The interior of São Paulo was the scene of the São Paulo Revolt of 1924 from July, parallel to the battle for the city of São Paulo, until August and September, when the rebels left the capital and headed for the state border, first to the south of Mato Grosso and then to Paraná. There is record of revolt in 87 municipalities and support for the revolt in another 32. Local political factions joined one side or the other in the conflict, the impact of which was felt even in municipalities never traversed by the revolutionary army.
Municipal political leaders were aligned with the Republican Party of São Paulo and tended to be against the revolt, even mobilizing their voters in patriotic battalions to defend the cause of the state and federal governments. The center of state power was occupied by the rebels, and local dissidents found opportunities to seize power and install governments favorable to the revolt, either on their own initiative or allied with the rebels. Regardless of the side, the city halls needed to deal with a climate of disorder and accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees from the capital. On 9 July, the rebels controlled Itu, Jundiaí and Rio Claro, taken by local units of the Brazilian Army, and Campinas, one of the most important cities in the state. The government had firm, from the beginning, the connection with Paraná, from Itararé to Itapetininga, the Paraíba valley and the Baixada Santista.
Three loyalist brigades came from Paraná, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais to besiege the capital; against them the rebels sent three detachments. The Minas Gerais brigade was defeated on the Mogiana Railway by João Cabanas' "Death Column". The Mato Grosso brigade took too long to move, allowing the rebels to capture Bauru, a crucial railway junction. 300 soldiers of the Public Force of São Paulo who could have defended Bauru had been sent away by their commander on 10 July, after the state government withdrew from the Campos Elíseos Palace. The loyalist offensive was only successful on the Sorocabana Railway, where the "Southern Column" won the battles of Pantojo and Mairinque. It was already about to cut the only rail link from São Paulo to Campinas when the revolutionary command left the city with all of its army on the night of 27 July. Therefore, this campaign in the interior was fundamental for the outcome of the fight in the capital.
The withdrawal went in the direction of the Paraná River, on the border with Mato Grosso. As the railway connection through Três Lagoas was occupied, the rebels turned around Botucatu and headed to Presidente Epitácio, which was reached by the vanguard on 6 August. Along the entire route, the loyalists of the Southern Column, commanded by general Azevedo Costa, followed in their wake, fighting several battles. From Botucatu onwards, the rearguard of the rebels was defended by the Death Column, which destroyed the railway infrastructure to slow down the enemy. In the forefront, a rebel battalion entered Mato Grosso, where it was defeated in the battle of Três Lagoas on 18 August. There remained the option of going down the river and settling in western Paraná. On 10 September, all the rebels had already left Presidente Epitácio, but the descent of the river was slow, and it was not until October that all of them reached Paraná, where the campaign lasted until 1925.
Repercussion of the revolt
On 5 July, the first news of the revolt in São Paulo reached the countryside by telephone. The rebellion was accompanied with uproar and many rumours. Rail connections to the capital were interrupted, and when they returned on the 12th, they were irregular and risky. Raw materials and food stopped flowing into the city. Municipalities depended on the central power in the capital, and were left destitute by their occupation by the rebels led by general Isidoro Dias Lopes. Up to 250 of the capital's 700 thousand inhabitants fled to its suburbs or inland municipalities, fleeing the intense artillery bombardment that began on the 11th. The refugees arrived mainly by train in municipalities such as Campinas, Jundiaí, Itu, Rio Claro and even as far away as Bauru. Rich families preferred to retire to their farms or to Santos., “Estratégias”
The sudden population growth created supply problems in the interior municipalities. Campinas, the main refugee destination, had 25,000 people as of 17 July, and may have received as many as 100,000. According to a report by the Catholic Relief Commission:
The revolt itself, although focused on the capital, spread inland. Inland towns supported the movement from the start. There is a record of revolt in 87 municipalities in São Paulo and manifestations of support in another 32. Controlling the interior was not in the plans of the initiators of the uprising; their objective was to capture São Paulo immediately and proceed to Rio de Janeiro to overthrow the federal government. All that was needed was for the military units in the interior to join the movement. But this plan fell apart, the march to Rio de Janeiro did not take place, and the need arose to expand the territory inland, guaranteeing a possible escape route in the rear. The new territories were used to enlist volunteers and requisition money and materials.
Local participation
By extending their influence into the countryside, revolutionaries associated with local opposition and splinter groups. Notwithstanding the rebels' originally intended non-involvement in municipal politics, 35 municipalities had revolutionary governments, either by joining or replacing mayors and delegates. "Municipal governors", "military governors" and new delegates were appointed. But the revolution even impacted places never visited by the rebel troops, and in 21 municipalities it started on the initiative of civilians.
In the political scenario of each municipality, situationists and oppositionists chose between joining the revolt, trying to be apolitical or remaining loyal to the federal government of president Artur Bernardes. The tendency was for political leaders to be loyal to legality, that is, to state president Carlos de Campos and the Republican Party of São Paulo. But the revolt opened a great opportunity for local political dissent, which also took advantage of the weakness of many mayors since the disputed municipal elections of 1922. Political leaders tried to unite in defense of their common interest, the maintenance of order, but their ability to control dissent was weakened. The population in several places expressed support for the rebel movement, and the atmosphere was one of instability and terror.
Changes in government took many forms. Revolutionary military officers could seize power for themselves, as in Jundiaí and Itu, or hand over power to local civilians, who could be idealists and activists or opposition politicians. At other times, dissidents took power on their own. In municipalities like Avaí and Promissão, situationist politicians managed to align themselves with the revolt. In Araras, the period was chaotic, dominated by local dissidents with little connection to the revolt. In São Simão and Bebedouro, far from the revolutionary columns, local dissidents tried, but failed, to overthrow the government.
Amidst the conflict, municipal governments called up reservists and created local guards. Campinas, for example, called for volunteers to be in the policing, controlled the departure of foodstuffs from the municipality, set prices for basic necessities, appointed a coffee purge inspector, hired workers for public cleaning and opened credit. For the population, the situation was confusing. The law did not fully function, São Paulo entered civil war and the federal government implemented a state of emergency. Revolutionaries improvised their means of administering municipalities, sometimes resorting to threats and violence.
Local civilians actively participated on both sides of the conflict. In the name of the revolution, small groups of sergeants and civilian allies took over Town Halls, police stations, Recruitment Offices, telephone centers and railway and telegraph stations. Also noteworthy is the contribution of railway workers to the logistics of the rebels. Loyalist colonels raised patriotic battalions, private armies recruited from among their constituencies, as was common practice during elections. Its armament was similar to that of the Brazilian Army, but the level of instruction was not comparable. The rebel lieutenant João Cabanas, who reinforced his column with volunteers and prisoners, referred to both his fighters and the loyalist irregulars as "bandoliers", as the troop composition was the same.
Campaigns in July
The Paraíba valley, the Itararé branch on the border with Paraná, and the Baixada Santista were under government control from the earliest days. The rebels' control, on 9 July, reached Jundiaí, Itu and Rio Claro, occupied by local Army units before their displacements to the capital. When leaving, these units left behind fractions of army troops with which new fronts would be opened.
In Campinas, the head of the municipal opposition, Álvaro Ribeiro, was sworn in at City Hall on 10 July. The police detachment had gone to São Paulo, and since 6 July the only security force was the local recruitment office, whose commander followed orders of the revolutionaries. Campinas was a strategic city, with a privileged topographical position, large income from coffee growing and the largest railway junction in the state, controlling access to the interior. The jurisdiction of Álvaro Ribeiro, "Governor of Campinas", was increased on 15 July by the "Provisional Government" of general Isidoro, with authorization to intervene in other municipalities. He and the mayor of Jundiaí were the only civilians with the authority to make requisitions.
The loyalist command organized three regular brigades (from the Army and the Public Forces) to besiege the city, cutting off access to the interior. They would come from Paraná, Mato Grosso and Minas Gerais, respectively commanded by generals Azevedo Costa, João Nepomuceno da Costa and Martins Pereira. The revolutionary command reacted on 17–19 July by sending three columns into the interior, under the command of Public Force captain Francisco Bastos on the Sorocabana Railway, Public Force lieutenant João Cabanas on the Mogiana Railway, and army captain Otávio Muniz Guimarães, on the Paulista and Noroeste Railroads. Revolutionary expansion inland consolidated the triangle between São Paulo, Campinas and Sorocaba, as well as a cone towards Bauru and Araraquara.
First loyalist areas
The Paraíba valley in São Paulo, in the rebels' plan, would have already been crossed on the night of 5 July, and the rebel troops would have gathered in Barra do Piraí, already in Rio de Janeiro territory. This move was canceled due to unexpected loyalist resistance within São Paulo. At 13:00 on 5 July, loyalist regiments from Minas Gerais were already in marching order for the Paraíba valley, which was quickly closed to rebel movement. On 7 July, general Eduardo Sócrates, commander of the loyalist division sent against São Paulo, gathered his staff in Barra do Piraí. Then, he established his headquarters in Caçapava and a command post in Mogi das Cruzes, and finally, the headquarters in Mogi and the command post in Guaiaúna, in the east of São Paulo.