The Partido Republicano Liberal of Paraná in 1913

political opposition in the Paraná State at the time of coronelismo

Abstract

In 1913, the Partido Republicano Liberal was constituted, with the objective of supporting Ruy Barbosa's desired campaign in 1914 for the presidency of Brazil and acting as a party capable of opposing the predominance of the directorates of the situationist party at the local, regional and national levels. In a political context of the Brazilian Republic known as the República Velha, that was dominated by coronelismo through the control of mechanisms of negotiation, coercion and political perpetuation, the PRL proposed to be a progressist opposition in the national and local politics. However, the politic power of the PRL exhausted even before the presidential race of 1914, weakened by the political disputes in its directorates and the defeat in the elections for the state assemblies in 1913. This article studies, from the representations published by the national, regional and local press, the discourses published by the PRL and the hardships, outbursts and dissent that occurred during the trajectory of the PRL directories, which led to the weakening of the party and resulted in its defeat and extinction.

Key words: history of politics; Partido Republicano Liberal; Paraná; Ponta Grossa.