ALFONSO PENA: MINAS GERAIS AND THE TRANSITION FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC INBRAZIL.
Item
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Title
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ALFONSO PENA: MINAS GERAIS AND THE TRANSITION FROM EMPIRE TO REPUBLIC INBRAZIL.
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Identifier
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AAI8023741
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identifier
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8023741
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Creator
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WEINER, JERRY T.
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Contributor
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Ralp Dellacava | Jay Kinsbruner
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Date
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1980
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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History, Latin American
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Abstract
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This dissertation is a biography of Afonso Pena, a President of Brazil, 1906-1909, during the Old Republic, 1889-1930. The dissertation, however, is more than just the life of one of the leading political figures in Brazilian history during the Empire and Republican periods. Afonso Pena, a 'mineiro,' came from one of Brazil's key states, Minas Gerais. As a young man from an elite political family in his state, Pena received an education which emphasized training in law. Pena's early political career coincided with the final stages of the Brazilian monarchy. During the 1870s, Pena gained prominence within the 'Mineiro' Liberal Party. In the last decade of Pedro II's reign, Pena rose to high political positions on the national level and held three ministerial posts.;The Fall of the Empire in 1889 caused Pena to temporarily withdraw from politics because of his unwavering support of the monarchy. However, after a brief rest at home in Minas Gerais, Pena was called back to the political arena and played a key role in Minas Gerais during the first decades of the Republic. In fact, Pena was responsible for the transference of the political traditions of the Empire into the Republican period in Minas Gerais. This can be clearly seen in the 'Mineiro' constitution of 1891. Afonso Pena was the main architect of this document which in essence reaffirmed the ideas of the now defunct Minas Gerais Liberal Party. In 1892, Afonso Pena became President of Minas Gerais. In this capacity, he acted as a conciliator of the divergent subregional interests in Minas Gerais. Subregional or zonal conflict pitted the old mining interests of the Center against the emerging coffee interests of the South and 'Mata.' Pena was also responsible for the transfer of the state capital from Ouro Preto to Belo Horizonte. The commencement of rail-road and industrial development began in Minas Gerais while Pena served as President, 1892-1894.;From the years 1894 to 1905, Afonso Pena continued to occupy important positions on the state and national levels. He helped found the Federal University in Belo Horizonte and served as the institution's first director. He held the presidency of the Bank of Brazil from 1895 to 1898. Thereafter he was a 'mineiro' federal senator from 1899 to 1902 and Vice President of the Republic from 1902 to 1906.;Afonso Pena was elected President of Brazil in 1906. His administration was noted for its immigration policies, railroad and port construction, and other achievements. Pena was the nation's leader when the 'Convenio de Taubate,' an agreement that placed the national and state governments in the forefront of regulating its coffee exportation, was made into law. Pena's role in reformulating financing is discussed for the first time in its entirety in this study. A reexamination of the 'Cafe com Leite,' Sao Paulo-Minas Gerais political alliance, leads to the conclusion that Minas Gerais and not Sao Paulo played the commanding role in the nation's affairs during Pena's presidency, 1906-1909. Pena's greatest achievement was the Bank of Exchange, Caixa de Conversao, which stabilized the nation's currency. Other important issues during the Pena presidency that are discussed are the 'Jardim da Infancia' and presidential succession of 1910.;Afonso Pena's death in 1909 marked a turning point in Brazilian Republican history. In a sense his passing marked the end of an era. Thereafter the Republic declined and was eventually replaced after the Revolution of 1930.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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History
