Encyclopedia
Brazil, officially the
Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest and most populous country in
South America, and
fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the
Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of the
Americas and it borders
Uruguay,
Argentina,
Paraguay,
Bolivia,
Peru,
Colombia,
Venezuela,
Guyana,
Suriname and the French department of
French Guiana. In fact, it borders every South American nation except for
Ecuador and
Chile. The country's name is generally believed to be derived from
pau-brasil , a tree highly valued by early colonists, though some credit the name to a
mythical land mentioned in Europe during Middle Ages. Brazil is home to both extensive
agricultural lands and
rain forests. Exploring vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Because it was a
colony of
Portugal,
Portuguese is Brazil's official language. Brazil has the world's second largest Christian population , and also is the world's largest
Roman Catholic-majority nation in terms of both number of adherents and land mass — a strong cultural legacy left behind by the Roman Catholic Portuguese colonists.
History
Brazil is thought to have been inhabited for at least 10,000 years by semi-nomadic populations before the first
Portuguese explorers, led by
Pedro Álvares Cabral, disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries, it was resettled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood at first, followed by
sugarcane agriculture, coffee beans and
gold mining. The colony's source of manpower was initially composed of
enslaved Amerindians, and after 1550, mainly
African. In 1808, Queen
Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future
João VI of Portugal, fleeing from the armies of
Napoleon, relocated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with the royal family, nobility and government. This is the only recorded trans-continental relocation of a royal family.
Though they returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to the
United Kingdom — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and to the elevation of Brazil to the status of a united kingdom under the Portuguese Crown. Upon
João VI's departure, the remaining royal government in
Rio moved to dissolve the Kingdom of Brazil and return it to the status of colony. This resulted in the small scale conflicts known as the Brazilian War of Independence. On 7 September 1822 Prince regent
Dom Pedro I declared independence, establishing the independent
Empire of Brazil. A treaty recognizing the Empire's independence was signed on 29 August, 1825 with Britain and Portugal. As the crown remained in the hands of the
House of Bragança, this was more the severance of the Portuguese empire in two, than an independence movement as seen elsewhere in the Americas.
The Brazilian Empire was theoretically a democracy in the
British style, although in practice, the emperor-premier-parliament balance of power more closely resembled the autocratic
Austrian Empire. Slavery was abolished in 1888, through the "Golden Law", created by
Princess Isabel, and intensive European immigration created the basis for industrialization. Pedro I was succeeded by his son,
Pedro II — who in old age was caught by a political dispute between the Army and the Cabinet, a crisis arising from the
Paraguay War. In order to avoid a civil war between Army and Navy, Pedro II renounced the throne on 15 November 1889, when a
federal republic was established by
Field Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted well over 5 million
European, Arab and
Japanese immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise, further colonise, and develop its interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorships three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under
Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985, under a succession of generals appointed by the military with the help of the US. Since 1985, Brazil has been internationally considered a
democracy, specifically a
presidential democracy; that status was affirmed in a 1993 plebiscite, in which voters were asked to choose between a presidential or
parliamentary system; voters also decided not to restore the country's
constitutional monarchy.
Government and Politics
The capital of Brazil is
Brasília. According to the Constitution promulgated in 1988, Brazil is a
federal presidential representative democratic
republic, wherein the
President is both
head of state and head of government. One of the founding principles of the politics in the Republic is the multi-party system, as a guarantee of political freedom.
The administrative structure of the State is a federation; however, Brazil has included the municipalities as autonomous political entities making the federation tripartite: encompassing the Union, the States, and the municipalities. The legal system is based on Roman Law.
The Union's Executive power is exercised by the government, headed by the president, who is elected for a four-year term, and is allowed to be re-elected for one other term.
Legislative power is vested in the
National Congress, which is bicameral. The deputies of the Chamber of Deputies are elected every four years in a system of proportional representation by states. The members of the Federal Senate are elected for an eight-year term. The Ordinary Law making process requires the participation of the executive, which has a right to veto on new legislation, and has
Administrative divisions
Brazil is a
federation consisting of 26 states and 1 federal district , making a total of 27
Federate Units.
Brazil is organised on a federal model, the Brazilian states enjoying a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a Governor , elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body .
Each state is divided into municipalities with their own
legislative council and a mayor , which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both Federal and State Government. A municipality may include other towns besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.
The Judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called . One may include several municipalities.
See also:
Geography
Brazil is characterised by the extensive low-lying
Amazon Rainforest in the north and a more open terrain of hills and low mountains to the south — home to most of the Brazilian population and its agricultural base. Along the
Atlantic seacoast are also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900
metres high. The highest peak is the Pico da Neblina reckoning 3,014 metres of altitude, in
Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the
Amazon, the largest river in the world in flowing water volume, and the second-longest in the world; the
Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the impressive Iguaçu falls are located; the
Negro,
São Francisco,
Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.
Located mainly within the
tropics, Brazil's
climate has little seasonal variation. In southern most Brazil, however, there is subtropical temperate weather, occasionally experiencing frost and snow in the higher regions. Precipitation is abundant in the humid
Amazon Basin, but more arid landscapes are found as well, particularly in the northeast.
A number of
islands in the
Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:
Mainland Brazil is commonly geographically divided into 5 distinctive regions:
North,
Northeast,
Centre-West,
Southeast and
South.
- The North constitutes 45.27% of the surface of Brazil and it is the region with the lowest number of inhabitants. It is a fairly unindustrialised and undeveloped region . It accommodates most of the largest rainforest of the world, the Amazon, and many indigenous tribes.
- The Northeast has one third of Brazil's population. The region is culturally diverse, with roots from the Portuguese colonial period, Afro-Brazilian culture and some Brazilian Indian influence. It is also the poorest region of Brazil, and has long periods of dry climate. It is well-known for its beautiful coast.
- The Central-West is the second largest region of Brazil, but has a low demographic density. It is there that the Brazilian capital, Brasília
...
, is located. The region accommodates the
Pantanal, the world’s largest marshlands area, and a small part of the Amazon
rainforest, in its northwestern area. However, much of the region is overgrown by
Cerrado, the largest
savanna in the world, which has two distinct seasons: a rainy season and a dry one . It is also the most important area for agriculture in the country. The most important cities are:
Brasília,
Goiânia, Campo Grande and
Cuiabá- The Southeast is the richest and most densely populated region. It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopoles of the world, whereof the main cities are the country's two biggest ones; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business centre of São Paulo, the Historical cities of Minas Gerais, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Espírito Santo.
- The South is the wealthiest region , with the best standard of living in the country. It is also the coldest region of Brazil, with occasional occurrences of frosts and snow in some of the higher altitude regions. The region has been heavily settled by European immigrants, mainly of German
...
,
Italian, and
Slavic genealogy, and shows clear influences from these cultures.
Economy
Possessing large and well-developed
agricultural,
mining, manufacturing, and
service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP outweighs that of any other
Latin American country, being the core economy of
Mercosur. The country has been expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include
aircraft,
coffee,
vehicles,
soybean,
iron ore,
orange juice,
steel,
textiles,
footwear and electrical equipment.
According to the
International Monetary Fund and the
World Bank, Brazil has the ninth largest economy in the world at purchasing power parity. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is aglomerated in the South and South-East. The North-East is the poorest region of Brazil, but it is beginning to attract new investment.
Brazil has the most advanced industrial sector in Latin America. Amounting to one-third of
GDP, Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer durables. With the increased economic stability provided by the Plano Real, Brazilian and multinational businesses have invested heavily in new equipment and technology, a large proportion of which has been purchased from North American enterprises.
Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated services industry as well. During the early 1990s, the banking sector amounted to as much as 16% of GDP. Although undergoing a major overhaul, Brazilian financial services industry provides local businesses with a wide range of products and is attracting numerous new entrants, including U.S. financial firms. The São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro stock exchanges are undergoing a consolidation.Brazil overall does not have very good economic value
Brazilian cities vary significantly in the ease of doing business, according to the new report released by The World Bank Group. Brazilian cities perform better when it comes to the cost of registering property. But despite identical regulations across Brazil, there is a wide variation in the time it takes to transfer property
Although Brazil's economy is progressive and regionally important, the problems of widespread corruption,
poverty and
illiteracy are still major barriers to development.
Current events
After decades of high inflation and several attempts to control it, Brazil embarked on an economic stabilisation program, the
Real Plan in July 1994, during the
Itamar Franco administration. The inflation rates, which had reached an annual level of nearly 5,000% at the end of 1993, fell sharply, reaching a low of 2.5% in 1998. The passing of the Fiscal Responsibility Law in 2000 has improved the fiscal discipline of the local and federal governments, albeit in detriment of much needed investment in infrastructure and improvement of social services.
During the
Fernando Henrique Cardoso administration , the government led efforts to replace a state-dominated economy with a market-oriented one. The Congress has approved several amendments opening the economy to greater private sector participation, and fostering the involvement of foreign investors. By the end of 2003, Brazil's privatisation program, which included the sale of steel, electricity and telecommunications firms, had generated proceeds of more than $90 billion.
In January 1999, the
Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the U.S. dollar, which entailed a major devaluation of the Brazilian currency. The economy grew 4.4% in 2000, decreasing to 1.3% in 2001.
In 2002, growing speculation that the presidential candidate considered most likely to win, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, would default on the debt, triggered a confidence crisis that caused the economy to decelerate. However once elected Lula resumed the economic policies of his predecessor. In 2003, President Lula took an austere approach to the economy by controlling inflation and seeking current account surpluses in order to meet Brazil's debt obligations.
After a GDP increase of 0.5% in 2003, Brazil showed robust growth in 2004 of 5.2%, decreasing to the pace of 2.3% ; international economic growth and, consequentially, expansion of exports, contributed to this performance.
Major issues
The economy still has serious challenges to face and important reforms are still to be implemented. Serious problems involving poor infrastructure, income concentration, low quality public services, corruption, social conflicts and government bureaucracy persist and threaten to hamper economic growth, compared to other emerging countries.
The internal public debt has reached the all time record and public expenses have been increased. Taxes already represent a considerable part of national income and are a serious burden to all social classes, diminishing opportunities for investment. In addition, enterpreneurship is burdened by high licensing costs and complex authorization processes.
Current economic growth is below that of comparable Latin American countries and of China and India. Brazil has dropped 11 positions on the WEF Growth Competitiveness Index ranking from 2003 to 2005.
.
Environment
Due to the relatively explosive economic and demographic rise of the country in the last century, Brazil's ability to protect its environmental habitats has increasingly come under threat.
Extensive
logging in the nation's forests, particularly the
Amazon, both official and unofficial, destroys areas the size of a small country each year, and potentially a diverse variety of interesting plants and animals.
Being a hotspot for fauna and flora, Brazil houses many thousands of species, most of them still undiscovered. By 2020, it is estimated that at least 50% of the species resident in Brazil will be eradicated.
As several of these specimens possess special characteristics, or are built in an interesting way, some of their capabilities may be copied for use in technology . The revenues derived from such plans may still hold the key to conserve the country's animal and plant species.
Demographics
The dominant ancestry among Brazilians is
Portuguese through the descendants of the early Portuguese colonists and later Portuguese immigrants , followed by italian immigrants. The settlement of Portuguese started in Brazil after 1532, when the active process of colonization began since the founding of
São Vicente. Until independence in 1822, the Portuguese were the only
European nation that successfully settled in Brazil, and most of Brazil's culture is based on that of
Portugal.
Other European countries had some presence during the Colonial period. The
Dutch and the
French tried to colonise Brazil during the 17th century, but their presence lasted only a few decades.
The original
Amerindian population of Brazil has in large part been exterminated or assimilated into the
Portuguese population. Since the beginning of Brazil's
colonization, intermarriage between the
Portuguese and
Native Brazilians has been common. Nowadays, there are 700,000 natives in Brazil, composing less than 1% of the national population.
Brazil has a large black population, descended from
African 
