The Comando Operacional do Continente (COPCON, ) was a military command for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

created by the

Armed Forces Movement 230px, A mural dedicated to the MFA, it reads: "Towards freedom. Long live the 25th of April!" The Armed Forces Movement (; MFA) was an organization of lower-ranking officers in the Portuguese Armed Forces. It was responsible for instigating th ...

in the period following the revolution of 25 April 1974 and was dissolved after the failed far left

coup of 25 November 1975 The Coup of 25 November 1975 (usually referred to as the ' in Portugal) was a military movement led by parts of the Portuguese Armed Forces, whose outcome would later lead to the end of the Ongoing Revolutionary Process (PREC) and to a stabiliz ...

. COPCON was created on 8 July 1974 by President

António de Spínola António Sebastião Ribeiro de Spínola (; 11 April 1910 – 13 August 1996) was a Portuguese military officer, author and conservative politician. During the Estado Novo he became one of the most senior military commanders, leading milita ...

, with the aim of protecting the democratic process initiated by the Carnation Revolution. It consisted of special military forces such as

marines Marines (or naval infantry) are military personnel generally trained to operate on both land and sea, with a particular focus on amphibious warfare. Historically, the main tasks undertaken by marines have included Raid (military), raiding ashor ...

paratroopers A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light inf ...

commandos A commando is a combatant, or operative of an elite light infantry or special operations force, specially trained for carrying out raids and operating in small teams behind enemy lines. Originally, "a commando" was a type of combat unit, as opp ...

, military police. Copcon chief

Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, Order of Liberty, GCL (; 31 August 1936 – 25 July 2021) was a Portuguese military officer. He was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, and later became a terrorist leader. After the Re ...

, accumulated Copcon with the command of the Military Region of Lisbon, assuming himself as one of the drivers of the Revolutionary Process also known as PREC. He was one considered to be of the most powerful persons during this revolutionary period. Otelo and Copcon gained prominence after the revolution of March 11, 1975, and during almost the entire revolutionary period known as PREC. Copcon was responsible for issuing several blank arrest warrants and for the indiscriminate arrest of thousands of people, without any formal charges or court order, but with charges such as economic sabotage. He was also backing land occupation in

Alentejo Alentejo ( , , ) is a geographical, historical, and cultural region of south–central and southern Portugal. In Portuguese, its name means "beyond the Tagus" (). Alentejo includes the regions of Alto Alentejo Province, Alto Alentejo and Bai ...

and house occupation mostly in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. Also famous was the arrest of around 400 far left MRPP militants on 28 May 1975. In August 1975, the “Documento dos Nove” was published in a newspaper. It was also known as Melo Antunes Document and had unpredictable effects both in the military and in the civil field. It constituted a common platform for all those who, dissatisfied with the growing hegemony of the Communist Party within Vasco Gonçalves government as well as the far-left radical groups allied with the Copcon. It advocated a change in the course taken by the government as well as the overall revolutionary process. In response, COPCON officials published the document “Copcon's Revolutionary Self-Criticism/Work Proposal for a Political Programme”. This proposed a radical political model based on grassroots popular power and would later have the support of the far left parties like PRP/BR, the MES and the UDP. In September 1975, Otelo was relieved of his duties at Copcon with the creation of the AMI (Military Intervention Group) and on 20 November, he was replaced in command of the Lisbon Military Region by Vasco Lourenço.

References

Carnation Revolution Portuguese Army {{Portugal-stub