On 5 July 1924, on the second anniversary of the
Copacabana Fort revolt, a
new armed revolt broke out in
São Paulo. The
Tenentes (English: lieutenants), young army officers that were deeply dissatisfied with the country's political and social landscape, under the command of general
Isidoro Dias Lopes,
occupied large parts of the city. However, they were soon besieged by increasingly numerous federal troops. After 3 weeks
under heavy bombardment the rebels abandoned their positions. Filling a train with men and supplies, they retreated into the countryside eventually reaching and occupying the city of
Foz do Iguaçu in the state of
Paraná, on Brazil's border with
Argentina, starting the
Paraná Campaign. There the rebels established a powerful defense line, and waited for their enemies, soon to arrive under the command of general
Cândido Rondon. In support of the revolutionaries similar uprisings broke out in the states of Amazonas and
Sergipe, but they were quickly suppressed. In the state of
Rio Grande do Sul, however, events took another turn with the outbreak of
a new revolt. As it happened, 3 months after the retreat of the
Tenentes from the city of São Paulo, numerous army units also rebelled in the cities of
Alegrete,
Cachoeira do Sul,
Uruguaiana,
São Luíz Gonzaga,
Santo Ângelo and
São Borja. An energetic response by the state government meant that soon the rebels were in disarray. Only in the region of São Luiz Gonzaga they were able to resist under the leadership of captain
Luís Carlos Prestes of the 1st Frontier Battalion of Santo Ângelo. Under his orders, the remaining rebel forces were reorganized. In December 1924 fourteen thousand men loyal to the government marched towards São Luíz Gonzaga and started to fortify positions around the rebels. By then, Prestes had made contact with an envoy of general Isidoro Dias Lopes, João Franscico, a veteran of the
Federalist Revolution known as "Hiena do Cati", who informed him of his promotion to colonel by the revolutionary command, gave him full control of the rebel forces in Rio Grande do Sul and ordered him to march north with his men in order to join forces with the São Paulo rebels on the shores of the
Paraná river. Breaking the siege on 27 December 1924 and escaping his pursuers, Prestes and his column arrived in April 1925 in the city of Santa Helena. == Meeting in Foz do Iguaçu ==