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 co ...

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 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 drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world. Seeds of ...

planters in the dominant state 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 GaW ...

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 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 dairy interests)—known then by observers as the coffee with milk (''café com leite)'' politics. 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 Brazi ...

, Brazil moved toward a more centralized state structure that has served to regularize and modernize state governments, moving toward

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...

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 vo ...

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 First Brazilian Republic Political history of Brazil Oligarchy {{Brazil-hist-stub

See also

References