logo
episode-header-image
Jan 2021
8m 58s

When Spain's parliament was stormed

Bbc World Service
About this episode

In February 1981 armed Civil Guards tried to take control of the Spanish parliament. For 18 hours they held 350 politicians hostage in the debating chamber. One of those politicians was a young Socialist MP called Joaquin Almunia.

Photo: The leader of the coup attempt, Lt Col Antonio Tejero, on the speaker's platform (AFP/Getty Images)

Up next
Jul 11
The man who said ‘no’ to Disney
In 1941, Walt Disney made a tempting offer to a fellow pioneer of the animation industry, Quirino Cristiani - the author of the first animated feature film.Cristiani was an Italian immigrant raised in Argentina who built a career creating animated political satires in the early d ... Show More
9m 55s
Jul 10
Ni Una Menos women’s movement in Argentina
On 3 June 2015, tens of thousands of people gathered in the capital, Buenos Aires, and in dozens of cities and towns demanding an end to violence against women. There were demonstrations in Chile and Uruguay in solidarity too. Argentina was reporting a female murder rate of one e ... Show More
9m 31s
Jul 9
Argentina’s national genetics bank created to identify stolen babies
In 1982, Argentine geneticist Victor Penchaszadeh was living in exile in New York when he received a call that would change the course of his career. Two founding members of the campaign group, the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, were asking for his help to find their kidnappe ... Show More
10m 41s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2019
Nationalist spectre hovers over Spanish poll debate
Spaniards face one of the most divisive national elections in living memory, with two electoral blocs competing to portray each other as an existential threat to Spain’s future. Ben Hall discusses the last days of the campaign with Ian Mount in Madrid.Contributors: Suzanne Blumso ... Show More
11m 41s
Jan 2011
The Mexican Revolution
Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the Mexican Revolution.In 1908 the President of Mexico, Porfirio Diaz, gave an interview to an American journalist. He was 77 and had ruled the country in autocratic fashion for over thirty years. He discussed the country's economic development ... Show More
42m 6s
Jul 2023
From Madrid: How Spain's election could impact its EU presidency
This week's EU Confidential comes to you from Madrid as Spain takes over the six-month presidency of the Council of the European Union. Spain's stint in the rotating chair has been overshadowed by a national election, with Spaniards set to go to the polls on July 23. The podcast ... Show More
35m 30s
Jun 2024
Armer l'Espagne républicaine [Le Fil de l'Epée #19]
Invité : Pierre Salmon, maître de conférences en histoire à l’ENS de Paris, auteur d’Un antifascisme de combat. Armer l’Espagne révolutionnaire (1936-1939), éditions du Détour, 2024. La défaite républicaine (1:30)Le Front populaire français face à la guerre civile (11:30)Achats e ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 2023
The Americans Fighting In Spain (1938) w/ Adam Hochschild
It’s October 31st. This day in 1938, hundreds of thousands gather in Barcelona, Spain, to say thanks and bid farewell to the thousands of foreign volunteers who had come to join the fight in the Spanish Civil War. Jody, NIki, and Kellie are joined by author Adam Hochschild to dis ... Show More
27m 21s
Jun 2024
Bolivian leader condemns coup attempt in La Paz
The president of Bolivia, Luis Arce, seems to have defeated a military coup attempt in the city. He later made a social media address from inside the presidential palace, a short time after a tank knocked down a main gate, allowing troops to enter the complex. Also: Sunak and Sta ... Show More
28m 8s
Sep 2018
Spain's Foreign Minister - Josep Borrell
Does Spain's new government have any fresh solutions for the country's problems? HARDtalk speaks to Spain’s Foreign Minister Josep Borrell about a tumultuous year for the country, dominated by the prolonged political stand-off in Catalonia and a series of scandals in Madrid which ... Show More
23m 18s
Feb 2024
Jacobin Radio: A Talk on Latin American Revolts
Chilean writer and activist Pablo Abufom spoke at UCLA on February 23, 2024 about how the October 2019 social revolt in Chile propelled Gabriel Boric to power, created a Constituent Assembly to write a new Constitution, but was then defeated, with reactionary neo-fascist forces n ... Show More
1h 17m
Jul 2023
Spain's lurch to the right
The government of Socialist leader Pedro Sánchez looks set to lose Sunday's elections to the centre-right People's party. But the PP may be unable to form a government without the participation of the hard-right party Vox. Henry Mance, standing in for Gideon Rachman, discusses wh ... Show More
26m 46s