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This article is about Brazil, the country. For other article subjects named Brazil see Brazil (disambiguation).
The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in South America. Spanning a vast area between the Andes and the Atlantic Ocean, it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru,
Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Named after brazilwood, a local tree, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests.
República Federativa do Brasil
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National motto: Ordem e Progresso
(Portuguese, Order and Progress) |
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| Official Language |
Portuguese |
| Minority Languages |
Indigenous and Immigrant Languages, please see below |
| Capital |
Brasília |
| Largest City |
São Paulo |
| President |
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
Area
- Total
- % water |
Ranked 5th
8,511,965 km2
0.65% |
| Population
- Total (2000)
- Density |
Ranked 5th
174,468,575
20.5/km² |
| Independence
- Declared
- Recognised |
From Portugal
September 7, 1822
August 29, 1825 |
|
GDP (base PPP)
- Total (2002)
- GDP/head |
Ranked 10th(countries)
Ranked 7th(economies)
1,34 trillions $
9,300 $ |
| Currency |
Real |
| Time zone |
UTC -2 to -5 |
| National anthem |
Hino Nacional Brasileiro |
| Internet TLD |
.BR |
| Calling Code |
55 |
History
Main article: History of Brazil
Brazil had been inhabited for at least 6,000 years by semi-nomadic tribes when it was discovered by Portuguese explorers around 1500. Over the next three centuries it was
re-settled by Portuguese and managed as a commercial colony, based to a large extent on slavery. In 1808 King João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to
Brazil with the royal family and government. Though they returned in 1821, the interlude
led to a growing desire for self-rule among Brazilians, and in 1822 the then prince-regent
Dom Pedro I established the independent Empire of Brazil. This lasted until the next emperor, Dom Pedro II was deposed in 1889
and a republican based federation
was established.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and
Asian immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise and further expand into its
interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorship three times
— 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getulio Vargas, and 1964–1985 under a succession of generals appointed by the military.
Brazil is now undergoing a deep economic and social crisis due to its huge national debt, which consumes a disproportionate
fraction of its GNP and is preventing much-needed
investment and economic growth.
Politics
Main article: Politics of Brazil
The 1988 constitution grants broad
powers to the federal government, of which the president
and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. The president has extensive executive powers and is both head of
state and head of government and he also appoints the
cabinet.
The Brazilian legislature, the bicameral National Congress or
Congresso Nacional, consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal
of 81 seats, of which three members from each state or federal district are elected according to the principle of majority to
serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period. Beside
the Senate there is the Chamber of Deputies or Câmara dos Deputados of 513 seats, whose members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year
terms.
Some Brazilians have advocated a parliamentary, rather than presidential,
system of government, while some have even advocated restoring the monarchy as a
symbol of national unity and political stability. (Brazil was briefly a parliamentary republic, similar to India and Germany, during the mid-1960s.) However, a national plebiscite was held on both issues in
April 1993, but both options were rejected, and voters chose instead to remain a
presidential republic.
See also:
- Cangaço (criminal hinterland bands)
- Café com leite (reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee
oligarchs")
- Coronelismo (reference to machine politics)
- Integralism (influential Brazilian fascist movement in the 1930s)
States
Main article: States of Brazil
Brazil consists of 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district (distrito
federal):
See also: List of cities in Brazil
Geography
Main article: Geography of Brazil
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 Brazil's
population and its agricultural base. Along the coast of the Atlantic
Ocean are also found several mountain ranges, amongst which the highest peak is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 m. Major
rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world by volume, the
Paraná with its impressive Iguaçu falls, the Rio Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.
Situated along the equator, Brazil's climate is predominantly tropical, with little
seasonal variation, though the subtropical south is more temperate and can occasionally experience frost and snow. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, though more arid landscapes are found as well, in particular in the
northeast.
Economy
Main article: Economy of Brazil
Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as
a large labour pool, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South
American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include coffee, soybeans, iron
ore, orange juice and steel.
After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a USD 41.5 billion
IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This
devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer
of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP
growth.
Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in
major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Investor confidence was strong at yearend 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in
the trade balance. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
After Lula da Silva came to power in 2003, the government continued to run the same former president Cardoso's policies,
attending to market pressures and international agencies - such as IMF and World Bank - demands. As people were expecting swift
changes in the social agenda, this fact has caused a measurable electoral disappointment.
See also:
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Brazil
Ethnic groups
The only clearly separated minority ethnic groups in Brazil are the various non-assimilated indigenous tribes, comprising less than 1% of the
population, who live in officially delimited reservations and either avoid contact with "civilized" people, or have assimilated
mainstream Brazilain culture to some extent but still constitute separate social and political communities. The rest of the
population can be considered a single "Brazilian" ethnic group, with highly varied racial types and backgrounds, some broad
regional trends, but without clear ethnic sub-divisions.
Most of the population descends from early European settlers (chiefly Portuguese, but also some French and Dutch), African slaves (Yoruba, Ewe, Bantu,
and others), and assimilated indigenous peoples (mostly Tupi and Guarani, but also of many other ethnic groups). Trans-ethnic marriages and concubinates have been common and
fairly well accepted ever since the first Portuguese settlers arrived.
Starting in the late 19th century Brazil received substantial
immigration from several other countries, mainly Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland,
Lebanon, Japan, China and Korea. Those immigrant populations and their descendants still
retain some of their original ethnic identity, however they are not closed communities and are rapidly integrating into
mainstream Brazilian society: for instance, very few of the third generation can understand their grandparent's language.
Religion
About 80% of all Brazilians belong to the Roman Catholic
Church; most of the remaining 20% adhere to various Protestant faiths,
Kardecism, Candomblé, Umbanda, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.
Language
Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, a fact that has substantially prevented it from developing close
cultural ties with its Spanish-speaking neighbors.
Portuguese is the only language with full official status in Brazil; it is virtually the only language used in schools,
newspapers, radio and TV, and for all business and administrative purposes. However many of the indigenous peoples still speak
their native languages. These include Mbyá-Guaraní (or simply Guaraní), Kaingang, Nadëb, Carajá, Caribe, Tucano, Arára, Terêna, Borôro, Apalaí, Canela, Língua Geral (which is now almost extinct but at one time it was the common language used by indigenous
and African and African descendent captives throughout the coast of Brazil), and many other. Some of those languages have
recently obtained local co-official status — e.g. Nheengatu, Tukano, and Baniwa in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas (2003).
Other languages such as German, Italian,
and Japanese are still spoken by 19th and 20th century immigrants and their descendants;
however they are rapidly being replaced by Portuguese as those communities are integrating into Brazilian society. Some immigrant
communities in southern Brazil, chiefly German and Italians ones, have lasted long enough to develop distinctive languages — for example Hunsrückisch and Pommeranisch. A Japanese-language newspaper, the São Paulo Shinbun, is
still published in São Paulo. The English-language daily
Brazil Herald is
directed mostly to tourists and foreign executives.
Portuguese is the first language of almost 99% of the population.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Brazil
Sports
Main Article: Sports
in Brazil
Miscellaneous topics
Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA
World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
External links
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