"(...) parties that merge demonstrate, in this very act, their vitality - they do not die; for to transform is not to perish": The founding of the Republican Union and its reception in Ceará's press during the first year of the republic

Abstract

The early years of the Brazilian Republic were marked by expectations, uncertainties, and the reorganization of monarchist political forces that adapted to the new order by founding republican associations. In Ceará, during the Republic's first year, this reconfiguration of former monarchist forces is exemplified by the Club Democrático and the União Republicana (Republican Union). Considering this context, this article examines the establishment of the Republican Union, an association led by Nogueira Accioly and Barão de Aquiraz, analyzing its objectives through the obligations outlined in its founding manifesto, while also highlighting contemporary political groups' perceptions of this new party's emergence. For this purpose, we draw on newspapers such as Gazeta do Norte, Libertador, Estado do Ceará, and O Cearense, press organs affiliated with different political factions in Ceará.