Spanish Government to Declassify Documents on Failed 1981 Coup Attempt

The decision by Pedro Sánchez's government to declassify files concerning the attempted coup d'état of February 23, 1981, has sparked a lively political debate. These documents have been closed to the public for 45 years, protected by strict state secrecy laws. The Prime Minister argues that full transparency is essential to strengthen the country's democratic foundations and to finally come to terms with the past of the political transition. However, groups such as Podemos and regional parties from Catalonia (ERC and Junts) believe the declassification process itself is insufficient and are demanding a deep reform of the Official Secrets Act. On February 23, 1981, a group of armed Guardia Civil officers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero stormed the Congress of Deputies, taking parliamentarians hostage for 17 hours, while tanks rolled onto the streets of Valencia.The main opposition force, the People's Party (PP), reacted to the Prime Minister's announcement with great skepticism. A PP spokesperson described the government's action as a "smokescreen," suggesting it aims to cover up current scandals and the cabinet's difficult political situation. Meanwhile, writer Javier Cercas, author of a famous book about the coup, tempers expectations, claiming that the archives likely contain no "great secret" that could radically change our knowledge of those days. Nevertheless, researchers emphasize that access to original intelligence reports and conversation transcripts will allow for a more precise understanding of the mechanisms that led to the crisis. „Es una decisión que nos permite saldar una deuda histórica con nuestra democracia y con todos los ciudadanos que la defendieron.” (It is a decision that allows us to settle a historical debt with our democracy and with all the citizens who defended it.) — Pedro SánchezParallel to the political events, the miniseries "Anatomía de un instante" (Anatomy of a Moment) debuted on Spanish public television RTVE, becoming a ratings hit. This production highlights the key figures who helped stop the coup, including King Juan Carlos I and then-Prime Minister Adolfo Suárez. The declassification of documents is seen by a significant part of society as a symbolic closing of the democratization process, although for many it remains a belated gesture that exposes the weaknesses of the Official Secrets Act in force since the dictatorship. 45 lat — years have passed from the attack on parliament to the decision to declassify the files