 With the "africanists" comprising only a minority, it was clear that it was only a matter of time before the "abandonistas" forced the Spanish to give up on the Rif, which was part of the reason for the military coup d'état later in 1923.On September 13, 1923, General Miguel Primo de Rivera, 2nd Marqués de Estella, seized power in a military coup d'état.General Primo de Rivera was in the words of the American journalist James Perry a "moderate dictator" who was convinced that the divisions between the "africanists" vs. the "abandonistas" had pushed Spain to the brink of civil war, and who had seized power to find a way out of the crisis.