Spokesmen in an age of uncertainty

the Engineering Club and the design of a railroad general inspectorate

Abstract

This article focuses on the construction of the General Inspectorate of Railroads, organized by the Club of Engineering leading group, winner of debates during the 1st Brazilian Railroads Congress (1882). On that decade, a political action no longer went exclusively through the traditional political parties. The development process of the power block in Brazil that was developed by disputes among the different sides – each one fighting for the predominance of its interests – entailed more spokesmen and agencies. An agency that could centralize the entire road system would have a strong impact on the correlation of the political forces, even at a time of uncertainty.