Rebels storm the Spanish Parliament. In Madrid, Spain, Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero and 200 members of the Civil Guard storm the Cortes, firing shots into the air and taking the country’s democratic government hostage. The conspirators, displeased with the rapidity of the democratization process initiated after the death of dictator Francisco Franco, call for a general military uprising. For one night, Spain’s future remains uncertain, while the population watches the events live on television. The coup is only reversed when King Juan Carlos, who had succeeded Franco in 1975 and ceded power to parliament, manages to convince the military to remain loyal to the constitution and join him in rejecting the rebels. At noon on February 24, the coup collapsed, after 18 hours, and Spain’s young democracy was saved.
