However, the name does not refer to any local river; it is a tribute to Brazilian diplomat José Paranhos, Baron of Rio Branco, who negotiated the definitive borders of Brazil and Uruguay.
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Writing at the end of the 19th century, the Brazilian abolitionist leader Joaquim Nabuco said that Rio Branco was—of all the politicians who held the office during Pedro II's reign—the most fitted to the post of President of the Council of Ministers.
It led to the imprisonment of two bishops and contributed to the downfall of the government of José Paranhos, Viscount of Rio Branco.