February 23rd: a before and after

The coup attempt of February 23, 1981, formally failed, but at the same time represented a democratic setback, especially regarding the development of autonomous communities. The Organic Law on the Promotion of the Autonomy Process (LOAPA) was its offspring. February 23 marked a turning point. In reality, this failed attempt ended up defining the limits of the 1978 regime and legitimizing a monarchy born from the dictatorship, which, in the established narrative, at that crossroads of the coup, supposedly opted for freedom and against the military. Was this really the case? To what extent was King Juan Carlos I aware of the plans of Civil Guard Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero and General Alfonso Armada? What pacts or conversations took place at that time between the military, political forces, and the powers that be? Who paid for the failed attempt? Many questions remain unanswered, questions that the declassification of documents generated around the coup, and until now inaccessible, could resolve. It has taken 45 years. A long time. Too long. Better late than never, of course: the Spanish government's announcement is significant. However, we will soon know whether it truly resolves unknowns or if the Official Secrets Act, still in force—it is none other than a Francoist law from 1968—continues to be a safety net against the miseries of the deep state.

In fact, this very Monday, upon learning of the declassification of documents related to the 23-F coup attempt, the groups supporting Pedro Sánchez's socialist government also demanded that the reform of the Official Secrets Act—the attempted reform was halted on the 20th, based on national security concerns—be unblocked once and for all, in order to achieve the necessary democratic transparency.

Spanish democracy has been hampered since the dictator's death in its efforts to reckon with its past. In fact, political polarization, with the rise of the far right, has turned historical memory into a renewed battleground. Vox has made it its rallying cry and dragged the People's Party (PP) along with it. The whitewashing of the dictatorship is commonplace, a sugarcoated narrative that, incidentally, has also led to the sacralization of a Transition that erased the dictatorial past. It is the very self-protective and self-indulgent mechanism that, in practice, has shielded any essential changes to the Constitution.

Thus, the step being taken now with the 23-F coup attempt is a beginning. However, it should by no means be an end. Much remains to be explained, and only to the extent that progress can be made freely in the search for historical truth can we look to the democratic future with optimism. In reality, the construction of an unrestricted memory goes hand in hand with the practice of genuine freedom of information, that is, transparency on the part of public authorities. Much remains to be done in this area as well. All of this, however, does not negate the fact that Pedro Sánchez's letter regarding the 23-F coup attempt stems from his need to claim some victory in the eyes of the public after two consecutive electoral defeats in Extremadura and Aragon, without guaranteed budgets, and with legal cases affecting his inner circle on the left of the PSOE.