# The map of published opinion in Portugal (Portugal · opinion · 2026)

> A study by the Observatório de Viés Noticioso (Paulo Querido, published on polimeme.com, 2026) measuring, for the first time with data, who writes the published opinion in the Portuguese press and where on the political spectrum they sit. It analysed a corpus of ~111,000 opinion articles (2014–2026) from 13 outlets and classified 215 active columnists on a −6 (left) to +6 (right) scale calibrated to the Portuguese spectrum, plus ten value axes, affective register and textual-bias mechanisms. This is Part 1 of two; Part 2 watches the homepages. The study documents are written in European Portuguese.

Author: Paulo Querido · Original publication: VamoLáVer · Authoritative host: polimeme.com · Date: July 2026 · Page: https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/

Method principles (essential for interpreting any result):
- Classification was done by a language model (Claude Sonnet, Anthropic) and derives EXCLUSIVELY from the texts — no position without a supporting quote from the corpus.
- The scale measures position on the political spectrum, NOT anti-system radicalism; numeric equivalence between the poles is not political equivalence.
- The map counts available voices, not voices heard; systematic human validation is ongoing.

Key findings: 44% of columnists lean left, 46% right, 10% centre (aggregate balance, a slight right edge); the most right-leaning panels are Observador (+2.8), ECO, Negócios and Sol, with Expresso at the centre (0.0); 92% write in a declinist register; the commentariat is on average elitist, pro-European and constitutionalist; populism barely writes columns; 77% of columnists are men and the right is written almost entirely by men.

## Study

- [The study, full text](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/estudo.md): the published analysis, from aggregate findings to group portraits (in Portuguese).
- [Methodology](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/metodologia.md): corpus, author selection, the −6/+6 scale with Portuguese anchors, the ten value axes, bias mechanisms, confidence and limitations (in Portuguese).
- [Aggregate results](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/resultados.md): the number sheet — distribution, position by outlet, axis correlations, most praised and most attacked actors, gender imbalance (in Portuguese).

## Data and reference

- [The 215-author dataset](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/dataset.md): description, schema and download of the structured data (in Portuguese).
- [Structured data (JSON)](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/opinion_makers.json): the 215 authors with political position, value axes, textual bias, actors and supporting quotes.
- [Glossary](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/glossario.md): definitions of every term and field (in Portuguese).
- [FAQ](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/faq.md): answers to the most likely questions about the study (in Portuguese).

## Optional

- [Single document, everything concatenated](https://polimeme.com/studies/portugal-opinion-2026/llms-full.txt): study, method, results, glossary and FAQ in one file (in Portuguese).