Milk coffee politics or ''café com leite'' politics () is a term that refers to the domination of Brazilian politics under the so-called Old Republic (1889–1930) by the landed gentries of

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

(dominated by the coffee industry) and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

(dominated by the

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

industry), being represented by the Paulista Republican Party (PRP) and the Minas Republican Party (PRM). The name alludes to the popular coffee beverage ''café com leite'', " milk coffee", referring to the states' respectively dominant industry.

History

Under Brazil's Old Republic, the patron-client political machines of the countryside enabled agrarian oligarchs, especially coffee planters in the state of São Paulo, to dominate state structures to their advantage, particularly the weak central state structures that effectively devolved power to local agrarian oligarchies. Under the Old Republic, the coffee with milk politics rested on the domination of the republic's politics by the states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais — the largest in terms of population and wealth. One can illustrate the extent of that domination by noting that the first presidents of the republic were from São Paulo and thereafter succeeded by an alternation between the outgoing governors of the two leading states in the presidency. The coffee with milk politics rested on an oligarchic system known as

coronelism Coronelism, from the term ''Coronelismo'' () was the Brazilian political machine during the Old Republic (1889–1930), also known as the "rule of the coronels", responsible for the centralization of the political power in the hands of a loc ...

. Known as the "rule of the

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

s", this term referred to the classic boss system under which the control of patronage was centralized in the hands of a locally dominant oligarch known as a "colonel", particularly under Brazil's Old Republic, who would dispense favors in return for loyalty. Meanwhile, other states resented this grip on the central state by São Paulo and Minas Gerais. The severe drought of 1877 in the Northeast and the ensuing economic collapse — along with the abolition of slavery in 1888 — propelled the mass labor migration of emancipated slaves and other peasants from Northeast to Southeast, precipitating the decay of established sugar oligarchies of the North. With the concurrent growth of coffee in the Southeast, São Paulo, now emerging as the central state, began to increase in power under the Old Republic. Northeastern landowners bitterly opposed rival oligarchs in São Paulo, explaining their role in the

Revolution of 1930 The Revolution of 1930 () was an armed insurrection across Brazil that ended the Old Republic. The revolution replaced incumbent President Washington Luís with defeated presidential candidate and revolutionary leader Getúlio Vargas, concludi ...

. There were more cases of organized political opposition to the coffee with milk politics before the

, such as the 1910 presidential election, disputed by Hermes da Fonseca ( PRC), supported by Minas Gerais, and

Ruy Barbosa Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician. Born in Salvador, Bahia, and a distinguished and staunch defender of civil liberties and ...

( PRP), endorsed by São Paulo by means of the ; the election of

Epitácio Pessoa Epitácio Lindolfo da Silva Pessoa (; 23 May 1865 – 13 February 1942) was a Brazilian politician and jurist who served as 11th president of Brazil between 1919 and 1922, when Rodrigues Alves was unable to take office due to illness, after being ...

( PRM) in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

; and the creation of the

Liberator Party The Liberator Party was a right-wing political party in Guyana. History The party was established in 1972 as a split from the United Force (TUF), and was led by Fielden Singh, who had been leader of the TUF until being suspended.Euclid A Rose (2 ...

(PL) in 1928, in Rio Grande do Sul. In time, growing trade, commerce, and industry in São Paulo would serve to undermine the domination of the republic's politics by the landed gentries of the same state (dominated by the coffee industry) and Minas Gerais (dominated by dairy interests) — known then by observers as the politics of ''café com leite''. Under

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Braz ...

, ushered into power by the middle class and agrarian oligarchies of peripheral states resentful of the coffee oligarchs, Brazil moved toward a more centralized state structure that has served to regularize and modernize state governments, moving toward more universal suffrage and secret ballots.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffe with milk politics Coffee with milk politics Coffe with milk politics Coffe with milk politics Coffe with milk politics Coffe with milk politics Coffe with milk politics Coffe with milk politics First Brazilian Republic

History

See also

References