Coronelism, from the term ''Coronelismo'' (), was the Brazilian

political machine In the politics of representative democracies, a political machine is a party organization that recruits its members by the use of tangible incentives (such as money or political jobs) and that is characterized by a high degree of leadership c ...

during the Old Republic (1889–1930), also known as the "rule of the colonels", responsible for the centralization of political power in the hands of a locally dominant oligarch, known as a ''coronel'', who would dispense favors in return for loyalty. The patron-client political machines of the countryside enabled agrarian oligarchs, especially

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

planters in the dominant state of

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, to dominate state structures to their advantage, particularly the weak central state structures that effectively devolved power to local agrarian oligarchies. In time, growing trade, commerce, and industry in São Paulo state would serve to undermine the domination of the republic's politics by the São Paulo landed gentry (dominated by the coffee industry) and

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...

(another major coffee producing state, but noted for the size of its dairy industry)—known then by observers as the coffee with milk (''café com leite)'' politics. Under Getúlio Vargas, Brazil moved toward a more centralized state structure that has served to regularize and modernize state governments, moving toward

universal suffrage Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...

and

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

s, gradually freeing Brazilian politics from the grips of ''coronelismo''. However, the legacy of the oligarchies is still strongly visible in what is described as Neo-Coronelism or electronic coronelism. Brazilian politics is still known for being highly patrimonial, oligarchic, and personalistic.

References

Coffee with milk politics Political history of Brazil Oligarchy {{Brazil-hist-stub

See also

References