autogolpe

[ aw-toh-gawl-pey ]

noun

, Spanish.

1. self-coup:

   One of the justifications he made for his autogolpe in 1992 was his indictment of the corruption within the judiciary.

Word History and Origins

Origin of autogolpe¹

First recorded in 1970–75; from Spanish auto- auto- ¹( def ) + golpe “a hit” (from Latin colaphus, from Greek kólaphos ); coup ¹( def )

Example Sentences

They compared it to the 1992 "autogolpe", the Spanish word meaning "self-coup", which is used to describe the actions of President Alberto Fujimori, who successfully dissolved Congress and the judiciary with the backing of the military.

From BBC

Technically, the coup experts pointed out, if Trump did seize another term, the correct term would be “autogolpe,” not “coup,” since he would simply be an existing president extending his own rule, rather than an outsider overthrowing an incumbent.

From Slate

Some said he is tiptoeing toward an “autogolpe,” a Spanish term popularized in Latin America to describe a “self-coup” attempted by leaders who came to power legally and acted outside the law to try to maintain it.

From Washington Post

Chin said the data are less reliable for autogolpes — which do not have an agreed-upon academic definition — but he estimated a separate 148 autogolpe attempts since 1946, of which 110 took place in autocracies and 38 in democracies.

From Washington Post

The fight over the legitimacy of the 2020 election and the dangers of an American autogolpe only make that work harder.

From Slate