On April 5, 1992 President Alberto Fujimori of Peru carried out a self-coup, dissolving Congress, suspending the constitution, and seizing extraordinary powers with the backing of the armed forces, in what became known as the autogolpe. Fujimori, elected in 1990, had clashed with an opposition-controlled Congress over his economic program and his handling of the Shining Path insurgency. In a televised address on the night of April 5, 1992, he announced the dissolution of Congress, the suspension of the constitution, and a purge of the judiciary, and troops occupied the legislature and detained some opponents.
The move was popular domestically amid the insurgency and economic crisis but drew international condemnation. Fujimori later convened a constituent assembly and enacted a new constitution in 1993, entrenching his rule. As the incumbent seizing power, he was not deposed or harmed.
The dataset dates this April 4, 1992 and codes the fate as not physically harmed.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Target identified in Coup Atlas research: The April 1992 autogolpe was carried out by the sitting president Alberto Fujimori himself, who dissolved Congress and seized power rather than being deposed; the dataset codes an auto-coup with a not-physically-harmed fate, and Fujimori was not harmed.
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Alberto Fujimori (president who carried out the self-coup)
Peruvian Armed Forces (which backed the seizure of power)
Sources
The 1992 Peruvian self-coup, also known as the autogolpe or Fujigolpe, was carried out in Peru on 5 April 1992 when President Alberto Fujimori, backed by the military, dissolved the Congress and the judiciary and assumed full legislative and judicial powers, suspending the constitution.
On the night of 5 April 1992 Fujimori announced in a televised address that he was dissolving Congress and reorganizing the judiciary, and armed forces units took control of the streets of Lima and other cities and placed some opposition politicians and journalists under detention or house arrest.
Fujimori justified the self-coup by citing the obstruction of his policies by the opposition-controlled Congress in the context of the fight against the Shining Path insurgency and economic crisis, and the measures were initially popular domestically while drawing widespread international condemnation and threats of suspended aid.
After the self-coup Fujimori convened elections for a Democratic Constituent Congress which drafted a new constitution promulgated in 1993, consolidating his hold on power, before his eventual fall and conviction years later.
Coding note and dataset examination: the dataset labels this an auto-coup with a not-physically-harmed fate. This is the paradigmatic auto-coup (autogolpe): the sitting president Alberto Fujimori himself seized extraordinary power on April 5, 1992, dissolving Congress and the judiciary and suspending the constitution with military backing, rather than being overthrown. Who is coded deposed: in an auto-coup there is no deposed outside leader; the incumbent overrides the other branches, so the coded not-physically-harmed fate reflects that Fujimori, the actor, was neither removed nor harmed; the institutions dissolved were Congress and the judiciary. Date nuance flagged: the dataset dates this April 4, 1992; the self-coup was announced on the night of April 5, 1992, and the early-April timing is recorded. Arc link: this is the second auto-coup record in this batch, alongside the June 1991 Algeria entry; both involve an incumbent regime seizing extra power, though the Peru case is a single leader concentrating authority. Context recorded and handled neutrally: Fujimori justified the move by citing congressional obstruction amid the Shining Path insurgency and economic crisis, and it was domestically popular at the time but internationally condemned; these competing assessments are recorded rather than adjudicated. He entrenched his rule through a 1993 constitution and was decades later convicted of serious crimes, later context. Neutrality maintained on a contested subject.
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:
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: The April 1992 autogolpe was carried out by the sitting president Alberto Fujimori himself, who dissolved Congress and seized power rather than being deposed; the dataset codes an auto-coup with a not-physically-harmed fate, and Fujimori was not harmed..
Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; 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
“THE WORLD; Fujimori Talks Tough But the Coca Thrives,” April 26, 1992
“Peru’s President Calls an Elections and will not Run,” September 17, 2000
“Peru’s Military backs Fujimori in his call for new elections,” by David Gonzales, September 22, 2000
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 →