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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
File:Brazil flag large.png File:Brasaorepublica.png
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: Ordem e Progresso
(Portuguese, Order and Progress)
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 (2003)
 - Density 		Ranked 5th
182,032,604
22/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)
$1.376 trillion
$7,800 (2002)
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 populations when the first Portuguese explorers, Led by Pedro Álvares Cabral disembarked on 1500. Over the next three centuries it was re-settled by the Portuguese and exploited mainly for brazilwood at first, and later for sugarcane agriculture. Work on the colony was based on slavery. In 1808 King João VI of Portugal, fleeing from Napoleon, relocated to Brazil with the royal family , nobles and government. Though they returned 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 United Kingdom to Portugal's Crown. In 1822 the then prince-regent Dom Pedro I, declared independence on September 7, 1822, establishing the independent Empire of Brazil. This lasted until the next emperor, Dom Pedro II was deposed and a republican based federation was established in November 15, 1889.

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 faces 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. However, due to an increase in exports the economy of Brazil is growing above expected in 2004 and the overall feeling is optimistic for the year 2005.

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.


See also:

  • Cangaço (criminal hinterland bands in the first years of the XX century)
  • Café com leite (reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee oligarchs" in the first years of the XX century)
  • Coronelismo (reference to machine politics in the first years of the XX century)
  • 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):

Map of Brazil
Map of Brazil

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 Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came to power in 2003, the government has changed economic policies. The economy is growing again, and is expected to do so for the forseeable future.

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 Brazilian 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. The Japanese are the largest Asian group in Brazil, but some Chinese and Koreans also settled Brazil. Most Chinese came from mainland China, but others came from Taiwan, and Hong Kong, and also from Portuguese-speaking Macau. (These Chinese from Macao could speak and understand Portuguese, and it was not hard for them to adjust to Brazilian life.) 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 grandparents' languages.

Religion

About 74% of all Brazilians claims to be member of the Roman Catholic Church; most of the remaining 26% adhere to various Protestant faiths, Kardecism, Candomblé, Umbanda, Judaism, Islam, and Buddhism.

According to IBGE 2000 Census, these are the biggest religious denominations in Brazil (only listed those with more than a half million members):

Its Charismatic Renewal branch is fast growing; the Progressive Branch (Liberation Theology) and the Conservative branch are in decline. Only 15% of its membership attends the church regularly.
  • Assembly of God (Assembléia de Deus): 8,418,140
General Convention of the Assembly of God: 3.6 Million. Affiliated with the American Assemblies of God, Springfield, MO
National Convention of the Assembly of God: 2.5 Million. A.k.a Madureira Assemblies of God
Other independent Assemblies of God: 1,9 Million, such Bethesda Assemblies of God
Brazilian Baptist Convention: 1,2 Million adherents.
National Baptist Convention: 1 Million. Charismatics Baptists
Independent Baptist Convention: 400,000. Scandinavian Baptists
Other Baptists: 400,000
  • Spiritist: 2,262,401
These includes Kardec Spiritualist; Afro-Brazilian Sincretists, New Age, etc.
  • Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (Igreja Universal do Reino de Deus): 2 Millon. Neo-Pentecostal Movement.
  • Foursquare Gospel Church: 1,318,805. Classic Pentocostals in US, but second-wave pentecostals in Brazil.
Seventh Day Adventist Church: 900,000
Promise Adventist Church: 150,000. Indigenous Pentecostal Adventists.
Reform Seventh Day Adventist Church: 50,000
Other Adventists: 100,000
Evangelical Church of Lutheran Confission
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil
Other Lutherans
Presbyterian Church of Brazil: 450,000
Independent Presbyterian Church: 300,00
Congregationalists: 100,000
Other Calvinists:150,000
  • God is Love Pentecostal Church: 700,000. Divine Healing movement.
  • Independent Catholics: 600,000
Groups like Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church and many other small ones.

Languages

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, giving it a distinct national culture separate from 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 minority languages are spoken daily throughout the vast national territory of Brazil. Some of these minority languages are spoken by indigenous peoples. Others yet are spoken by people who are for the most part bilingual (i.e. speakers of both Portuguese and German or Italian and Portuguese or Japanese and Portuguese, etc.).

Many of the indigenous people speak languages like: Mbyá-Guaraní (or simply Guaraní), Kaingang, Nadëb, Carajá, Caribe, Tucano, Arára, Terêna, Borôro, Apalaí, Canela and many others. Not all Amerindians desire to become part of the mainstream culture of Brazil. Even though minorities are what they are, that is minorities, cultural conflicts cannot be dismissed as insignificant or unimportant based what percentage of the national population they are.

Interestingly enough some of these minority languages recently have obtained local co-official status — e.g. Nheengatu, Tukano, and Baniwa in São Gabriel da Cachoeira, Amazonas (2003).

The Brazilian language Língua Geral which is now almost extinct, at one time, until the late 1800s, was the common language used by a large number of indigenous and African and African-descendent peoples throughout the coast of Brazil - in other words, it was spoken by the majority of the population in the land. Today, in the Amazon Basin, political campaigning is still printed in this now rare language.

Other languages such as German, Italian, Polish and Japanese are spoken in southern Brazil. There are whole regions in southern Brazil where people speak both Portuguese and one or more of these languages. For example, it is reported that more than 90% of the residents of the small city of Presidente Lucena, located in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, speak Riograndenser Hunsrückisch, a Brazilian form of the Hunsrückisch German dialect (see this website).

Although they have been rapidly replaced by Portuguese in the last few decades, today states like Rio Grande do Sul are trying to reverse that trend and Immigrant Languages such as German and Italian are being reintroduced into the curriculum again in communities where they were originally thrived. Meanwhile, on the Argentine and Uruguayan border regions Brazilian students are being introduced (formally) to the Spanish language.

More and more people are realizing in Brazil that a person can master and carry more than one language throughout their lives. In other words, integration into mainstream society does not mean that one has to become monolingual. More and more the reasoning is that if languages are a human capital of great value to some, perhaps they should be considered valuable to one all.

Some immigrant communities in southern Brazil, chiefly the German and the Italian ones, have lasted long enough to develop distinctive dialects from their original European sources. For example, Riograndenser Hunsrückisch or Hunsrückisch and Talian or Italiano Riograndense. These are not languages per se but distinct dialects (from their original European counterparts).

Other transplanted German dialects to this part of the world have not under gone the same level of changes. For example, the Austrian dialect spoken in Dreizehnlinden or Treze Tílias in the state of Santa Catarina; or the dialect of the Donauschwaben spoken in Entre Rios, in the state of Paraná; or the Pomeranian (Pommersch) dialect spoken in many different parts of southern Brazil (in the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Espírito Santo, etc.).

A Japanese-language newspaper, the São Paulo Shinbun, is published in the city of São Paulo. There is a significant community of Japanese speakers in Paraná and Amazonas. Much smaller groups exist in Santa Catarina, Riogrande do Sul and other parts of Brazil.

In São Paulo, the German-Brazilian newspaper Brasil-Post has been published for over fifty years. The Livraria Alemã of Blumenau was a fixture in the city for a long time. There are many other media organizations throughout the land specializing either in church issues, music, language, etc. The German-Brazilian community in Brazil is estimated to be in the millions.

The Italian online newspaper La Rena offers Brazilian-Italian or Talian lessons... Please see here the link here [1]. Other Italian-Brazilian organizations are listet here [[2]].

There are many other non-Portuguese publications, bilingual web sites, radio and television programs throughout the country. For example, TV GALEGA from Blumenau shows German-language programming on their channel on a weekly basis.

The English-language daily Brazil Herald is directed mostly to tourist|tourists, foreigner|foreign executives and expatriates.

Most major foreign newspapers can be obtained in larger Brazilian cities (Frankfurter Algemeine; Le Monde; The New York Times; etc.)

Portuguese is the first language of almost 99% of the population but Brazil is a very rich cultural and linguistic mosaic. There are many bilingual people in the country.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Brazil

Sports

Main Article: Sports in Brazil

Some fight sports with brazilian orgin 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.

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