Democracia no jornal O Estado de São Paulo na passagem do Império à República

Abstract

This study investigates the meanings attributed to democracy as they appeared in the newspaper O Estado de São Paulo during the transition from monarchy to the Republic in Brazil, between 1889 and 1890. The analysis is based on the premise that nineteenth-century periodicals, while informing readers, also played an active role in shaping political discourse and in the symbolic construction of regimes and values. The main objective is to identify how the term “democracy” was mobilized in the newspaper’s pages, taking into account its multiple interpretations and historical, political, and ideological implications. The methodology combines qualitative and quantitative approaches, drawing on documentary analysis of primary sources available in the newspaper’s digital archive. By systematically surveying occurrences of the term “democracy,” the research maps the uses and meanings attributed to the concept, highlighting its connections to the defense of the Republic, criticism of the imperial regime, the notion of political participation restricted to literate elites, and the fear of democracy itself. To interpret these findings, the study engages with theoretical debates on democracy in philosophy, political science, linguistics, and history, reflecting on the continuities and ruptures that have shaped the Brazilian democratic imagination from the nineteenth century to contemporary challenges. In addition to analyzing the context of 1889 and 1890, this study expands the discussion to Brazilian political history between 1945 and 2023, examining how the fear of democracy, anti-communism, coups, and institutional ruptures were reinterpreted from the 1946 Republic through the process of redemocratization and the rise of Bolsonaro, culminating in the events of January 8, 2023.