The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement aroused suspicions and strong reactions among the government's opponents on the right. Although the nationalist generals were already planning an uprising, the event was a catalyst and a public justification for a coup. Stanley Payne claims that before these events, the idea of rebellion by army officers against the government had weakened; Mola had estimated that only 12% of officers reliably supported the coup and at one point considered fleeing the country for fear he was already compromised, and had to be convinced to remain by his co-conspirators.
The killing of Calvo Sotelo with police involvement sparked suspicions and strong reactions among right-wing government opponents. Although nationalist generals were already planning an uprising, this event became a catalyst for public justification of a coup. Stanley Payne suggests that before these events, the idea of military officers rebelling against the government had weakened; Mola estimated that only 12% of officers supported the coup and at one point considered fleeing due to fear of being compromised, needing encouragement from his co-conspirators.