Coluna Prestes

Last updated
Prestes Column
Part of Tenentism
Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes chefes revolucionarios.png
The column's command [lower-alpha 1]
Date1924–1927
Location
Result

Government victory

  • The Prestes Column was chased for about 25,000 kilometers within Brazil by the Brazilian government forces.
  • Surviving rebels fled to Bolivia.
Belligerents

Prestes Column

  • Rebel soldiers
  • Armed civilians

Flag of Brazil (1889-1960).svg Brazil

Commanders and leaders
Luís Carlos Prestes
Miguel Costa
Artur Bernardes
Cândido Rondon
Horácio de Matos
Bertoldo Klinger
Strength
1,500 14,000—20,000 soldiers
Casualties and losses
600 Unknown

The Coluna Prestes, also known as Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes, in English Prestes Column, was a social rebel movement that broke out in Brazil between 1924 and 1927, with links to the Tenente revolts. The rebellion's ideology was diffuse, but the main issues that caused it were the general dissatisfaction with the oligarchic First Brazilian Republic, the demand for the institution of the secret ballot, and the defense of better public education. The rebels marched some 25,000 km (15,534 mi) through the Brazilian countryside. They did not aim to defeat the forces of the Federal government in battle, but rather to ensure their survival and their ability to continue threatening the government.

Contents

Uprising

On 5 July 1924, on the second anniversary of the Copacabana Fort revolt, a new armed revolt broke out in São Paulo. The Tenentes (English: lieutenants), young army officers that were deeply dissatisfied with the country's political and social landscape, under the command of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, occupied large parts of the city. However, they were soon besieged by increasingly numerous federal troops. After 3 weeks under heavy bombardment the rebels abandoned their positions. Filling a train with men and supplies, they retreated into the countryside eventually reaching and occupying the city of Foz do Iguaçu in the state of Paraná, on Brazil's border with Argentina, starting the Paraná Campaign. There the rebels established a powerful defense line, and waited for their enemies, soon to arrive under the command of general Cândido Rondon. In support of the revolutionaries similar uprisings broke out in the states of Amazonas and Sergipe, but they were quickly suppressed. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul, however, events took another turn with the outbreak of a new revolt.

As it happened, 3 months after the retreat of the Tenentes from the city of São Paulo, numerous army units also rebelled in the cities of Alegrete, Cachoeira do Sul, Uruguaiana, São Luíz Gonzaga, Santo Ângelo and São Borja. [1] An energetic response by the state government meant that soon the rebels were in disarray. Only in the region of São Luiz Gonzaga they were able to resist under the leadership of captain Luís Carlos Prestes of the 1st Frontier Battalion of Santo Ângelo. Under his orders, the remaining rebel forces were reorganized.

In December 1924 fourteen thousand men loyal to the government marched towards São Luíz Gonzaga and started to fortify positions around the rebels. By then, Prestes had made contact with an envoy of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, João Franscico, a veteran of the Federalist Revolution known as "Hiena do Cati", who informed him of his promotion to colonel by the revolutionary command, gave him full control of the rebel forces in Rio Grande do Sul and ordered him to march north with his men in order to join forces with the São Paulo rebels on the shores of the Paraná river. [2] Breaking the siege on 27 December 1924 [3] and escaping his pursuers, Prestes and his column arrived in April 1925 in the city of Santa Helena.

Meeting in Foz do Iguaçu

The leaders of the revolution held a meeting in Foz do Iguaçu to discuss their course of action, with general Isidoro stating his desire to cease hostilities. The proposal of Miguel Costa and Prestes was victorious: it was decided that the revolutionary action would continue, but a war of movement would be pursued: the column would invade Mato Grosso. The rebel armies were reorganized into the 1st Revolutionary Division numbering 1,500 ordinary infantrymen, 800 gaúchos [lower-alpha 2] and 700 paulistas. [4]

Exile in Bolivia

Between February and March 1927, after crossing the Pantanal, part of the column led by Siqueira Campos arrived in Paraguay while the rest entered Bolivia. Upon seeing their precarious conditions, general Dias Lopes' instructed the revolutionaries to go into exile. Miguel Costa went to Paso de los Libres while Prestes and two hundred more men headed for Gaiba. On 5 July 1927, the exiles inaugurated a monument in Gaiba in honor of the dead in the column's campaign. [5]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paraná Campaign</span>

The Paraná Campaign was the continuation of the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 in western Paraná from 1924 to 1925, concluding with the formation of the Miguel Costa-Prestes Column. Rebel tenentists, led by Isidoro Dias Lopes, withdrew from São Paulo, went down the Paraná River and settled in the region from Guaíra to Foz do Iguaçu, from where they faced the forces of the Brazilian government, commanded by general Cândido Rondon from October 1924. In April 1925, another rebel column, led by Luís Carlos Prestes, arrived from Rio Grande do Sul and joined the São Paulo rebels. They entered Paraguay to escape the government siege and returned to Brazil through southern Mato Grosso, continuing their armed struggle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1924</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rio Grande do Sul Revolt of 1925</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightning Column</span>

The Lightning Column was the last tenentist uprising, fought in southern Brazil from November 1926. Under the command of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, exiled in Argentina, military and civilian leaders of the government's opposition in Rio Grande do Sul combined incursions across Brazilian borders with uprisings in army garrisons in Rio Grande do Sul. The uprising, contrary to the federal and state governments, intended to indirectly support the Prestes Column, which was in Mato Grosso. Some conspirators prematurely started the revolt before the scheduled date, compromising the campaign plan, which was quickly dismantled by the loyalist army and state forces.

The Brazilian state of Mato Grosso was the focus of tenentist military conspiracies and the stage of a series of revolts in the 1920s: by the command of the Military Circumscription of Mato Grosso (CMMT), in Campo Grande in 1922, by the 10th Regiment of Independent Cavalry of Bela Vista in 1924, and the 17th Battalion of Caçadores of Corumbá in 1925. Tenentist forces from other states also made incursions: the column from the São Paulo Revolt, in 1924, and the Prestes Column in 1925 and again in 1926–1927. A state of emergency was in force in the state from August 1924 until the end of 1925, and again from October 1926 to February 1927.

References

Notes

  1. 1. Djalma S. Dutra; 2. Antônio Siqueira Campos; 3. Luís Carlos Prestes; 4. Miguel Costa; 5. Juarez Távora; 6. João Alberto L. de Barros; 7. Oswaldo Cordeiro de Farias; 8. Ítalo Landucci; 9. Rufino Corrêa; 10. Sady V. Machado; 11. Manoel de Lyra; 12. Nelson de Souza; 13. Ary S. Freire; 14. Paulo Kruger da Cunha Cruz; 15. João Pedro; 16. Emigdio Miranda; 17. Athanagildo França e 18. José D. Pinheiro Machado.
  2. In Brazil "gaúcho" is the demonym used for the inhabitants of the Rio Grande do Sul state.

Citations

  1. Neto, Lira. Getúlio: dos anos de formação a conquista do poder. Companhia das letras.1º ed. p. 222
  2. Neto, Lira. Getúlio: dos anos de formação a conquista do poder. Companhia das letras.1º ed. p. 226
  3. Joffily, Bernardo. Atlas Histórico Brasil 500 anos. Ed. Três. p.99
  4. Prestes, Anita Leocádia. Uma epopéia brasileira. http://www.revistadehistoria.com.br/secao/artigos/uma-epopeia-brasileira Archived 2016-09-19 at the Wayback Machine
  5. "Coluna Prestes | CPDOC". Archived from the original on 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2020-11-10.