O processo de formação dos partidos políticos na província de São Pedro do Rio Grande do Sul (1845-1862)

Abstract

This thesis has as object of study the formation of political parties, in the province of Rio Grande do Sul, during the period from 1845 to 1862. We searched bibliographical and historical sources, such as annals of the provincial assembly, parliamentary minutes, periodicals and private correspondences, in order to understand the uses of the term political party, as well as the relationship between that term and the political system of the 19th century. In the process of developing the research, we noticed an important differentiation between the representative system of government, which appeared since the Brazilian Imperial Constitution of 1824 and which underwent a consolidation process that lasted part of the 19th century; and, the democratic party system, which developed and consolidated over the 20th century. By resuming the construction of the narratives of the provincial deputies, we can highlight fundamental characteristics of the policy that existed in the Brazilian Empire in the middle of the 19th century. We can understand this period as a moment in which a process of institutionalizing politics took place, by which political groups sought to characterize their formations and organizations as legitimate and necessary in political action. In this sense, the term “political party” appears to have a positive meaning. This thesis is the result of the activities developed, in the Research line Frontier, Politics and Society of the Graduate Program in History at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM).