First Brazilian Republic

Republic of the
United States of Brazil
República dos Estados Unidos do Brasil
1889–1930
Motto: Ordem e Progresso
"Order and Progress"
Anthem: 
Hino Nacional Brasileiro
"Brazilian National Anthem"
Map of South America with Brazil highlighted in green
Brazil at its largest territorial extent, including Acre
CapitalRio de Janeiro
Common languagesPortuguese
GovernmentMilitary dictatorship (1889–1894)
Oligarchic federal presidential republic (1894–1930)
President 
• 1889–1891
Deodoro da Fonseca (first)
• 1926–1930
Washington Luís (last)
Vice President 
• 1891
Floriano Peixoto (first)
• 1926–1930
Melo Viana (last)
LegislatureNational Congress
Senate
Chamber of Deputies
Historical eraBelle Époque
15 November 1889
24 February 1891
1893–1894
1893–1895
• Civilian rule
15 November 1894
3 November 1930
Population
• 1890
14,333,915
• 1900
17,438,434
• 1920
30,635,605
CurrencyReal
ISO 3166 codeBR
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Empire of Brazil
Vargas Era

The First Brazilian Republic, also referred to as the Old Republic (Portuguese: República Velha, Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁeˈpublikɐ ˈvɛʎɐ]), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, refers to the period of Brazilian history from 1889 to 1930. The Old Republic began with the coup d'état that deposed emperor Pedro II in 1889, and ended with the Revolution of 1930 that installed Getúlio Vargas as a new president. During the First Republic, the country's presidency was dominated by the most powerful states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. Because of the power of these two states, based on the production of coffee and dairy, respectively, the Old Republic's political system has been described as "milk coffee politics". At local level, the country was dominated by a form of machine politics known as coronelism, in which the political and economic spheres were centered around local bosses, who controlled elections.

The country was also marked by a series of rebellions and revolutions against the ruling oligarchies, which culminated into the Revolution of 1930, when the Liberal Alliance, a force of urban middle-class, planters from outside São Paulo and military reformists composed mostly by junior officers (known as Tenetism), deposed ruling president Washington Luís (representative of the São Paulo oligarchies) and led to the ascension of Getúlio Vargas as president, heralding the start of the Vargas Era.