O governo das províncias do Império do Brasil: os conselhos de governo e os conselhos gerais de província nos debates parlamentares (1823-1834)

Abstract

During Brazil's post-political emancipation period, the question of the distribution of powers between the center and the provinces and localities, as well as the structuring of channels for dialogue between citizens and the state and between the different spheres of power have become essential for the development and reorganization of institutions that experienced several disputes between different political projects to be introduced in the Empire. In this context, we can observe the consecration of the provinces as political-administrative units, which represented a major innovation in institutional arrangement that was outlined in the context of the twenties of the nineteenth century, which occupied a prominent role in the political debates of the period. Among the institutions established at the provincial level in Brazil are the independent "Conselhos de Governo", elected bodies directly linked to the Presidents of the province, created by decree dated of October 20, 1823, and the "Conselhos Gerais de Província", also elective institutions, provided by 1824 Constitution. In this research, we propose an analysis of the establishment of provincial power spheres in the Brazilian constitutional monarchy throughout the First Reign and in the initial years of the Regency, especially considering the organization and the development of specific roles for the Conselhos de Governo and Conselhos Gerais de Província. These institutions were organizations with political-administrative duties which played essential regulatory functions for the organization of local, regional and central authorities and other political and administrative spheres. In order to perform the analysis, we focused on the Legislative Assembly papers drafted during First Empire and the early years of the Regency that created or conferred powers to these institutions in the regulatory process in other instances as well as the parliamentary debates that gave rise to them. Intense negotiations, disputes and agreements mobilized the drafting of legislation that marked the possibilities and limits of political and administrative powers of the Conselhos de Governo and Conselhos Gerais de Província. These discussions mostly referred to the possibilities of provincial autonomy, the division between the legislative, executive, judicial and moderator powers, expansion of the state apparatus, supervisory authorities, rationalization of administration, assignment of responsibilities, maintenance of order, law enforcement, the hierarchy of instances, etc.