Abstract
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1977) claims that slavery and the political exclusion of the gaucho elites caused the decadence of the dry beef production of Rio Grande do Sul during the second half of the XIX century. This paper criticizes that view and offers an alternative explanation. Using the“Economics of Slavery” approach (CONRAD e MEYER, 1958), it asserts that slavery was efficient and the difficulties of the sector were, actually, a symptom of the Dutch Disease (CORDEN, 1984).