ABSTRACT
Between 1884 and 1914, Brazil experienced a great social upheaval, with diverse forces moving in different directions. The Abolitionist movement was composed both of urban intellectuals leading rallies and street campaigns and by slaves or liberated men leading violent revolts and uprisings. Diamantina's press flourished, strengthened by an intense political debate among regional elites. In the Southeast of Minas Gerais, the city of Juiz de Fora began as a gathering of farms along the road between the gold mines and the capital city of Rio de Janeiro. For the men of the press, and the elite power holders, the notion of Progress was synonymous with urban space. The city was an arena, where the battle for modernity was fought. One of the main tasks assumed by the men of the press was to educate their readership about modernity and urban progress.
