It happened 25 years ago......

25 years ago, just the same day than today, my mom was celebrating her 25th birthday. I was barely 5. But all this happines that happened in a small house of the Basque Country was stopped.

¡Quieto todo el mundo! (Everybody, Freeze!!! r.t.). The order that Lieutenant Coronel Antonio Tejero gave as he came in the spanish congress is still fresh in the memories of a country. The 23th of February of 1981, the deputies were voting the designation of Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo as the new spanish Prime Minister (Note: in Spain the Prime Minister is called "Presidente"). "!Al Suelo, todos al suelo!"(¡Down, everybody down!, r.t), a civil guard screamed before a submachine gun roar made the deputies, except Adolfo Suarez, Santiago Carrillo and the Army General Manuel Gutierrez Mellado, Minister of Defense-, get hidden below their desks.

Gutierrez Mellado leapt from his chair and confronted the attackers. "¡Denme esa pistola y salga inmediatamente de aqui¡" (¡Give that gun and get out of here, now! r.t.) he ordered Tejero. Some civil guards cought him, and tried to get him down. In his person, they tried to get down the new democratic regime that arrived to Spain in 1975. Only Suarez went in his aid. The smell of pownder and the 37 bullets fired made to almost all the deputies to fear be killed that night. That was the first act that made a whole country don't sleep a whole night. The spanish democracy longest night had begun.

25 years later, the coup d'etat of the 23-F doesn't have too much secrets for the Political Scientists and the specialists. The militar High Command, formed by Generals whom still followed the ideals of Francisco Franco, believed than the new constitution, approved in 1978, was a betrayal of the ideals defended by the Army in the Spanish Civil War. ETA had been assasinated in 1980 91 people, most of them from the military. And the Generals didn't accept the process of political Amnesty, the legalization of the Communist Party and they believed that the new autonomic process was a risk for the national unity of Spain. In the high level circles of the military the idea of coming back to the order and to be harder was very extended. And they believed that this had to be done as soon as possible. And they didn't lose time.

The conspiration for a coup d'etat began months after the death of Francisco Franco, the dictator who ruled Spain since the end of the civil war, in 1939, until 1975. It became more intense in 1977 when the new king, Juan Carlos I, made the substitution of Arias Navarro, a former high level politician in the dictatorship, by Adolfo Suarez, a more moderate and flexible figure, as the head of the government. His policy untied a storm inside the military garrisons and in September of 1977, Admiral Pita da Veiga and the Generals De Santiago, Milans del Bosch, Coloma Gallegos and others, met together in the Valencian city of Xativa to discuss the first serious attempt of coup d'etat. That attempt never happened, but created the enough movement inside the military to prepare something better for the future.

In 16th of November of 1978, barely a month before the constitution was approved, the spanish secret services dismantled the Operacion Galaxia (Operation Galaxy). In this operation, Tejero and the Captain Saenz de Ynestrillas wanted to make a coup d'etat the next day, taking advantage of the King's official trip to Mexico. They were judged and sentenced to minimum time in jail, between six and seven months. Inexplicably, Saenz de Ynestrillas was ascended to Commander.

The intrigue didn't stop and the events came in 1981. The 10th of January, The General Armada met in Valencia with General Milans del Bosch. Days later, Adolfo Suarez resigned as Prime Minister and the coup organizares believed that the king will support a "National Salvation" government ruled by a militar.

Tejero, who didn't let the coup circles, received the 16th of February the approval of General Milans del Bosch to take the Congress, against the ideas of General Armada, who wanted to wait for a more intense coup in May with the support of some General Captains.

¡Ya pueden levantarse! (Now, you can stand r.t.), shouted Tejero to the deputies when he felt the ruler of the parliament. Then, the Captain Jesus Muñecas entered the area and told to the deputies that the genuine authorities will arrive soon to decide what was gonna happen. Of course, those authorities were from the military. The tension went high when Tejero ordered to take out the hemicicle area Adolfo Suarez, Manuel Gutierrez Mellado, Felipe Gonzalez, Alfonso Guerra and Agustin Rodriguez Sahagun. Almost everyone believed not to see them again.

But they were wrong. The PM stayed the hours the coup lasted in a room, guarded by three civil guards. Outside the congress, the civil power was restored. Meanwhile, in La Zarzuela, the royal palace, the King called the General Captains to transmit his rejection to the coup d'etat and his support to the new democratic regime and to the new constitution. This helped to stop the risings in other parts of Spain, but in Valencia General Milans del Bosch ordered the tanks to take the streets.

The King, Juan Carlos I, waited in his residence the arrival of a TVE (Television Española, Spanish Television) camera team. The militars took the TVE sets as well. At one o'clock in the morning, he broadcasted a message condenmning the coup. This message was decisive to the failure of the attempt. Minutes later, Milans del Bosch ordered the tanks to come back to the garrison. Tejero gave up at 11 o'clock in the morning. Meanwhile the civil guards that were with him tried to escape the congress, some by the windows. The deputies were free.

The 23-f attempt was one of the moments where the spanish democracy was most in risk. Today aren't so many secrets about it, but some questions still arise. What was the role of the CESID? (Centro Superior de Informacion de la Defensa, Spanish intelligence service, now known as CNI, Centro Nacional de Inteligencia or National Intelligence Center) this organism was dependant of the military. Why the King didn't support the coup? What was the role of the CIA and the US Embassy that considered the coup a spanish internal issue and later they publicly supported the overcome of the democracy?

Beside all those questions, this episode will be always in the memories of the people who was living there.

Coming back to thst small house in the Basque Country. What were the reactions? Some of my familiy members were amnestied members of ETA, and all my mothers familiy had ties with the new nationalism that just achieved power there. We had fresh the killings in the streets that happened the last year. My father wanted to take us to France. I know we weren't the only ones. I was only five, but I will remember my grandma's words to my father:

"Cobarde, he vivido dos guerras y una dictadura. Mi marido estuvo dos años y medio en un barco militar en plena segunda guerra mundial y me mataron a un hermano en la guerra civil. Por que un loco con bigote y una pistola se ponga a gritar en Madrid, yo no me muevo. Y tu y tus hijos, tampoco."

Coward, I lived two wars and a dictatorship. My husband went two years and a half in a military ship in the second world war, a brother was killed in the civil war. I am not gonna move because a crazy man with a big moustache is shouting in Madrid. I am not gonna move, and you and your sons neither."

Thanks for Colpisa.
r.t: Roughly Translated.

Dramatis Personae:

Adolfo Suarez: PM of the spanish government since 1977 to 1981 with the UCD (Union del Centro Democratico, Union of the Democratic Center). One of the key persons in the transition to the democracy. Now is retired from the political life, sadly, suffers a degenerative disease.

Leopoldo Calvo Sotelo: PM from 1981 to 1982 with the UCD. Now is the Major of Ribadesella a very beautiful town in Asturias, north of Spain.

Felipe Gonzalez: PM from 1982 to 1995 with the PSOE (Partido Socialista Obrero Español, Socialist Spanish Party of the Workers) He lost the elections in 1995 against Jose Maria Aznar, of the right wing party PP (Popular Party). He was accused of promoting the dirty war against ETA in the late 80's. Now is retired of the political life.

Manuel Gutierrez Mellado: Former general of the Army. The only one, except Adolfo Suarez who confronted the guards. Deceased

Civil Guard: Spanish Army body who is in charge if some policial issues. The body was one of the keys to the represion in the Basque Country as well in other parts of Spain, killing hundreds in the dictatorship and in the times of the transition.

Antonio Tejero: Lieutenant Coronel (a post between Lieutenant an Coronel) of the Civil Guard, who were convicted after the attempt. Now is free and retired.

Milans del Bosch: General of the Army. The only one who followed the coup ad took a whole city. Decesaed.

Saenz de Ynestrillas: Captain of the Army with an important role in the coup. Were killed by ETA. His son is now one of the most prominent members of the extreme right wing in Spain. Is accused of the killing of two important members of the left nationalist basque party Herri Batasuna, Josu Muguruza and Santi Brouard.

Armada: A General of the Army. At first he rejected any implication in the coup. Later was licensed.

Pilar Maguregui: Egoitz Grandma. Today is 85 and still remembers the time. She don't say anything but I know she was very afraid this time.

Juan Anton: Egoitz Grandpa. I only remember him hugging my mother. Now is 86 with an excellent health state.

Jesus Angel Gago: Egoitz Dad. Revolutionary by the ideals, incompetent by the facts. Now is 52, living with a new wife with a new daughter.

Esperanza Anton: Egoitz Mum. Now, today, is 50. Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!!!! I only remember her watching my Dad with the most furious sight I ever see.

Iratxe Anton: Egoitz's sister. She was one and was only sleeping. Now She's 26. Almost as beautiful as her brother, and smarter, this for sure.

Me: I was only watching television. Then, the neighbours came and...... Now, I'm 30, I'm a handsome man with a chest full of love and a head full of stories. And with a good understanding of politics, so if you need more information, don't hesitate.

This creates other question: Where were you 25 years ago????