The record is factual and journalistic. Each sheet indicates the position, institutional role and publicly declared position. Lack of public statement is, in itself, recordable information.
Government
Luís Montenegro
Position: Prime Minister, XXV Constitutional Government.
Role in the case: head of the Government that approved, in May 2024, through the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 66/2024, the location of the new Lisbon airport at the Alcochete Firing Range. This decision originated the need to relocate the military firing range.
Declared position: no specific public statement on the choice of Alter do Chão. The decision-making chain was validated through the Council of Ministers resolutions.
Nuno Melo
Position: Minister of National Defence, XXV Constitutional Government.
Role in the case: publicly announced the choice. On 11 March 2026, he stated in a press conference in Lisbon that the new Firing Range would be installed in Alter do Chão.
Declared position: defends the evacuation of Alcochete for the construction of the airport and describes the firing range as an "opportunity" for Alter do Chão. Regarding the legally required studies, he stated that "impact studies and others (...) are those that come from the law and will be carried out" ( comunicado portugal.gov.pt, 12 March 2026).
Nuno Pinheiro Torres
Position: Deputy Secretary of State for National Defence Policy, XXV Constitutional Government.
Role in the case: was present in political representation of the Ministry of National Defence at the press conference on 11 March 2026.
Declared position: no autonomous statement. Present in coherence with the Minister's position.
Armed Forces
General João Cartaxo Alves
Position: Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (CEMGFA), since 2 March 2026.
Role in the case: present at the press conference on 11 March 2026 as CEMGFA, nine days after his appointment.
Declared position: no autonomous public statement.
General Sérgio Costa Pereira
Position: Chief of the Air Force General Staff (CEMFA), since the reorganisation of 2 March 2026.
Role in the case: present at the press conference on 11 March. The Air Force is the branch responsible for the prior studies of the relocation, whose presentation is scheduled for the 1st semester of 2026.
Declared position: no autonomous public statement.
General Eduardo Mendes Ferrão
Position: Chief of the Army General Staff (CEME), renewed for another two years on 2 March 2026.
Declared position: no specific public statement on the case.
António José de Morais Baptista
Position: Director-General of Armament and National Defence Heritage (DGAPDN) since August 2025, in a replacement regime (Dispatch no. 8956/2025, of 31 July).
Previous professional career: chief of staff of the Secretary of State for Defence. Before that, and since 1 September 2021, he was head of the Human Resources Management division of the Alter do Chão Municipality, in a public employment commission. Graduated in Law from the Modern University of Lisbon.
Role in the case: leads the entity to which the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 111/2025 attributes competence for the subsequent administrative acts, including possible expropriations of the affected properties.
Declared position: no autonomous public statement on the case.
Directorate-General of Armament and National Defence Heritage (DGAPDN)
Position: Directorate-General of the Ministry of National Defence.
Role in the case: the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 111/2025 attributes to it the competence for the subsequent administrative acts, including "possible expropriations". It will be up to the DGAPDN to conduct the expropriation procedure when it moves forward.
Declared position: no autonomous public statement.
Municipality of Alter do Chão
Francisco Miranda
Position: Mayor of the Alter do Chão Municipality.
Declared position: on 11 March 2026, he was present at the press conference in Lisbon and thanked the Minister for the "strategic and political vision", stating he was "convinced that the new firing range will boost his municipality". On 1 May 2026, in a public interview, he stated that he "has not yet accepted" the project and is waiting for the studies. In a TV report on 21 April 2026, he presented the IC13 as a counterpart to the transfer, referring to the 2013 Preliminary Study.
Municipal Assembly of Alter do Chão
Position: Deliberative body of the municipality.
Role in the case: on 30 June 2023, it unanimously approved the Amendment to the 1st Review of the PDM, under a proposal by the Council chaired by Francisco Miranda. The approved regulation classifies the area targeted by the project as a Forest Conservation Area and prohibits, in article 17, no. 6, new construction in that category. On 30 April 2026, it debated the issue without producing a formal decision of opposition.
Declared position: no formal decision after the announcement. The Mayor, in the debate on 30 April, acknowledged "not having all the information yet".
District of Portalegre
Fermelinda Carvalho
Main position: Mayor of Portalegre Municipality (PPD/PSD-CDS-PP), re-elected on 12 October 2025 with 63.03 per cent of the votes, in absolute majority for the 2025-2029 term.
Other relevant positions:
- Vice-President of CIMAA, Intermunicipal Community of Alto Alentejo, since November 2025.
- President of AADP, Association of Farmers of the District of Portalegre.
- Vice-President of the General Assembly of CAP, Confederation of Farmers of Portugal, elected in May 2026.
- Former President of the Advisory Council of Women Farmers of CAP (2018-2021).
- Alternate member of the Council of State for PSD (2025).
Declared position: on 26 June 2026, at the Portalegre Municipal Assembly, she took part in the debate on three motions about the firing range without taking a position of opposition to the project, stating that the choice of location is not up to the municipality. The Assembly, with a PSD/CDS majority, approved the PSD/CDS motion, which refers the matter to the Intermunicipal Community of the Alto Alentejo, and rejected the motions from Chega and CLIP, which opposed the installation.
Chega listed her expressly among the entities to be heard in the request for parliamentary hearings presented on 29 April 2026.
CIMAA, Intermunicipal Community of Alto Alentejo
Position: intermunicipal structure that aggregates the fifteen municipalities of Alto Alentejo. Presided by Joaquim Diogo (PS, Crato). Vice-Presidencies of Fermelinda Carvalho (PSD/CDS, Portalegre) and Manuel Coelho (CDU, Avis).
Declared position: the matter was referred to it by the Municipal Assembly of Portalegre on 26 June 2026; in July 2026, the CIMAA decided to set up a commission with the mayors of the affected municipalities to follow the process.
AADP, Association of Farmers of the District of Portalegre
Position: associative structure of the district's farmers. Presided by Fermelinda Carvalho.
Posição declarada: sem pronúncia pública formal registada sobre o caso até à data.
Coudelaria de Alter
Coudelaria de Alter
Position: public institution under the tutelage of the Ministry of Agriculture, founded in 1748. It is the central institution of the Portuguese Equestrian Art, inscribed by UNESCO on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on 3 December 2024.
Role in the case: lies in the municipality of Alter do Chão, the same one the State chose for the firing range, without the manager of the UNESCO asset having been formally consulted.
Declared position: has not issued, to date, a public position on the project.
Parties with parliamentary initiative
Bloco de Esquerda
Role in the case: on 18 March 2026, it raised the question in Parliament about the choice of Alter do Chão. First parliamentary group to question the Government about the case.
Declared position: of active scrutiny, demanding technical and procedural clarifications.
Partido Socialista
Role in the case: on 25 April 2026 presented a parliamentary initiative led by MP Luís Testa and four other MPs, with nine questions addressed to the Government.
Declared position: demands procedural, technical and financial clarification of the decision.
Partido Comunista Português
Role in the case: on 30 March 2026, through its Portalegre Regional Organisation, submitted formal questions to the Government about the exact location of the land, identification of affected farmers, compatibility with the Pisão Dam, compatibility with the Alter Real Royal Stud, impact on regional tourism, and incompatibility with the Ponte de Sor Municipal Aerodrome.
Declared position: active monitoring in six specific areas.
Chega
Role in the case: on 29 April 2026, requested, through MP Pedro Pinto and four others, parliamentary hearings in the Defence, Agriculture and Fisheries, and Environment and Energy Committees, with a detailed list of entities to be heard.
Declared position: demands scrutiny in three parliamentary committees and formal hearing of local authorities, environmental organisations and farmer representatives.
Civil society and associativism
SPEA, FAPAS and Quercus
Role: three of the main Portuguese non-governmental organisations in the field of nature conservation.
Declared position: publicly spoke out against the location, in statements collected by the press (PÚBLICO report, 16 March 2026), warning of the impact on the threatened steppe birds and on the Natura 2000 network.
Joana Caldeira Valverde de Azeredo Vasconcelos
Role: first signatory of Public Petition PT130367.
Role in the case: launched, on 28 April 2026, the petition "Alter do Chão, Não ao Campo de Tiro" on the peticaopublica.com portal. The petition exceeded the threshold of one thousand signatures that requires publication in the Assembly of the Republic's Journal and a hearing of the petitioners in committee.
Declared position: active opposition.
Affected farmers
Role: farmers of agricultural farms in the identified perimeter.
Declared position: active opposition, formalised in the public petition and in their own meetings. In the process of forming a formal association for joint technical, legal and media representation.
Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente (APA)
Role: national environmental authority.
Role in the case: competent entity for conducting the Environmental Impact Assessment when the procedure is formally opened. The public consultation will take place on the participa.pt portal.
Declared position: no record of the process to date on the participa.pt portal.
