lanusse period of guerrilla insurgency and military factional tension. Context with strong framing. First Argentina record in the run.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
16005111971

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

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Lanusse held power and managed a transition to elections in 1973; his junta survived this period of unrest.

Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. 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

Luttwak

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

The Guardian

“Lanusse unshaken by ’coup’,” May 13, 1971

Chicago Tribune

“Report Coup Foiled, 3 Seized in Argentina,” May 13, 1971

Washington Post

“Argentine Army says Coup try foiled,” May 12, 1971

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 →

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