The Republican Period
The Imperial period came to an end with the abolition of slavery in 1888. The lost of support from the conservative elite, aggravated by the lack of understanding between the Emperor and the Church as regards the so-called "Religious Quest", and the crisis in the Army after Guerra do Paraguai (Paraguay War), which gave rise to the "Military Quest", led to the fall of Dom Pedro II. He was dethroned by a military movement led by Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca in 1889. It was then that Primeira República (the First Republic) started. Up to 1930, The Republican Period was under the control of São Paulo's, Minas Gerais's and Rio de Janeiro's agrarian oligarchies. The economic importance of coffee in São Paulo and cattle in Minas Gerais supported "política do café-com-leite" (the "coffee and milk politics"), reason why leaders from São Paulo (paulistas) and from Minas Gerais (mineiros) alternated themselves in occupying the presidency of The Republican Period. In fact, São Paulo just continued having the power it attained during the previous decades thanks to its economic prosperity.
Railways helped coffee crops grow, attracted immigrants and allowed the colonization of new areas; meanwhile, in the cities, the industrialization expanded, giving rise to a new urban scene and making room for new social classes, namely, the proletariat and the middle class. More prosperous than ever, a real State within the Federation, São Paulo witnessed new things on a daily basis: the electricity replacing gas lamps, the arrival of cars (the first one arrived here in 1892 and belonged to Santos Dumont's father); the expansion of electric trolley lines; the construction of large urban works, among which, Viaduto do Chá and Avenida Paulista.
This period was characterized by the intense multiplication of everything, from immigration, which supported the coffee industry, to the development of cities, which led São Paulo to leave behind its provincial characteristics and become the country's most dynamic economy.
The entire state went through a transformation. Santos, Jundiaí, Itu, Campinas and several other villages started getting used to the factory whistles and to a new labor class. Strikes and street riots became part of police reports; at the same time, it became clear that the urban infrastructure was too poor. Other major problem, which became the focus of attention by authorities, was the lack of electricity. In 1900, the Canadian firm Light Company was opened (and remained in operation until 1970). Thanks to this, the state's electric power generating capacity increased significantly, a decisive factor for the outstanding industrial growth from 1930 to 1940. With this, dozens of hydroelectric power plants started being built, using primarily foreign capital.
During Primeira República (First Republic), São Paulo's coffee aristocracy enjoyed its heyday. Revolução de 1930 (1930 Revolution), however, brought this leadership to an end. As a result, other minor states started standing out, such as Rio Grande do Sul, governed by Getúlio Vargas. In 1932, São Paulo's oligarchies organized Revolução Constitucionalista (Constitutionalist Revolution) to fight this movement but, despite the state's economic wealth, they did not succeed.
In 1930, railways reached the vicinity of Paraná river and more than one third of the state's territory was colonized. Cities multiplied. In social terms, the state became a Babel tower, deeply marked by the different cultures brought from more than 60 countries. But, in the last decade of República Velha (the Old Republic), the economic and political system that supported the power of São Paulo weakened. After Revolução de 1930, the country went through an unstable period that favored the establishing of Getúlio Vargas' dictatorship, which lasted eight years and ended with the Second World War, followed by a democratization period and the establishment of the so-called Segunda República (the Second Republic).
Meanwhile, in economic terms, coffee overcame the crisis faced during the beginning of the 30's and, due to the war, enjoyed a rise in prices, thus favoring the recovery of São Paulo. The industrial sector started standing out mainly due to the investments that were allocated to it. Soon after, the country would see another major development with the arrival of the auto industry in São Paulo, flagship of the Brazilian economy since the 50's. Since then, despite the economic and political changes faced by the country, São Paulo has become the country's largest industrial center.