“MONSTROUS AND ILLEGAL PROCEEDINGS”: LAW ...

Like the judicial conflicts in Salto, the local legal struggles in Alegrete also sought to
capture the attention of the increasingly hegemonic Liberal Party in Rio Grande do Sul. In
turn, the gaúcho Liberal Party consolidated its own authority over the Brazilian borderlands
around issues of local autonomy and control over legal rights. Much like the colorados in
Salto, the Liberal Party utilized its control over borderlands courtrooms to solidify the
reputations of its allies while weakening their rivals. In Brazil, however, the success of
borderlands ranchers in controlling the provincial government meant that local judicial
politics were less about negotiating their continued right to make these determinations than
about consistently reaffirming their status as the dominant party through judicial decisions.
That is to say, local courts served as a means to bolster the Liberal Party’s dominance over
Rio Grande do Sul through the traditional elements of borderlands legalities. This deepened
many of the processes that had been underway in the decades following the end of the
Farrapos Rebellion in 1845.
In Alegrete, Liberals used the courts to push two prominent allies of the Ribeiro
faction, João Christomo dos Santos and Manoel Rodrigues da Silva, from the town’s political
life. Recall that Christomo had played a role in the violence surrounding the 1860 elections.
He allegedly aided Felippe Neri in fleeing the country after the murder of Francisco Paulo
Rocha. 60 With the Liberal Party consolidating its hold over the town and the province by the
late 1860s, Christomo’s enemies sought retribution. Manoel Demetrio Ribeiro filed criminal
charges against Christomo for allegedly stealing a large number of cattle and then selling the
hides in Alegrete. 61 Ribeiro offered evidence from two Paraguayan soldiers. The men
testified that Christomo ordered them to take cattle bearing Ribeiro’s mark. The court
60 Justiça ex-oficio c. Ten. Geronimo Manoel Casa, 215-215bis.
61 Manoel Demetrio Ribeiro c. João Christomo dos Santos, APRGS. Alegrete. Cartório Civil e
Crime. Ordinários, Maço 38, n. 887 (1868).
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