Monarchism in Brazil

Coat of arms of the House of Orléans-Braganza, the Brazilian Imperial Family

The movement for the re-adoption of monarchy in Brazil has taken place as a series of uprisings and political acts, usually in a fragmented way and peripherally to larger causes. It has been important historically and remains an active movement to this day. It advocates restoration of the constitutional monarchy under the House of Orléans-Braganza, a cadet branch of the House of Braganza, which ruled Brazil for 77 years (the Empire of Brazil) until the monarchy was abolished in 1889 by a military coup d'état.

History

The flag of the Empire of Brazil is widely used by Brazilian monarchists

After the 1889 coup d'état that ended the imperial rule and established a republic in Brazil, the first monarchist nucleus began to form. Under the republican rule, they were a minority and initially even illegal. In 1890, the Brazilian Monarchical Directory was founded by Afonso Celso, Viscount of Ouro Preto, the last Prime Minister of the Empire of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. Its main objective was to organize the country's royalists and to report directly with the exiled Brazilian Imperial Family.

Monarchist uprisings

The Revolta da Armada was a rebel movement promoted by units of the Brazilian Navy against the dictatorial government of Floriano Peixoto, supposedly supported by the monarchist opposition to the recent installation of the republic.[1] It was part of the Federalist Riograndense Revolution, led by the monarchist Gaspar da Silveira Martins, one of the last ministers of the Empire of Brazil, who was disaffected by Deodoro da Fonseca.

The Canudos War was the confrontation between the Brazilian Army and the members of a popular movement of socio-religious background led by Antonio Conselheiro that lasted from 1896 to 1897, in the community of Canudos, Bahia. The great farmers of the region, joining the Church, formed a strong pressure group against the newly installed republic, asking that measures be taken against Antônio Conselheiro and his followers. Rumors were created that Canudos was armed to attack neighboring towns and leave for the capital to depose the republican government and reinstall the monarchy.[2]

Another little known event was the Revolt of Ribeirãozinho, a conservative movement that occurred in the city of Ribeirãozinho (now Taquaritinga), in São Paulo. Its fundamental objective was the restoration of the monarchy and the coronation of Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza, son of Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil. Unhappy with the First Brazilian Republic, the São Paulo monarchists had planned an uprising that was supposed to take place on August 23, 1902, and which was to topple then President Campos Sales. In fact, the uprising had only been carried out in Ribeirãozinho and Espírito Santo do Pinhal, a neighboring town. This attempt to restore the monarchy lasted one day.[3]

Founded in 1928, the Brazilian Imperial Patrianovist Action, or simply Patrianovism, was a monarchist organization present in several Brazilian states that expressed the nationalist and authoritarian ideas of the late 1920s and early 1930s. Idealized by Arlindo Veiga dos Santos, it aimed to establish a new monarchy in Brazil, based on a conservative political philosophy. The movement was linked to Prince Pedro Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, then Head of the Imperial House of Brazil and heir to the throne, as well as Plínio Salgado, leader and founder of the Brazilian Integralist Action.

Famous monarchists

Eduardo Prado was a convicted journalist and monarchist who wrote, in 1893, A Ilusão Americana, criticizing republicans and American imperialism. It was the first literary work to be censored by the newly established republic.

Many famous personalities in Brazil have declared themselves convicted monarchists. Among the most famous names are Machado de Assis, Joaquim Nabuco, Baron of Rio Branco, André Rebouças, Viscount of Taunay, João Camilo de Oliveira Torres, Carlos de Laet and Count of Mota Maia. Some royalists, however, were victims of the republican regime. Among them is José da Costa Azevedo, the Baron of Ladario, who was shot by an unknown marksman for resisting an arrest warrant during the November 15, surviving only because a student, Carlos Vieira Ferreira, rescued him.

Another little known case is the murder of Colonel Gentil de Castro during the Canudos War. Owner of the monarchist newspapers Gazeta da Tarde and Gazeta da Liberdade, he was shot by unknown attackers in Rio de Janeiro.[4]

Today

Currently, the monarchist movement in Brazil is growing at a rapid pace. After the large demonstrations against the 2014 World Cup and the government of Dilma Rousseff, Brazilian monarchists have organized several acts and marches in favor of the restoration of the monarchy in Brazil. Facebook pages like Pró Monarquia reached almost 80,000 followers and are a point of convergence between different branches of Brazilian monarchism.

The members of the Brazilian Imperial Family are becoming increasingly known. Prince João Henrique of Orléans-Braganza, known as Dom Joãozinho, is one of the most popular figures in Paraty, where he has an inn, and is always invited to give interviews to various media outlets, such as Folha de S.Paulo and the interview show Roda Viva.

Prince Luiz Philippe of Orléans-Braganza, nephew of the current Head of the Imperial House of Brazil, is known in the Brazilian academical environment. He is an active member of liberal movements in the country.[5]On 28th February, he announced his pre-candidacy to federal deputy for the state of São Paulo by the NOVO party.[6]

Prince Bertrand of Orléans-Braganza, Prince Imperial of Brazil and one of the heirs to the Brazilian throne, recently gave an interview to Mariana Godoy in his program on RedeTV!, gaining notoriety with the public and being much honored in the numerous demonstrations and congresses in which he participated.[7] On 22 September 2017 Prince Bertrand participated in the program The Noite com Danilo Gentili, currently the largest talk show in the country, breaking the program's record of audience.[8]

Politically, the movement is still small. In 2016 journalist Paulo Eduardo Martins, known for his monarchist positions, was elected federal deputy.[9] The movement now hopes to raise public awareness of the issue and discuss the possibility of a new plebiscite, such as the one of 1993. In early 2017, a legislative idea was launched on the website of the Federal Senate to hold a referendum on the restoration of the monarchy in Brazil. Needing 20,000 votes in favor, it reached the mark of 32,000 votes and was converted into a legislative suggestion, already sent to the Commission of Human Rights of the Brazilian Federal Senate for debate, awaiting a rapporteur. On 10 August 2017, the legislative suggestion received official support from the state of Minas Gerais through a motion sent by the State Legislative Assembly to the Federal Senate.[10] On 14 November 2017, the state of Rondônia did the same by sending a motion to support the referendum proposal for the restoration of the monarchy to the federal senate through its legislative assembly.[11]

In August 2018, it was rumored that Prince Luiz Philippe de Orléans-Braganca was going to be a vice-presidential candidate for right wing presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro.[12]

National "Bandeiraço" of the Independence

In 2015, some Brazilian monarchists started appearing with Brazil's imperial flag in military parades and similar events during Independence Day, an act known as the National "Bandeiraço" of Independence (bandeiraço may be translated as "great flag demonstration"). In 2016, the act was carried out nationally, in 16 cities. In 2017, 34 cities participated.[13]

National "Bandeiraço" of the Independence in Anápolis, Goias, in 7th September 2017.

Pretenders

The most recognized pretender to the Brazilian throne is Prince Luiz of Orléans-Braganza. He is the head of the called Vassouras branch of the Imperial Family, since it was divided after the resignation of his great-uncle Pedro de Alcântara, Prince of Grão-Pará in 1908. The descendants of Prince Pedro de Alcântara, by the way, did not accept his resignation and maintained an active claim to the throne until the death of his elder son, Prince Pedro Gastão of Orléans-Braganza in 2007, whose claim passed to his son, Prince Pedro Carlos of Orléans-Braganza, head of the Petrópolis branch.[14]

Public opinion

There is no official research on public opinion regarding which form of government is preferred in Brazil. The veracity of the results of the 1993 referendum are contested. Many Brazilians still see the movement as ludicrous and without seriousness. However, the emergence and growth of monarchist activity and organizations throughout the country is visible, especially in anti-government protests.[15] Currently, according to a survey of around 2,800 people nationwide by the Instituto Paraná Pesquisa (Paraná Research Institute), 11% of the population is openly supportive of the return of the monarchy (about 23 million Brazilians).[16]

Date Polling organization Question Yes No No answer Ref
June 22, 2017 "Senado Federal"
(Official Brazilian senate website)		 "Do you support the legislative suggestion to restore constitutional monarchy?"
92.8%
7.2%
—
[17]
April 21, 2013 "Portal Terra" (Newspaper) "From the same ballot used in 1993, you can vote for this virtual plebiscite. Which system of government do you choose?"
82%
18%
—
[18]
April 21, 1993 "Federal Government of Brazil" (Federal Law n° 8.624) "Constitutional Referendum about the Government regime and system"
10.2%
66%
23.7%
[19]

References

  1. ↑ Smallman; Shall C. Fear & Memory in the Brazilian Army & Society, 1889–1954 The University of North Carolina Press 2002 ISBN 0807853593 Page 20 2nd paragraph
  2. ↑ Levine, R.M. Vale of Tears: Revisiting the Canudos Massacre in Northeastern Brazil, 1893–1897. University of California Press, 1995
  3. ↑ "The Revolt of Ribeirãozinho and the return of the monarchy". Taquaritinga On-line. 2008-06-21. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  4. ↑ "The Murder of Colonel Gentil de Castro - A Martyr of the Monarchist Cause in Brazil". Instituto Histórico de Petrópolis. 2005-08-05. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  5. ↑ "Descendent of the Imperial Family is leader of anti-Dilma group". Folha de S. Paulo. 2015-08-15. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  6. ↑ "Sobrinho do Imperador de jure do Brasil é pré-candidato pelo NOVO em SP". Boletim da Liberdade (in Portuguese). 2018-02-28. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  7. ↑ "Mariana Godoy receive Dom Bertrand de Orleans e Bragança". Rede TV!. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  8. ↑ "Danilo Gentili recebe o Príncipe Dom Bertrand no The Noite". SBT. 2017-09-22. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  9. ↑ "The monarchist deputy". Câmara dos Deputados do Brasil. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  10. ↑ https://www12.senado.leg.br/ecidadania/visualizacaomateria?id=129306
  11. ↑ "Rondônia aprova moção de apoio a proposta de referendo pela restauração da monarquia". Diga Sim a Monaquia. 2017-11-18. Retrieved 2017-11-18.
  12. ↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-02/bolsonaro-s-likely-running-mate-is-brazilian-royal-or-general
  13. ↑ "Bandeiraço de 07 de setembro". Império News (in Portuguese). 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2018-03-10.
  14. ↑ "Imperial Family divided in dispute to the right to the brazilian throne". Folha de S. Paulo. 2008-03-06. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  15. ↑ In the midst of the political crisis, monarchists want emperor in Brazil
  16. ↑ Instituto Paraná Pesquisas
  17. ↑ 92 percent of Brazilians shows support for the legislative suggestion for the restoration of monarchy
  18. ↑ 20 years of the plebiscite TV3
  19. ↑ (in Portuguese) Results at the Brazilian Institute for Monarchy Studies of Rio Grande do Sul Archived December 10, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.. Source: Supreme Electoral Court.
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