Portugal, 1975 — military coup attempt

Event Summary

On 25 November 1975 far left paratroopers and radical military units attempted a coup in Portugal, the climactic confrontation that ended the revolutionary turmoil of the previous eighteen months. Since the Carnation Revolution of April 1974, Portugal had passed through the Ongoing Revolutionary Process, a period of nationalizations, land seizures, and deep division within the Armed Forces Movement between a radical left, close to the Communist Party and figures such as Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, and moderates aligned with the Socialists. In the pre-dawn hours of 25 November, dissident paratroopers seized several air bases and moved to force the resignation of the air force chief, in what was seen as a bid by the far left to hijack the transition toward a communist directorate.

But the rising was poorly coordinated, the mass of workers did not rise with them, and it was quickly defeated by commandos loyal to the government under the moderate officer Ramalho Eanes. The failed coup broke the power of the revolutionary left, ended the PREC, and set Portugal on its path to stable parliamentary democracy.