Rodrigues Alves' government was one more presidential term that reached the presidential seat thanks to the articulation established by the so-called governors' policy. Arriving in office on 15 November 1902, the new president was yet another integral component of the coffee oligarchies. In this aspect, his management visibly benefited from the good moment that the agro-export economy experienced in that period.
One of the clearest signs of this prosperous period can be seen in the various public works that modernized the city of Rio de Janeiro. With the help of the mayor of Rio de Janeiro, Pereira Passos, the government undertook a major reform of the neighborhoods and streets of the former federal capital, inspired by the standards of modern European urban centers. However, this modernization project was carried out thanks to a series of expropriations that expelled the poor populations of Rio de Janeiro from their huts and tenements.
At the time, the city lived with a wide range of problems arising from a process of urban swelling resulting from the abolition of slavery and European immigration. Thousands of ex-slaves and impoverished foreigners were crammed into substandard housing devoid of any necessary planning. In 1904, the government passed a law that allowed the use of police forces so that the population could be vaccinated against possible epidemics.
The decree, which was named the Mandatory Vaccine Law, caused an enormous indisposition between the State and the population of Rio, which was already subject to the excesses of urban reform. With that, several conflicts took the streets of Rio de Janeiro in an incident known as “A Revolta da Vacina”. The installation of the incident was used by some political opponents of the president who intended to reintroduce the military to the political stage at that time.
In foreign policy, the government of Rodrigues Alves undertook the process of annexing the territory of Acre. The region belonged to the domains of Bolivian territory, but much of its land was occupied by Brazilian workers involved in rubber extraction. In order to be able to annex the region to the national territory, the Brazilian government managed to sign an agreement where pledged to pay two million pounds sterling indemnity to Bolivia and build the Railway Wood-Mamore.
In the last years of his mandate, the president had an indisposition towards politicians who represented the interests of the coffee oligarchies. The fall in prices on the international market and the overproduction of the agricultural product encouraged coffee growers to draw up a program to help coffee producers. The so-called Agreement of Taubaté provided for a commitment where the State would commit to purchase coffee production, guaranteeing the profits of the oligarchies.
The president did not agree with this proposal, claiming that the measure could deprive public coffers. However, the interest of large coffee growers prevailed with the officialization of the Taubaté Agreement between state governments committed to this same socio-political group.
By Rainer Sousa
Graduated in History
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiab/rodrigues-alves.htm
