# 1881 Brazilian parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in the Empire of Brazil on 31 October 1881 to elect members of the 18th legislature of the Chamber of Deputies. These were the first direct elections held in the country after the Saraiva Law was enacted (Law No. 3,029 of 9 January 1881). The Liberal Party won 74 seats while the Conservative Party won 48. The chamber was later dissolved on 3 September 1884.

## Background

On 15 December 1875 emperor Pedro II of Brazil called the liberal João Lins Cansanção, the Viscount of Sinimbu, to head a new cabinet with the goal of establishing direct voting in the country. The expected reform was amidst the country's electoral, military, religious, and slavery crises. Sinimbu's bill proposed raising the minimum yearly income threshold to vote from 200 to 400 thousand réis and also prohibiting illiterates to vote. The bill, a constitutional reform, was approved in the Chamber of Deputies on 9 June 1879, but was rejected in the Senate on 12 November, and thus Sinimbu's cabinet fell. The new prime minister who followed, also a liberal, José Antônio Saraiva, took over on 28 March 1880 and managed to approve his own bill, the Saraiva Law, on 9 January 1881. The law introduced direct voting in the country, but prohibited the illiterate to vote, and so the number of electors in the country fell from over a million, or about 13% of the country's free adult population, to just over 100,000, less than 1% of the same group.

## Results

Seats :
| | Liberal Party | 74 |
| | Conservative Party | 48 |
| Total | Total | 122 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados |||

### Results by province

| Province or neutral municipality | Districts | Liberals | Conservatives | Elected votes | Total votes |
| Alagoas | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1,813 | 3,343 |
| Amazonas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 399 | 664 |
| Bahia | 14 | 11 | 3 | 8,322 | 14,449 |
| Ceará | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3,592 | 6,777 |
| Espírito Santo | 2 | 2 | – | 739 | 1,426 |
| Goiás | 2 | 2 | – | 1,010 | 2,256 |
| Maranhão | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2,202 | 3,747 |
| Mato Grosso | 2 | 2 | – | 676 | 1,230 |
| Minas Gerais | 20 | 14 | 6 | 10,641 | 17,912 |
| Neutral Municipality and Rio de Janeiro | 12 | 2 | 10 | 7,652 | 13,916 |
| Pará | 3 | – | 3 | 2,321 | 4,304 |
| Paraíba | 5 | 2 | 3 | 1,691 | 3,067 |
| Paraná | 2 | 2 | – | 1,093 | 1,775 |
| Pernambuco | 13 | 5 | 8 | 5,344 | 9,757 |
| Piauí | 3 | 3 | – | 1,745 | 2,894 |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1,324 | 2,423 |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 6 | 6 | – | 5,607 | 10,313 |
| Santa Catarina | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1,127 | 2,243 |
| São Paulo | 9 | 6 | 3 | 5,765 | 11,126 |
| Sergipe | 4 | 1 | 3 | 1,564 | 2,649 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados ||||||

### Elected members by province

Alagoas
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Tomás do Bonfim Espindola | Liberal | 455 |
| 2nd | Manuel Joaquim de Mendonça Castelo Branco | Conservative | 347 |
| 3rd | Francisco Ildefonso Ribeiro de Menezes | Liberal | 276 |
| 4th | Lourenço Cavalcanti de Albuquerque | Liberal | 339 |
| 5th | Teófilo Fernandes dos Santos | Liberal | 396 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 374 ||||
Amazonas
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Antônio dos Passos Miranda | Conservative | 110 |
| 2nd | Adriano Xavier de Olivera Pimentel | Liberal | 289 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 373 ||||
Bahia
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Joaquim Elísio Pereira Marinho | Conservative | 763 |
| 2nd | Ruy Barbosa | Liberal | 443 |
| 3rd | Francisco Prisco de Sousa Paraíso | Liberal | 688 |
| 4th | Francisco Maria Sodré Pereira | Liberal | 649 |
| 5th | Ildefonso José de Araújo | Liberal | 631 |
| 6th | Antônio Carneiro da Rocha | Liberal | 853 |
| 7th | João Ferreira de Araújo Pinho | Conservative | 667 |
| 8th | João Ferreira de Moura | Liberal | 527 |
| 9th | Rodolfo Epifanio de Sousa Dantas | Liberal | 523 |
| 10th | Aristides Cesar Spinola Zama | Liberal | 629 |
| 11th | Antônio Rodrigues Lima | Liberal | 660 |
| 12th | Juvencio Alves de Sousa | Liberal | 607 |
| 13th | Aristides de Sousa Spinola | Liberal | 241 |
| 14th | Francisco Bonifácio de Abreu | Conservative | 441 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 375 ||||
Ceará
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Meton da Franca Alencar | Liberal | 560 |
| 2nd | Antônio Pinto de Mendonça | Conservative | 522 |
| 3rd | José Pompeu de Albuquerque Cavalcanti | Liberal | 483 |
| 4th | Antônio Joaquim Rodrigues Junior | Liberal | 417 |
| 5th | Paulino Franklin do Amaral | Conservative | 413 |
| 6th | Leandro de Chaves Mello Ratisbona | Liberal | 410 |
| 7th | Tomás Pompeu de Sousa Brasil | Liberal | 368 |
| 8th | Alvaro Caminha Tavares da Silva | Conservative | 391 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 373 ||||
Espírito Santo
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Daniel Accioli de Azevedo | Liberal | 381 |
| 2nd | Leopoldo Augusto Deocleciano de Mello e Cunha | Liberal | 358 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 375 ||||
Goiás
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | André Augusto de Padua Fleury | Liberal | 332 |
| 2nd | José Leopoldo de Bulhões Jardim | Liberal | 678 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 377 ||||
Maranhão
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | José da Silva Maia | Conservative | 599 |
| 2nd | Felippe Franco de Sá | Liberal | 334 |
| 3rd | Augusto Olympio Gomes de Castro | Conservative | 476 |
| 4th | Salustiano Ferreira de Moraes Rego | Liberal | 205 |
| 5th | Sinval Odorico de Moura | Liberal | 264 |
| 6th | José Vianna Vaz | Liberal | 321 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 373 ||||
Mato Grosso
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Antônio Gonçalves de Carvalho | Liberal | 277 |
| 2nd | Augusto César de Pádua Fleury | Liberal | 399 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 377 ||||
Minas Gerais
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Carlos Afonso de Assis Figueiredo | Liberal | 460 |
| 2nd | Candido Luiz Maria de Oliveira | Liberal | 472 |
| 3rd | Afonso Augusto Moreira Pena | Liberal | 499 |
| 4th | Ignacio Antônio de Assis Martins | Liberal | 544 |
| 5th | Martinho Álvares da Silva Campos | Liberal | 481 |
| 6th | Francisco Ignacio de Carvalho Rezende | Conservative | 700 |
| 7th | José Rodrigues de Lima Duarte | Liberal | 678 |
| 8th | Carlos Vaz de Melo | Liberal | 613 |
| 9th | José de Resende Monteiro | Conservative | 753 |
| 10th | João Nogueira Penido | Liberal | 587 |
| 11th | José Manoel Pereira Cabral | Conservative | 705 |
| 12th | Francisco Silviano de Almeida Brandão | Liberal | 750 |
| 13th | Olympio Oscar de Vilhena Valadão | Conservative | 703 |
| 14th | Manoel José Soares | Conservative | 561 |
| 15th | João Caetano de Oliveira e Sousa | Conservative | 403 |
| 16th | Eduardo Augusto Montandon | Liberal | 364 |
| 17th | João da Matta Machado | Liberal | 326 |
| 18th | Joaquim Vieira de Andrade | Liberal | 296 |
| 19th | Antônio Felicio dos Santos | Liberal | 254 |
| 20th | Afonso Celso de Assis Figueiredo Junior | Liberal | 449 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 377 ||||
Neutral Municipality and Rio de Janeiro
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Luiz Joaquim Duque Estrada Teixeira | Conservative | 958 |
| 2nd | Joaquim Antônio Fernandes de Oliveira | Conservative | 757 |
| 3rd | Adolfo Bezerra de Menezes | Liberal | 859 |
| 4th | Paulino José Soares de Sousa | Conservative | 802 |
| 5th | Francisco Belisario Soares de Sousa | Conservative | 550 |
| 6th | Manoel Rodrigues Peixoto | Liberal | 647 |
| 7th | João de Almeida Pereira | Conservative | 621 |
| 8th | Alfredo Rodrigues Fernandes Chaves | Conservative | 397 |
| 9th | João Manoel Pereira da Silva | Conservative | 546 |
| 10th | Manoel Peixoto de Lacerda Werneck | Conservative | 484 |
| 11th | Domingos de Andrade Figueira | Conservative | 581 |
| 12th | Antônio Ferreira Vianna | Conservative | 450 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 375 ||||
Pará
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | José Ferreira Cantão | Conservative | 1,008 |
| 2nd | Guilherme Francisco da Cruz | Conservative | 588 |
| 3rd | Samuel Wallace MacDowell | Conservative | 725 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 373 ||||
Paraíba
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Anisio Salathiel Carneiro da Cunha | Conservative | 456 |
| 2nd | Manoel Tertuliano Tomás Henrique | Conservative | 316 |
| 3rd | José Evaristo da Cruz Gouveia | Conservative | 265 |
| 4th | Manoel Carlos de Gouveia | Liberal | 299 |
| 5th | Antônio Alves de Sousa Carvalho | Liberal | 355 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 374 ||||
Paraná
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Generoso Marques dos Santos | Liberal | 492 |
| 2nd | Manoel Alves de Araújo | Liberal | 601 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 376 ||||
Pernambuco
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Manoel do Nascimento Machado Portella | Conservative | 725 |
| 2nd | José Mariano Carneiro da Cunha | Liberal | 715 |
| 3rd | Manoel da Trindade Peretti | Conservative | 395 |
| 4th | Joaquim Tavares de Mello Barreto | Liberal | 302 |
| 5th | Francisco do Rego Barros de Lacerda | Conservative | 331 |
| 6th | Henrique Marques de Holanda Cavalcanti | Conservative | 304 |
| 7th | Ignacio Joaquim de Sousa Leão | Conservative | 362 |
| 8th | Francisco de Caldas Lins | Conservative | 480 |
| 9th | José Bernardo Galvão Alcoforado Junior | Conservative | 237 |
| 10th | Ulysses Machado Pereira Vianna | Liberal | 313 |
| 11th | Francisco Seraphico de Assis Carvalho | Liberal | 275 |
| 12th | Antônio Gonçalves Ferreira | Conservative | 328 |
| 13th | Antônio Manoel de Siqueira Cavalcanti | Liberal | 531 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 374 ||||
Piauí
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Candido Gil Castelo Branco | Liberal | 544 |
| 2nd | José Basson de Miranda Osório | Liberal | 405 |
| 3rd | Franklin Américo de Menezes Dória | Liberal | 796 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 373 ||||
Rio Grande do Norte
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Amaro Carneiro Bezerra Cavalcanti | Liberal | 521 |
| 2nd | Tarquínio Bráulio de Sousa Amaranto | Conservative | 803 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 374 ||||
Rio Grande do Sul
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Antônio Eleutério de Camargo | Liberal | 1,319 |
| 2nd | Antônio Antunes Ribas | Liberal | 711 |
| 3rd | Henrique Francisco de Ávila | Liberal | 758 |
| 4th | Francisco Antunes Maciel | Liberal | 947 |
| 5th | José Francisco Diana | Liberal | 1,085 |
| 6th | Felisberto Pereira da Silva | Liberal | 807 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 376 ||||
Santa Catarina
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Alfredo de Escragnolle Taunay | Conservative | 648 |
| 2nd | Manoel da Silva Mafra | Liberal | 479 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 376 ||||
São Paulo
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Laurindo Abelardo de Brito | Liberal | 656 |
| 2nd | Antônio Moreira de Barros | Liberal | 676 |
| 3rd | José Luiz de Almeida Nogueira | Conservative | 789 |
| 4th | Bento Francisco de Paula e Sousa | Liberal | 551 |
| 5th | Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada Filho | Liberal | 575 |
| 6th | Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrade | Liberal | 351 |
| 7th | Francisco Antônio de Sousa Queiroz Filho | Liberal | 667 |
| 8th | Antônio da Costa Pinto e Silva | Conservative | 572 |
| 9th | Antônio Pinheiro de Ulhôa Cintra | Conservative | 748 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 376 ||||
Sergipe
| District | Member | Party | Votes |
| 1st | Graciliano Arístides do Prado Pimentel | Liberal | 519 |
| 2nd | Antônio Dias Coelho e Melo | Liberal | 393 |
| 3rd | Geminiano Brasil de Oliveira Góis | Conservative | 273 |
| 4th | José Luiz Coelho e Campos | Conservative | 379 |
| Source: Câmara dos Deputados 1889, p. 374 ||||