Vargas understood that with the breakdown of direct relations between workers and owners in the growing factories of Brazil, workers could become the basis for a new form of political power – populism. Using such insights, he gradually established such mastery over the Brazilian political world that, upon achieving power, he stayed in power for 15 years. During this time, as the stranglehold of the agricultural elites eased, new urban industrial leaders acquired more influence nationally, and the middle class began to show strength.