Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca is known to have been the first president from Brazil . He was at the head of the post from 1889 to 1891, and his government is divided by historians into two phases:a provisional and another constitutional . Deodoro da Fonseca's government was marked by the marshal's authoritarian initiatives, which ended up eroding his position as president and leading to his resignation.
How did Deodoro become president of Brazil?
It was theProclamation of the Republic which resulted in the choice of the marshal as Brazilian president in 1889. This event occurred due to the progressive weakening of the monarchy's influence in the Army and among São Paulo coffee growers, groups that, for specific interests, started to support the republic.
Deodoro da Fonseca was a monarchist military and friend of d. Pedro II, but in the week of the coup that overthrew the monarchy he was convinced by republicanists, such as Benjamin Constant, to join the conspiracy that was underway. On the 15th, the marshal mobilized troops and overthrew the Ministerial Cabinet, which was led by the Viscount of Ouro Preto.
The overthrow of the cabinet, however, did not represent the end of the monarchy in Brazil. The proclamation only took place at the end and was carried out by Joseph from Sponsorship , councilor of the City Council of Rio de Janeiro. This led to the formation of a provisional government, and that government chose to nominate Deodoro da Fonseca as president of Brazil.
Deodoro da Fonseca Government (1889-1891)
The marshal was the first president in the history of Brazil and, with his government, a period began from transition, which spanned ten years. This transition was marked by political and economic crises. In the early days of Deodoro's government, for example, there was a very intense political dispute.
One of the political groups was the positivists, a very strong ideology among the military and lawyers who defended the installation of a military dictatorship in the country. The central idea was to carry out the modernization of the country through authoritarianism. The other group were the liberals, who advocated the creation of a Constituent Assembly to draft a Constitution and inaugurate a liberal republic in the country with a focus on individual liberties.
Login also :Meet the great name behind positivism and considered the father of sociology
With regard to Deodoro da Fonseca's government, as mentioned, we can divide it into two phases:provisional and constitutional government. In this text, we will look at the two phases.
-
Interim Government
The government was extended for fifteen months, and the dispute between liberals and positivists to define the course of the country was intense. Another important issue of this phase was the government's concern to replace (or erase)old monarchical symbols by new republican symbols. Thus, with the proclamation, several toponyms were changed by the new government.
In addition to deconstructing monarchical symbols, the new government also needed to provide political support for itself. Therefore, institutions monarchical , like the Cabinet Minister, were extinct, and the administrative positions of the republican government were occupied by republicans, such as Quintino Bocaiuva, Demétrio Ribeiro and Campos Sales.
To prevent the national territory from fragmenting, the Large was approved Naturalization, that is, the naturalization of all foreigners residing in the country at that time. The separation of State and Church was also determined in that government.
The dispute between positivists and liberals resulted in the victory of liberals, who managed to convene a Constituent Assembly to formulate a new Constitution for Brazil. During the drafting of this Constitution, the country faced a serious economic crisis, which continued to affect the country until almost the end of the 1890s.
-
Scissors
In addition to all the political crisis that marked the change in the regime, the government of Deodoro da Fonseca faced one of the most serious economic crises in our history:the encilhamento . This crisis was a consequence of the actions taken by Rui Beard , while occupying the Ministry of Finance.
At the time, the country was undergoing major transformations, and one of the most sensitive was the abolition of slave labor of blacks, which took place in 1888. Abolition had given freedom to approximately 700,000 people, which made the demand for paper money very high. As the amount of paper money in circulation was insufficient, the minister decided to promote changes.
With this, on January 17, 1890, the Law was passed Banking – the passage of the law took place without the knowledge of the president. With this law, Rui Barbosa allowed private banks to issue paper money. In addition, mechanisms were created to promote the country's economic development and encourage the capital market.
The result was terrible. A series of corporations began to appear in the country, speculation on the stock exchange soared and an idea of false prosperity was created. When this bubble burst, the corporations that emerged began to go bankrupt, and the Brazilian currency began to lose value amid inflation very high .
Login also :Discover the story of the biggest crisis in the history of capitalism
-
Constitutional Government
The constitutional phase of Deodoro da Fonseca's government was the result of the promulgation of a new Constitution for Brazil. This Constitution, in turn, was the result of the formation of a Constituent Assembly, which took office in December 1890 and was made up of members of the country's economic elite and some members of the middle class.
The Constituent Assembly ended up writing the new Constitution of Brazil, and its enactment happened in February from 1891 . The new Constitution brought significant changes to the country – in relation to the monarchic period – and reflected the exclusionary nature of the interests of the elites that governed the country.
With the Constitution, it was determined that the country would be a republic presidential, with a four-year presidential term without the right to reelection; the universal male suffrage was determined, but the illiterate were excluded; there was the separation official between Church and Status, and federalism was implemented, bringing some autonomy to the Brazilian states.
Once the new Constitution was promulgated, an indirect presidential election was held. Lawmakers voted separately for president and vice president. The candidates for president were Deodoro da Fonseca and Prudente de Morais; for vice president, Eduardo Wanderkolk (supported by Deodoro) and Floriano Peixoto (supported by Prudente).
The elected were Deodoro da Fonseca , with 129 votes, and Florian Peixoto, with 153 votes. This marked the beginning of Deodoro's constitutional government, but this phase only lasted until November, as growing disagreements of the president with the Legislature ended up undermining his position, causing him to run out of support.
The members of the Constituent Assembly ended up becoming members of the National Congress when the 1891 Constitution was enacted. The president's problems with Congress stemmed from the fact that Deodoro wanted to govern in a centralized way. and authoritative without having to depend on the scrutiny of parliamentarians.
Also visit :Discover the history of the period that began with the Proclamation of the Republic
-
How did Deodoro da Fonseca's government end?
Throughout 1891, as mentioned, the president became increasingly uncomfortable with Brazilian parliamentarians. Deodoro's authoritarianism was the big problem, and this intensified political disputes in the country. Deodoro da Fonseca, in addition to being authoritarian, had no political tact .
He sought to name a series of “indemnists ” (conservatives who supported the monarchy and who came to support republicanism after the abolition of slaves) for positions such as state president, for example. These actions displeased the historical republicans – the politicians who historically were republicanists.
One of the nominations that generated the most repercussion was that of Barão de Lucena to the Ministry of Labour, a well-known monarchist of the time. His appointment to the Ministry of Labor outraged Brazilian republicans. In the clash against the president, the parliamentarians tried to pass, in the second half of 1891, the Law of Responsibilities, which reduced presidential powers.
The president's response was authoritative. In November, he announced the closure and the dissolve from Congress, and the civil and military reaction was immediate. A political resistance movement against the president's action was organized; a railroad strike broke out in Rio de Janeiro, and the Armada rebelled, demanded the reopening of Congress and threatened to bomb Rio de Janeiro if Congress did not reopen.
Corrected and fearing that the country would plunge into civil war, the president ended up resigning on November 23, 1889. His deputy, Floriano Peixoto, assumed the presidency – in a kind of agreement between Floriano and the parliamentarians – as a way of guaranteeing stability to Brazil.