The Coronelismo is a phenomenon of Brazilian politics that occurred during the First Republic.
It is characterized by a person, the colonel, who held economic power and exercised local power through violence and exchanges of favors.
Origin
The word Coronelismo is, in fact, a Brazilianization of the rank of colonel in the National Guard.
The position was used to name the positions to which the local elites could occupy within the Brazilian military and social level.
This phenomenon began during the Regency Period (1831-1842).
As the Empire of Brazil found itself without a strong and centralized army, the government appealed to local leaders to form regional militias and thus fight the rebellions that were taking place in the country.
Colonel Fabriciano received his letter patent as lieutenant colonel for the district of Piracicaba, in 1888
At that time, military posts such as lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel and colonel of the National Guard were put up for sale.
Thus, to join this elite, it was necessary to have ample resources. The colonel should assume the cost of uniforms and weapons in the amount of 200 thousand réis of annual income in the cities and 100 thousand réis in the countryside.
In the eyes of the local population, being a colonel was equivalent to having a noble title and came to legitimize many of the actions of local chiefs.
This process begins at the municipal level and establishes the colonel's domination over public power. Add to this the patriarchal traditions and the archaism of the agricultural structure in the remote interior of Brazil.
The phenomenon of the colonel's power was so present that it is confused with other related terms, such as mandonism, clientelism and even feudalism. In Hispanic America we find similarity with caudillismo.
Characteristics
This political elite was made up of merchants, large landowners and local political leaders. They were able to exert influence over the local population as undisputed authorities.
Colonels could recruit people to make up the government's military force. In this way, they could maintain the pillars of political exclusion and control over the spaces of political representation.
At the local level, the colonels employed militias to repress and thus maintain social order, while preserving their own interests.
For their part, these men distributed benefits, sponsored the feast of the local saint, were godfathers to countless children born in their lands and gave cattle to the most outstanding cowboys. Thus, they established a relationship of dependence and fear with the employees, called clientelism.
Colonel Chico Heraclio ordered the city of Limoeiro (PE) and stated that the elections in his city "had to be done by me "
The territories politically controlled by the colonels were called “electoral corrals”. In them, anyone who refused to vote for the candidate sponsored by the colonel could suffer physical violence and even die. This method became known as the Halter Vow.
Governors' Policy and Coronelismo
The First Republic was characterized by the Politics of the Governors.
At the time, there were no national parties, only regional ones. Thus, the governors of each province should form alliances with their local allies to ensure they perform well at the polls.
That's why it was so important to please the colonels who controlled the cities and didn't let the opposition win.
These alliances were also reflected at the national level when governors came together to elect a certain candidate.
Learn more about Governors Policy
Decadence of Coronelismo
Despite all the hegemony during the Old Republic, coronelismo lost ground with the modernization of urban centers, as well as the rise of new social groups.
Likewise, the Revolution of 1930, led by Getúlio Vargas, put an end to this way of doing politics.
However, until today we can verify its influence in Brazil when perceiving the dominance of the same family in certain Brazilian regions.
Curiosities
- Brazilian dramaturgy portrayed several colonels. One of the most famous was Odorico Paraguaçu, mayor of the fictional Sucupira, a character in the play “Odorico, O bem-amado ”, written in 1969 by Dias Gomes.
- Comedian Chico Anysio created a character, Colonel Limoeiro, inspired by Colonel Chico Heráclio.
- In literature, the Bahian author Jorge Amado has largely described the power of the colonels in several works such as “Tereza Batista, tired of war ”, among others.
Read more:
- Regency Period
- Additional Act of 1834
- Old Republic
- Customerism
- Oligarchy