Prudente de Morais

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His Excellency Prudente de Morais
Official portrait, 1894
3rd President of Brazil
In office 15 November 1894 – 15 November 1898
Vice President	Manuel Vitorino
Preceded by	Floriano Peixoto
Succeeded by	Campos Sales
Vice President of the Federal Senate
In office 19 June 1891 – 9 May 1894
Preceded by	Brás Carneiro
Succeeded by	Ubaldino do Amaral
Other offices held 1890–1891 President of the Constituent Assembly 1890–1894 Senator for São Paulo 1889–1890 President of São Paulo 1889–1889 Member of the São Paulo Governing Junta 1885–1886 General Deputy for São Paulo 1881–1882 Provincial Deputy of São Paulo 1878–1879 Provincial Deputy of São Paulo 1868–1869 Provincial Deputy of São Paulo
Personal details
Born	(1841-10-04)4 October 1841 Itu, São Paulo, Empire of Brazil
Died	3 December 1902(1902-12-03) (aged 61) Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil
Political party	Liberal (until 1873) PRP (1873–1893) PRF (1893–1902)
Spouse	Adelaide de Morais Barros ​ ​ (m. 1866)​
Alma mater	Faculty of Law of São Paulo (LL.B.)
Signature

Prudente José de Morais Barros^[a] (4 October 1841 – 3 December 1902), often referred to as Prudente de Morais, was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 3rd president of Brazil from 1894 to 1898. Morais was elected in 1894, being the first civilian president of the country, the first to be elected by direct popular ballot under the permanent provisions of Brazil's 1891 Constitution, and the first to serve his term in its entirety. Before his presidency he served as president (governor) of the state of São Paulo and president of the Senate from 1891 to 1894. He was also president of the Constituent Congress that drafted and enacted Brazil's 1891 Constitution.

His presidency was marked by the end of the Federalist Revolution in southern Brazil and the War of Canudos, a peasant revolt in the northeast of the country that was crushed by the Brazilian Army. He also had to face a break in diplomatic relations with Portugal that was successfully mediated by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom.

Born on 4 October 1841 in Itu, São Paulo Province, Prudente José de Morais Barros was the son of José Marcelino de Barros and Catarina Maria de Morais. At the age of three he lost his father, who was murdered by a slave. The murderer was later sentenced to death by jury, the last person to be sentenced to the death penalty in that district.^[1] His mother then married major Caetano José Gomes Carneiro and the family moved to Piracicaba.^[2] After receiving his first schooling from his own mother, Morais joined the Delgado School in 1855 at the age of 14, but the school was closed in the following year.^[2][3] Morais wanted to move to São Paulo, where he could take preparatory courses for the Faculty of Law, but his stepfather was against his decision, despite the expenses being covered by the inheritance left by his father.^[2][3] With the help of his mother, Morais was able to move to São Paulo in April 1857, where he enrolled at João Carlos da Fonseca's school. In November 1858 he took his last preparatory exams and in 1859 he enrolled in the Faculty of Law.^[3]

During his studies at the Faculty of Law, Morais was a colleague of Campos Sales, Bernardino de Campos, Rangel Pestana, and Francisco Quirino dos Santos.^[4] Like many other leaders of the Brazilian Republic, in the faculty Morais joined the Bucha, a secret student society of a liberal, abolitionist, and republican nature founded by German professor Julius Frank and inspired by the Burschenschaft associations.^[2] Morais graduated with a Legal and Social Sciences degree in 1863 and moved to Piracicaba the following year, where he opened a law firm and began to work as an attorney.^[5]

Prudente de Morais married Adelaide Benvinda da Silva Gordo on 18 May 1866 in Santos.^[6][7] Together they had seven children.^[6] Adelaide was the daughter of Antônio José da Silva Gordo. Morais' older brother was already married to Adelaide's sister, Maria Inês.^[2]

Prudente de Morais joined the Liberal Party and was elected president of the Municipal Chamber of Piracicaba on 7 September 1864 for the 1865–1868 period. In this office he enacted the municipality's first Manners Code. In October 1867 Morais was elected provincial deputy in the 3rd district to the 1868–1869 legislature in São Paulo, being appointed a member of the Provincial Assembly's Justice and Legislation Commission.^[8]

In 1873, he joined the Republican Party of São Paulo (PRP) and declared himself a republican as a representative in the Provincial Assembly.

He was a provincial deputy in the city of São Paulo and deputy to the General Assembly of the Empire as a supporter of the republican form of government, abolition of slavery and federalism. As provincial deputy, he worked with the complex issue of the borders of São Paulo with Minas Gerais, a subject on which he was an expert.

After the proclamation of the Republic in 1889, his Party began to dominate national politics, and Morais was elected to the Constituent Congress as Senator for São Paulo. Due to his leading position in the Party, he was chosen by his peers as President of the Constituent Congress, that promulgated the Brazil's first republican Constitution in 1891.

Morais ran in the first Brazilian presidential election (conducted by the Constituent Congress after the promulgation of the Constitution and in accordance with its transitional provisions), but lost to incumbent head of the Provisional Government Deodoro da Fonseca. After that election and the inauguration of the first president and vice-president, the Congress's function as a Constituent Assembly ceased, and it became an ordinary bicameral National Congress, whereupon Morais' role as president of the Constituent Congress ended. Senator Prudente de Morais was then elected vice-president of the Federal Senate, the legislature's upper house. The presidency of the Senate was vested by the Constitution in the vice-president of the Republic. In November 1891 however, President Deodoro da Fonseca attempted to dissolve Congress and rule as a dictator, but after a few weeks he was forced to resign the presidency due to the First Revolt of the Navy; Vice-President Floriano Peixoto then succeeded to the presidency of the Republic, and the vice-presidency became vacant and remained so until the next presidential election, in 1894. As a consequence, Morais, who until then was vice-president of the Senate, succeeded Peixoto as president of the Senate on 23 November 1891.

In the contest for the succession of Floriano Peixoto, Morais was nominated by the Federal Republican Party (PRF), founded by Francisco Glicério in 1893. He won the presidential election on 1 March 1894 and took office on 15 November that year, becoming the first president of Brazil to be elected by direct vote and the first civilian president of Brazil. Prudente gleaned 276,583 votes against 38,291 for his main competitor, Afonso Pena. The election had more than 29 politicians polled. His vice-president was Dr. Manuel Vitorino Pereira. His election marked the coming to power of the coffee oligarchy of São Paulo (the "paulista oligarchy") in place of the military.

The four-year government of Prudente de Morais was shaken both by partisan political issues and continued fighting in Rio Grande do Sul, the center of the Federalist Revolt (1893–1895). Early in his government, he was able to resolve the latter difficulty by signing a peace treaty with the rebels, who received amnesty.

Later, Prudente de Morais devoted all of his efforts to pacify the policial factions within his country, which included extreme advocates of the centralist policies of Floriano Peixoto and supporters of the monarchy. During his rule, he abandoned the innovative measures of Floriano Peixoto one by one. A gradual approach was necessary since the Florianists still had some influence, particularly in the army, and the vice-president was connected to the ideas of the Florianists.

Shortly after the rebel movement in Rio Grande do Sul, Prudente faced an even greater challenge: the War of Canudos in the interior of Bahia.

Forced to undergo surgery, Prudente de Morais retired from power between 10 November 1896 and 4 March 1897, turning over his responsibilities to vice president Vitorino. During this interim, Vitorino transferred the seat of government from Itamaraty Palace to the Catete Palace.

With the early rebel victories of Antônio Conselheiro in the War of Canudos, the political situation further deteriorated. Morais interrupted his convalescence and then appointed Minister of War general Carlos Machado de Bittencourt [pt] to lead a new expedition to defeat the rebels.

Internal disputes within the PRF and the War of Canudos wore down the government. Even with the victory of the government troops in the war, tensions did not abate. On 5 November 1897, during a military ceremony, Morais withstood an assassination attempt. He escaped unharmed, but war minister Bittencourt died defending him. The president decreed a state of emergency in the Federal District in order to get rid of his most troublesome opponents.

The difficult economic and financial crisis inherited from the Encilhamento economic bubble took its toll on the administration, mainly because of military spending and increased debt to foreign creditors.

With the advice of his ministers of finance, Rodrigues Alves and Bernardino de Campos, Morais negotiated with British bankers to consolidate debt in a financial transaction known as the funding loan, based on the policy implemented by Joaquim Murtinho within four years.

In foreign policy, in 1896 Morais faced a diplomatic issue involving the British, who took possession of the islands of Trindade and Martim Vaz in 1895, and the revolt of the Military School. He asserted his authority by closing the school and military club. The diplomatic issue was resolved favorably in favor of Brazil.

Prudente de Morais re-established relations with Portugal and signed a Treaty of Friendship with Japan in November 1895 with the aim of encouraging the arrival of Japanese immigrants.

A boundary dispute with Argentina arbitrated by U.S. President Grover Cleveland was resolved in favor of Brazil. Historians ascribe that diplomatic success to the efforts and diligence of the Brazilian Government's representative, the Baron of Rio Branco, appointed by Morais to lead the Brazilian delegation in the arbitration process.

The city of Presidente Prudente, located in the western part of the state of São Paulo, is named after him.

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