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Economic recession along with revolution repressed
Brazil, however. Minas began the 19th century in relative decadence.
It is with adversity that men grow, and the mineiros remembered
well the lessons of the past.
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In 1800, it was already the most populous state
in the country, with a strong political-administrative organization.
The population knew how to respond to political calls and
had an important part in the events of the century. The economy
turned quickly around. Iron factories, new inventions for
the mining industry, and textiles were encouraged. The agriculture
business developed beginning in the 3rd decade of the century
with the farming of coffee. The coffee came through the Vale
do Paraiba, reached the Zona da Mata and transformed itself
into the principal product of the province. The "yellow gold"
gave way to the "green gold." In order to move the coffee,
roads were constructed. The "Union and Industry" began to
rise, connecting Juiz de Fora to Petropolis, in the state
of Rio de Janeiro. It was the first modern road in the country.
Coffee was the principal product until the crash of 1929,
when overproduction required tons of coffee to be burned.
The agriculture industry of Minas was forced to diversify,
and as a result, cattle raising became the most important
economic activity of the area.
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Today, the state has the most herds of cattle in the
country. Mining also became important again with new, modernized
ways of extraction and the discovery of natural deposits of ores
in the mountains. Minas established itself as a leader among the
other states of the nation. When the Republic was announced in 1889,
Minas Gerais was still the second economy in the country, behind
the state of São Paulo. Seven years later, the capital was moved
to the first planned city in Brazil, Belo Horizonte.
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More than economic power, Minas also has a great
estate: the politic. Besides, politic is considered an art
demonstration by the "mineiros". By the end of 1920's, the
state established the secret vote, an example of democracy
still not found in the country. Many well-known politics and
presidents went out of the mountains to lead the direction
of Brazil.
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Cover
| Talking About Minas
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