Dias Lopes was one of the leaders of the Revolution of 1924. He had started the conspiracy against President Artur Bernardes the previous year after a reform of the military, by which time he was already a general. In 1924 he was elected leader by the conspirators and spent time organising forces in Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul. Together with he planned to occupy the city of São Paulo. Armed conflict broke out there on 5 July 1924, scheduled to coincide with the second anniversary of the uprising in the Forte de Copacabana.