- For other uses, see Brazil (disambiguation).
The Federative Republic of Brazil (República Federativa do Brasil in Portuguese) is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and fifth largest in the world. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and France (French Guiana) — every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile. Named after brazilwood, a tree highly valued by early colonists, Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. A former colony of Portugal, Portuguese is its official language.
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Contents
- 1 History
- 2 Politics
- 3 States
- 4 Geography
- 5 Economy
- 6 Demographics
- 7 Human rights
- 8 Culture
- 9 Sports
- 10 Miscellaneous topics
- 11 External links
- 11.1 Government, Administration, Economy & Politics
- 11.2 Information, Media, Statistics
- 11.3 Society, Social Movements, etc.
- 11.4 Art, Cooking, Culture, History, Travel
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History
Main article: History of Brazil
Brazil had been inhabited for at least 6.000 years by semi-nomadic populations when the first Portuguese explorers, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral disembarked in 1500. Over the next three centuries it was re-settled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood at first, and later for gold mining and sugarcane agriculture. Work in the colony was based on slavery. In 1808 Queen Maria I of Portugal and her son and regent, the future João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil with the royal family, nobles and government. Though they returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to the opening of commercial ports to England — at the time isolated from most European ports by Napoleon — and the "elevation" of Brazil to the status of a Kingdom united to Portugal's Crown. Then prince-regent Dom Pedro I declared independence on 7 September 1822, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. This lasted until the next emperor, Dom Pedro II was deposed and a federal republic was established on 15 November 1889. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Brazil attracted over 5 million European and Japanese immigrants. That period also saw Brazil industrialise and further colonize and develop its interior. Brazilian democracy was replaced by dictatorship three times — 1930–1934 and 1937–1945 under Getúlio Vargas, and 1964–1985 under a succession of generals appointed by the military. Today Brazil is a democracy.
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: he appoints the Cabinet, and he is also both head of state and head of government.
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.
See also:
- Cangaço (criminal hinterland bands in the first years of the 20th century)
- Café com leite (reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee oligarchs" in the first years of the 20th century)
- Coronelismo (reference to machine politics in the first years of the 20th century, still present on a lesser scale in modern days)
- Integralismo (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):
Brazil and its 26 states and Federal District are divided by IBGE into 5 distinctive regions: North, Northeast, Center-West, Southeast and South (Division by Regions).
See also:
Geography
Map of Brazil
Main article: Geography of Brazil
Brazil is characterized 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, which can reach roughly 2,900m high. However, the highest peak is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 m, in Guiana's highlands. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world by volume, and considered by many specialists also the longest of the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the impressive Iguaçu falls are located; 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.
A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:
See also:
Economy
Main article: Economy of Brazil
Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other Latin American countries but Mexico and is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include coffee, soybeans, iron ore, orange juice, steel and airplanes. 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. [1] 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, the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures, and fears over the economic policies of the new government to be elected. Investor confidence was strong at the end of 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
After Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came to power 1 January 2003, there was some fear that Brazil would undergo a financial crisis. However, so far these fears turned out to be unfounded, and after a GDP decrease of 0.2% in 2003, Brazil has been enjoying a moderate growth during the following years of his term.
Demographics
Main article: Demographics of Brazil
Brazil is populous along the coast, less in the interior. The inhabitants are very diverse with many races and cultures represented (see article above).
Human rights
Main article: Human rights in Brazil
There are serious issues in regard to human rights abuses in Brazil, these include the use of torture and summary killings by civil and military police and prison authorities.
Unofficial estimates show there are over 3000 deaths annually from police violence in Brazil, according to Human Rights Watch . There are constant complaints of racism, abuses, torture, executions and disappearances. Not all states record police killings or even keep accurate statistics.
Culture
Main article: Culture of Brazil
Sports
Main Article: Sports in Brazil
Some fight sports with Brazilian origins have become popular around the world:
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
Wikinews has news related to this article:
Government, Administration, Economy & Politics
Information, Media, Statistics
Society, Social Movements, etc.
Art, Cooking, Culture, History, Travel
- Bahia Ticket Salvador, Bahia travel agency specializing in tours to all parts of Brazil
- Alternative Brazil Travel info in English
- Brazil Travel Guide (in English)
- Ceará and Fortaleza tourism information (in Portuguese)
- Dutch Portuguese Colonial HistoryDutch Portuguese Colonial History: history of the Portuguese and the Dutch in Ceylon, India, Malacca, Bengal, Formosa, Africa, Brazil. Language Heritage, lists of remains, maps.
- EasyPortuguese-- Learn the Portuguese spoken in Brazil.
- Ethnologue Languages of the World - Languages of Brazil
- Maria-Brazil - The first Brazilian pop-culture web site produced in the USA. Note: The section Maria's Cookbook has no equal on the whole World Wide Web as of March 2005 (site in English)
- Recife and Porto de Galinhas tourism information (in Portuguese)
- Photos of People and Sights
- Rio For Partiers - Award winning travel guide to Rio de Janeiro and Salvador
- The Brazilian Sound Brazilian music & culture (in English)
- Travelling in Brazil (in English)
- Porto Seguro Bahia tourism information (in Portuguese)
- Virtual Brazil - Information about Brazilian culture, economy and tourism (in English)
- Viva Brasil! All about Brazilian Culture
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