 The opportunity to graduate from provincial to national politics came soon after . The Conservative prime minister Honório Hermeto Carneiro Leão , Marquis of Paraná , faced overwhelming opposition from his own party in parliament . Paraná knew that the party 's principles were seen as irrelevant and ignored at local and provincial levels . A cabinet could use patronage alone to gain backing from local bosses for its national candidates , including in the province of Rio Grande do Sul . Porto Alegre was a Liberal allied to Conservatives in his province . He pledged support to Paraná and in 1857 was elected general deputy ( member of the Chamber of Deputies , the national legislature 's lower house ) . He was reelected in 1860 . 
