O DEBATE DE (1911 ─ 1912) SOBRE O MODELO POLÍTICO DE MACAU有關澳門政治模式的辯論 (1911 ─ 1912)

The article examines the political-administrative debate in Macau between 1911 and 1912, when the First Portuguese Republic sought to reform the colonial governance system and reduce the political influence of the Leal Senado. It argues that the controversy surrounding the abolition and/or reconfigu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Review of Culture
Main Author: Arnaldo Gonçalves
Format: Articles
Published: Instituto Cultural de Macau October 2011
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40040/3122
Description
Summary:The article examines the political-administrative debate in Macau between 1911 and 1912, when the First Portuguese Republic sought to reform the colonial governance system and reduce the political influence of the Leal Senado. It argues that the controversy surrounding the abolition and/or reconfiguration of this institution served as an initial test of the new republican regime's capacity to reorganize the local power dynamics, favoring groups with closer ties to metropolitan mechanisms against entrenched interests within the Portuguese-descendant socio-economic milieu. Based on a critical analysis of official correspondence, minutes, and interventions produced in colonial and local decision-making bodies, as well as documents published in the Boletim Oficial, the study reconstructs the political sequence involving Governor Álvaro de Melo Machado, the opinions of the Colonial Council, and the drafting of the first Draft Guidelines for Administrative Reorganization (May 1912). The main findings underscore the persistence of resistance articulated by local elites, the relevance of internal dynamics beyond the "metropolitan" level, and the ambivalence of the reformist project, which was interrupted without full implementation amid regional instability and the need for political "rapprochement" with Chinese authorities and population.
ISSN:1682-1106