1931 Salvadoran coup d'état

1931 Salvadoran coup d’état
	; The military leaders of the coup
Date	2 December 1931
Location	El Salvador
Result	Coup successful President Arturo Araujo overthrown; Civic Directory established;
Belligerents
Salvadoran government Presidential Guard; ;	Armed Forces Salvadoran Army; Salvadoran Air Force; National Guard; ;
Commanders and leaders
Arturo Araujo	Osmín Aguirre; Joaquín Valdés;
Casualties and losses
At least 1 killed	Unknown

The 1931 Salvadoran coup d'état occurred on 2 December 1931 when the Armed Forces of El Salvador overthrew President Arturo Araujo. The Civic Directory (a military junta) ruled El Salvador for two days after the coup until it relinquished power to General Maximiliano Hernández Martínez, Araujo's vice president and minister of war, the navy, and aviation.

Economic troubles resulting from the Great Depression weakened Araujo's government and forced it to take out loans to finance itself. The government's economic measures were unpopular with both the Salvadoran people and the armed forces. When Araujo's government suspended all military payments in August 1931, the military began plotting to overthrow Araujo. The military moved to overthrow Araujo on 2 December 1931, and Araujo was forced to flee the country two days later after failing to launch a countercoup.

The coup began five decades of military rule in El Salvador that lasted until the 1979 Salvadoran coup d'état.