The interests of Brazilian industry at the beginning of the First Republic: the debate on Article 9 of Decree No. 1167, of December 17, 1892

Abstract

This paper assesses the representativeness of industrial interests at the beginning of the First Republic. Analyzing official documents and press news about the Art. 9 of Decree 1,167, of December 17, 1892, which guaranteed the issuance of amortizable bonds to the industry, I present the following conclusions: i) the political discourse at the time was mostly based on economic liberalism; ii) the industrial issue started to show relevance in the political debate; iii) there was no clear opposition between the interests of industry and farming; iv) part of the industrialists criticized measures to aid industry, considering their possible effects on inflation and the exchange rate; and v) the controversial issue about credit policies was not the aid to the industry itself, but the interpretation that they could accentuate the effects of the Encilhamento.