“Olivenza is Portuguese, of course. And it is not a provocation,” said the Portuguese Minister of Defence, Nuno Melo, in a blunt tone during a visit to the nearby town of Estremoz. Melo was questioned by journalists who attended an event in this town and he said that the Portuguese State does not recognise Olivenza as Spanish territory.
Located 24 kilometres from Badajoz and 11 from the Guadiana River, Olivenza was handed over to Portugal by the Crown of Castile in 1297, through the Treaty of Alcañices. In 1801 it returned to Spanish sovereignty after the War of the Oranges and the signing of the Treaty of Badajoz. For the Portuguese minister, this is not a “caricature” issue, adding that Portugal “does not renounce” its rights.
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The mayor of the Badajoz town of Olivenza, Manuel José González Andrade, has urged this Saturday the Minister of National Defense of Portugal, Nuno Melo, to abandon “speeches that raise walls and cause divisions”, following the demand made by the Portuguese this past Friday to Spain to hand over the town located near the border between both countries.
“Olivenza has a shared history that she is very proud of because it makes us unique,” González Andrade said in a message on social media, calling on the Portuguese defence minister to “continue working” to “seek a future of opportunities together.”
Likewise, the former president of the Regional Government of Extremadura, who is also originally from Olivenza, Guillermo Fernández Vara, has claimed that the town in Badajoz is an “Extremaduran and Spanish city, proud of its Portuguese past.”
“We feel like ‘children of Spain and grandchildren of Portugal’. The borders of yesterday are today bridges that build the Europe to which we belong together,” the former socialist regional leader stressed through his X account (formerly Twitter).
Last Friday, Melo claimed the town of Olivenza as a Portuguese municipality “by treaty”, assuring that his claim to Spain is a “fair” right and not a “provocation”.
Specifically, the Portuguese minister referred to the Treaty of Alcañices, signed by the Crown of Castile and the Kingdom of Portugal in 1297, which stated that the Portuguese State does not recognise Olivenza as Spanish territory.
