Objective:

This article explores the debate of political ideas among the newspapers of the Court of Rio de Janeiro, in the context of the peace negotiations between Argentina, the Empire of Brazil and Paraguay, in 1872.

Methodology:

By analyzing the columns of the Jornal de Commercio, A Reforma and A República, and observing the external negotiations and internal disputes, this paper seeks to understand the complex diplomatic episodes of 1872.

Originality:

This affair is yet to be explored in depth by literature on international relations of the Southern Cone.

Conclusions:

The study of these newspapers, in parallel to the analysis of events and certain individuals, reveals that the political debates of the press at the Court concentrated mainly on the strategies and methods of imperial diplomacy, as a way of bringing domestic policy proposals to the external stage, without questioning the legitimacy of Brazil's traditional foreign policy in the face of rivalries with the River Plate republics.