Coffee and Transformation in Sao Paulo, Brazil

by Mauricio A. Font

Overview

Coffee and Transformation in São Paulo, Brazil advances a distinctive interpretation of the dynamism of the São Paulo region since the latter part of the nineteenth century. Large and entrepreneurial coffee landlords opened the frontier to the west of the state capital, playing a key role in making the state and Brazil the world's largest coffee producer for international markets. However, many of the immigrant settlers from Italy, Japan, Spain, and other countries emerged as major actors in the last phase of frontier expansion in western São Paulo. A substantial number of them found ways to become independent agriculturalists or enact new careers in commerce, industry, and services in the network of towns emerging in this region. This volume pays close attention to the political and economic implications of this region's process of segmentation and transformation, including their links to regionalism, political conflict, and the Revolution of 1930.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780739147504
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	07/09/2010
Pages:	394
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

Mauricio A. Font is professor of sociology at The Graduate Center and Queens College, City University of New York, where he is also director of the Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies.

Table of Contents

Tables vii

Figures ix

Abbreviations and Acronyms xi

Preface xiii

1 Introduction 1

Part I Export Sector Organization, Contention, and Structural Change

2 Planters and Independent Agriculture 11

3 Elite Mobilization and Policy-Making 35

4 Coffee and Industrialization 89

Part II Politics: The Quest for Hegemony

5 A Changing Polity 125

6 From Export Sector Segmentation to Power Struggle 153

7 Coffee and the Revolution of 1930 199

8 From Contention to Revolution 227

9 Demise of an Old Regime 267

10 Conclusion: A Great Transformation in São Paulo 279

Appendix A Notes on Agrarian and Structural Change 295

Appendix B Background Notes on Political Change 311

Bibliography and Comment 333

Index 361

About the Author 377

What People are Saying About This

Thomas J. Trebat

The contours of modern Brazil can be traced to the great social and political transformations that rocked São Paulo prior to 1930. Combining theoretical rigor and a graceful style, Mauricio Font’s superb volume shines a bright light on the historical forces that did so much to shape the destiny of one of the most fascinating societies in the world today.

David Fleischer

This revised version of Coffee and Transformation in São Paulo, Brazil, by Professor Mauricio Font, makes an important contribution to better understanding the interaction of social, political, and economic forces in Brazil's most developed state during the 1890-1930 period, when São Paulo's economy was transformed from an agricultural base into an industrial powerhouse. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in Brazil's development in the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

This revised version of Coffee and Transformation in São Paulo, Brazil, by Professor Mauricio Font, makes an important contribution to better understanding the interaction of social, political, and economic forces in Brazil's most developed state during the 1890-1930 period, when São Paulo's economy was transformed from an agricultural base into an industrial powerhouse. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in Brazil's development in the twentieth century.

David Fleischer

An earlier entire generation of scholars accepted the equation that during the Old Republic (1889-1930), the increasingly wealthy coffee planters of São Paulo dominated its political activities in lockstep with their financial ascendance. In his 1990 study, however, Mauricio Font (Coffee, Contention, and Change in the Making of Modern Brazil, CH, May'91, 28-5265) questioned this widely taught premise, and he demonstrated unequivocally that politics in São Paulo were decidedly not unilateral. He did so by singling out the roles of other interests, including those of factory owners and immigrants, which had consistently challenged the domination of the so-called "coffee elite." In this updated reissue of his 1990 volume, Font (sociology, Queens College, CUNY) has reprised his pioneering research while substantially adding to his database and incorporating theories of social involvement and development....Several appendixes and a new online database that present material on the shift from oligarchic to diverse political structures enhance Font's valuable thesis. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

Choice Reviews

Font's book, a detailed look into the fractions and fissures in the machine, demonstrates that the PRP had lost its monolithic quality by 1920....Font convincingly answers the question of how the dominant party in the nation's wealthiest state produced presidents who worked against coffee interests and lost control of the national machine the 1930 coup. His book is a very good study of how economic diversification helped modernize Brazilian politics.

Agricultural History

The contours of modern Brazil can be traced to the great social and political transformations that rocked São Paulo prior to 1930. Combining theoretical rigor and a graceful style, Mauricio Font’s superb volume shines a bright light on the historical forces that did so much to shape the destiny of one of the most fascinating societies in the world today.

Thomas J. Trebat

An earlier entire generation of scholars accepted the equation that during the Old Republic (1889-1930), the increasingly wealthy coffee planters of São Paulo dominated its political activities in lockstep with their financial ascendance. In his 1990 study, however, Mauricio Font (Coffee, Contention, and Change in the Making of Modern Brazil, CH, May'91, 28-5265) questioned this widely taught premise, and he demonstrated unequivocally that politics in São Paulo were decidedly not unilateral. He did so by singling out the roles of other interests, including those of factory owners and immigrants, which had consistently challenged the domination of the so-called "coffee elite." In this updated reissue of his 1990 volume, Font (sociology, Queens College, CUNY) has reprised his pioneering research while substantially adding to his database and incorporating theories of social involvement and development....Several appendixes and a new online database that present material on the shift from oligarchic to diverse political structures enhance Font's valuable thesis. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

Choice

An earlier entire generation of scholars accepted the equation that during the Old Republic (1889-1930), the increasingly wealthy coffee planters of São Paulo dominated its political activities in lockstep with their financial ascendance. In his 1990 study, however, Mauricio Font (Coffee, Contention, and Change in the Making of Modern Brazil, CH, May'91, 28-5265) questioned this widely taught premise, and he demonstrated unequivocally that politics in São Paulo were decidedly not unilateral. He did so by singling out the roles of other interests, including those of factory owners and immigrants, which had consistently challenged the domination of the so-called "coffee elite." In this updated reissue of his 1990 volume, Font (sociology, Queens College, CUNY) has reprised his pioneering research while substantially adding to his database and incorporating theories of social involvement and development....Several appendixes and a new online database that present material on the shift from oligarchic to diverse political structures enhance Font's valuable thesis. Summing Up: Highly recommended.

CHOICE

The contours of modern Brazil can be traced to the great social and political transformations that rocked São Paulo prior to 1930. Combining theoretical rigor and a graceful style, Mauricio Font's superb volume shines a bright light on the historical forces that did so much to shape the destiny of one of the most fascinating societies in the world today.--Thomas J. Trebat, Columbia University

This revised version of Coffee and Transformation in São Paulo, Brazil, by Professor Mauricio Font, makes an important contribution to better understanding the interaction of social, political, and economic forces in Brazil's most developed state during the 1890-1930 period, when São Paulo's economy was transformed from an agricultural base into an industrial powerhouse. I strongly recommend this book to those interested in Brazil's development in the twentieth century.--David Fleischer, University of Brasília

An earlier entire generation of scholars accepted the equation that during the Old Republic (1889-1930), the increasingly wealthy coffee planters of São Paulo dominated its political activities in lockstep with their financial ascendance. In his 1990 study, however, Mauricio Font (Coffee, Contention, and Change in the Making of Modern Brazil, CH, May'91, 28-5265) questioned this widely taught premise, and he demonstrated unequivocally that politics in São Paulo were decidedly not unilateral. He did so by singling out the roles of other interests, including those of factory owners and immigrants, which had consistently challenged the domination of the so-called "coffee elite." In this updated reissue of his 1990 volume, Font (sociology, Queens College, CUNY) has reprised his pioneering research while substantially adding to his database and incorporating theories of social involvement and development....Several appendixes and a new online database that present material on the shift from oligarchic to diverse political structures enhance Font's valuable thesis. Summing Up: Highly recommended.--CHOICE

From the Publisher