Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced on Monday, February 23rd, that classified documents pertaining to the attempted coup d'état of February 23, 1981, will be declassified and made publicly available on the government's website forty-five years later. This move aims to settle a historical debt to citizens and allow them to understand their past to build a freer future. The 1981 coup saw Lieutenant Colonel Antonio Tejero storm the Spanish parliament with armed guards, taking elected officials hostage. The failed coup, which King Juan Carlos I played a crucial role in thwarting, is considered by some, like writer Javier Cercas, as the foundational myth of Spanish democracy, marking the end of military interventionism and the true beginning of democracy in Spain. The declassification is expected to be validated by the Council of Ministers on Tuesday and take effect on Wednesday.