The Lightning Column () was the last tenentist uprising, fought in southern Brazil from November 1926. Under the command of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, exiled in Argentina, military and civilian leaders of the government's opposition in Rio Grande do Sul combined incursions across Brazilian borders with uprisings in army garrisons in Rio Grande do Sul. The uprising, contrary to the federal and state governments, intended to indirectly support the Prestes Column, which was in Mato Grosso. Some conspirators prematurely started the revolt before the scheduled date (26 December), compromising the campaign plan, which was quickly dismantled by the loyalist army and state forces.
Previous revolts in Rio Grande do Sul were suppressed in 1924 and 1925, but the defeated rebels remained in neighboring countries. On 13–14 November, there were beginnings of revolt in the garrisons of São Gabriel and Bagé, followed on the 16th by that of Santa Maria, where the biggest fighting took place. On 7 December there was another army revolt, in São Leopoldo, but it was put down on the same day.
The Santa Maria rebels, led by the Etchegoyen brothers, did not overcome loyalist resistance of the Military Brigade of Rio Grande do Sul, even though they had artillery and greater numbers. After more than a day of urban combat, which damaged many buildings and led to the population fleeing, they withdrew from the city. Pursued by the loyalists, they were intercepted by the Auxiliary Corps (CA) near Seival, in Caçapava. With machine guns in good defensive positions, they defeated successive cavalry charges and wounded the enemy commander, Oswaldo Aranha.
The Seival rebels joined warlord Zeca Neto, coming from Uruguay, who led a war of movement until his defeat near São Sepé, on 25 December. Other chiefs and soldiers crossed the border to support Neto, unaware of the defeat. Júlio Barrios' campaign, from the extreme west of the state to the Santana do Livramento region, ended, as did Zeca Neto's, with his return to exile at the beginning of January. Parallel to these movements, Leonel Rocha entered Brazil through the Contestado region in November, seeking to cut the São Paulo-Rio Grande Railway, but his three-month long journey also ended in defeat.
Background
Brazilians defeated in the 1924 tenentist revolts formed a community of exiles in neighboring countries (Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay). They were soldiers from the Brazilian Army, Navy and the Public Force of São Paulo and civilian leaders. All of them recognized the leadership of general Isidoro Dias Lopes and the "civilian leader of the revolution", Joaquim Francisco de Assis Brasil, leader of the Liberating Alliance, an opposition group in Rio Grande do Sul. The exiles maintained contact with each other and responded to any call from Isidoro. They met with political leaders and sent and received food, weapons, letters and packages to their families. The movement had its own general staff and finances, the "revolution's coffers".
Some rebels continued the fight in remote regions of Brazil, forming the Prestes Column. They maintained contact with the exiles, who prepared new revolts in their support. Despite being too old to go on campaign, Isidoro Dias Lopes planned incursions across the border, coordinated with civilian and military allies from the Rio Grande do Sul garrisons. The strong association with civilian politics was the peculiarity of the tenentist movement in that state., "A continuidade do tenentismo no Rio Grande do Sul – as colunas relâmpagos, 1925-1927". The lieutenant officers and the "liberators" from Rio Grande do Sul had different objectives; the latter wanted to overthrow the governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Borges de Medeiros, and the former, the president of Brazil, Artur Bernardes. But many of the rebel officers were from Rio Grande do Sul, mixing causes. Due to the high polarization of politics in the state, Rio Grande do Sul officials were either "liberators" or government supporters.
The exiles' conspiracy faced the scarcity of resources and the police and diplomatic measures of the Brazilian and Rio Grande do Sul governments. The fight in Rio Grande do Sul, lost in 1924, was renewed in September 1925. The new revolt was a disaster. The military uprising did not occur, and only one of the border incursions took place, being quickly expelled from Brazilian territory. Even so, Lopes was preparing yet another offensive.
In March 1926, a sergeant from the Aviation Squadron Group (GEA), a Military Aviation unit, reported to the command of the 3rd Military Region the officers' participation in a conspiracy. The information reached the Ministry of War and resulted in orders for the region to "have the devices destroyed, occupy the camp with a trusted detachment and subject the officers to investigation, sending those who were compromised as prisoners to Rio". At the suggestion of the commander, major Martins, the measures adopted were less extreme, rendering the planes unusable by removing parts.
In October 1926, two years had passed since the first revolt in Rio Grande do Sul. The Prestes Column was fighting in Mato Grosso. On the 24th, the Column command met and decided to end the fight, heading towards the border with Bolivia. The troops were already exhausted, and the command hoped to negotiate an amnesty with Washington Luís, Bernardes' successor as president of Brazil, who would take office on 15 November. The Column's emissaries (Lourenço Moreira Lima and Djalma Soares Dutra) arrived the day before in Paso de los Libres, Argentina, where Lopes lived. Lopes viewed Washington Luís as negatively as Artur Bernardes, but agreed with the emigration. He only asked that the Column hold out for another two months, giving time for the new revolt he was planning.
Preparation The conspirators scheduled their action for 26 December. The work was long, raising resources and individuals. Lopess' General Staff, headed by Fernando Távora, had a detailed plan; he "made reports on the loyalist, Armed Forces and police personnel; a summary of the largest civilian groups in the center, smaller groups and concentrations mobilized near the borders, including their armament, in addition to a survey of telegraph stations, production of maps". Secret recruitment and propaganda centers operated in Porto Alegre, Santa Maria, Uruguaiana and Rivera, in Uruguay.
One of the committed civilians, Leonel Rocha, remembered Lopes' confidence: "there was no well-prepared revolution like this; If we miss half, we still have too much". A civilian, Rocha was one of the veteran revolutionaries committed to the revolt, and therefore "incorrigible", in the words of Borges de Medeiros. Another veteran, Honório Lemes, did not fight after his defeat in 1925, but his nephew Alfredo supported the life in exile of the sailors of the battleship São Paulo who revolted in 1924 and took part in the new uprisings.
The plan consisted of a four-column invasion across the border, coordinated with uprisings in army units in Rio Grande do Sul. One of the most important garrisons would be Santa Maria, the largest military hub and railway center in the state. The concentration point would be in Caçapava, a municipality with a strong opposition presence. Parallel to the campaign in Rio Grande do Sul, one of the columns would enter Santa Catarina and Paraná to cut the São Paulo-Rio Grande Railway. After the victory in the south, the rebels would join the Prestes Column, coming from Mato Grosso, to march against São Paulo.
Revolts in the garrisons
Bagé and São Gabriel Despite any order from Lopes, on the night of 13 to 14 November there was an uprising among soldiers of the 9th Independent Cavalry Regiment (RCI), in São Gabriel. Led by sergeant Walter Corrêa da Silva, the rebels went to Ponte Seca, where they briefly fought against police and civilian forces during the early hours of the morning. Lieutenant Vicente Mário de Castro, involved in the conspiracy in another local unit (the 1st Battery of the 6th Horse Artillery Group), advised them to withdraw to Caçapava. Convinced that the revolt was premature, the lieutenant remained in São Gabriel, waiting for a better time. The rebels of the 9th RCI took refuge in the estancia of opposition colonel Favorino Dias, in Seival, Caçapava.
Another sergeant from São Gabriel was in Bagé, where he rebelled the soldiers at 01:00 on 14 November. This beginning of revolt was suppressed inside the barracks, at the cost of the life of a loyalist lieutenant.
The hastiness of the uprising would be fatal. According to historian Coralio Cabeda, "the revolution was already born dead". Not all exiles were ready, and the surprise factor was lost. The state government and the command of the 3rd Military Region immediately took action against the conspiracies. Despite the precipitation, general Lopes called the other conspirators into action so that the sergeants would not be abandoned. The next revolt would be "an almost desperate attempt to keep the revolutionary torch burning". The date of 14 November can be related to the desire to obstruct the inauguration of Washington Luís.
The 1st Cavalry Regiment (RC) of the Military Brigade, based in Santa Maria, sent its 4th Squadron to São Gabriel. Another formation in the city, the 5th Infantry Brigade, placed the Aviation Squadron Group on alert. Colonel Enéas Pompílio Pires, brigade commander, requested aerial reconnaissance, which was not possible; Of the Group's 30 planes, the only ones capable of flying were the four from the 1st Bombardment Squadron, from Alegrete, one of which had been sent to Porto Alegre. Second lieutenant Idílio Aleixo went to pick up one of the planes in Alegrete, where he was arrested by the local garrison, who deemed the mission to be very suspicious.
Santa Maria
Rumors Even before the revolts in São Gabriel and Bagé, the atmosphere was tense in Santa Maria. There was much talk about an army uprising, to be launched on 15 November, on the holiday of the Proclamation of the Republic. Inside the army barracks, it was believed that there was a revolt by the Military Brigade garrison due to non-payment of wages. Since the previous month, a rumor had been spread that Washington Luís would dissolve the army, leaving only the state forces.
The 5th Infantry Brigade, based in Santa Maria, kept officers and sergeants on standby in their homes. Its commander, colonel Enéas Pompílio Pires, knew of the commitment of some of his subordinates to the conspiracy, and sought to avoid a conflict within the barracks. A stronger measure against the revolt would be strict readiness, but possibly the conspirators were even within the commander's intelligence service, leaving him poorly informed about the revolts in São Gabriel and Bagé. The conspirators, in turn, mistakenly believed in the success of previous uprisings, and became more confident after the 4th Squadron of the 1st RC left the city.
Major Aníbal Garcia Barão, interim commander of this regiment, took precautions by keeping it ready. Only one platoon, heavily armed, participated in the 15 November parade. Despite expectations, the ceremonies occurred without incidents. At night, army soldiers confirmed to the major that the revolt was imminent. All personnel from the regiment in Santa Maria spent the night in the barracks.
Beginning