pronunciamento n : a public declaration of intentions (as issued by a political party or government) [syn: manifesto]

Pronunciamento (from Spanish pronunciamiento, 'proclamation') is a declaration by which a military coup d'état, i.e. a declare attempt to establish a military dictatorship, is made official.

In a pronunciamento, a group of officers (if under collective leadership, a junta) declares their opposition to the current government (which may be legal or itself the result of a previous coup), and then waits for the rest of the army to declare for or against the government. There is no fighting at this point; if the rebellion has no support, the losers give up and flee the country or retire. If the bulk of the army declares in favor of the rebellion, the government resigns. It is similar to a vote of no confidence, except by the army not the legislature. Of course such an illegal procedure increases the likelihood of another military faction to make a bid for power later on, and if the reasons that made the previous government vulnerable aren't dealt with (which military dictatorships rarely achieve) coups may follow each other.

The "sanjurjada" by José Sanjurjo in Spain, 1932 is an example of (failed) pronunciamento.