23-F, el golpe del Rey

What really happened on February 23, 1981 is clear today: it was not an attempted coup, but a special operation to repair the political system. An operation with which most of the ruling class agreed, and, of course, the monarchical institution. In principle, its objective was to solve the problems that arose with the development of the autonomous process, reform the Constitution in aspects that seemed necessary, modify the law and the electoral process, and put an end to terrorist violence. None of this was done, and to this day it still has not been done - except for the terrorist threat - since the true objective was only to reinforce the position and role of the monarchy, sacrificing any other possible purpose. The immediate consequence of February 23 was none other than that the Crown emerged in a powerful way before public opinion and the entire nation as an essential bulwark, with the approval of the political class, an accomplice of that farce. Antonio J. Candil was an active military man during the key months of these events and a friend or acquaintance of many of the soldiers involved. Retired from the army for more than a decade, he now enjoys greater critical and historiographical distance. As the historian Stanley G. Payne collects in his Foreword, "it brings new aspects to the study of this problem. It exposes the memories of an active military man from those years, with many direct and indirect military contacts, accompanied by new data. It offers also a detailed and systematic knowledge of the enormous literature on this issue, while presenting a critical and rigorous analysis that opens up different perspectives. Furthermore, it devotes original attention to certain aspects, such as the subsequent military process of those involved. "