Radicalism, press and regional development

the Political and Economic ideas divulged in the newspaper “Operário da liberdade” (Paranaguá, Province of Paraná, 1870)

Abstract

This article analyses of the political and economic ideas sustained in the newspaper Operário da Liberdade, which was published at the city of Paranaguá at state of Paraná during the second half of 1870. Supporter of the reformist proposals of the Radical Club of Rio de Janeiro, this newspaper also dealt with the economic problems of the coast of the Province of Paraná. In this context, the purpose of this work is to advance the understanding about the diffusion, in the provinces of the Empire, of criticisms and alternatives to the political-administrative model that prevailed in Brazil. There are two arguments based on this article. First, the foundation of Operário da Liberdade was an initiative to reflect the programmatic suggestions of the aforementioned club. This journal, therefore, defended the repertoire of proposals from the dissident wing of the Liberal Party. Second, in that newspaper, the criticism of the imperial political order was accompanied by the denunciation of the economic primitivism of the coast of Paraná, especially in the municipality of Paranaguá. This denunciation was characterized by censorship of the inaction of the local elite in the face of the economic demands of that region.