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Federative Republic of Brazil
República Federativa do Brasil
Motto: Ordem e Progresso  (Portuguese)
"Order and Progress"
Anthem: Brazilian National Anthem
Location of Brazil
CapitalBrasília
Largest citySão Paulo
Official languagesPortuguese
GovernmentPresidential Federal republic
• President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
José Alencar Gomes da Silva
Independence 
from Portugal
• Declared
September 7 1822
• Recognised
August 29 1825
• Republic
November 15 1889
• Water (%)
0.65
Population
• 2006 estimate
188,078,261 (5th)
• 2000 census
169,799,170
GDP (PPP)2005 estimate
• Total
$1.594 trillion (9th)
• Per capita
$9,108 (68th)
GDP (nominal)2006 estimate
• Total
$1.067 trillion (10th)
• Per capita
$5,717 (64th)
Gini (2003)58
high inequality
HDI (2004)0.792
high (69th)
CurrencyReal (BRL)
Time zoneUTC−2 to −5 (officially −3) (BRT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC−2 to −5 (BRST)
Calling code55
ISO 3166 codeBR
Internet TLD.br

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil or [República Federativa do Brasil] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), Audio file "Brazil.ogg" not found[1], is the largest and most populous country in Latin America, and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Its territory covers 8,514,876.599 km² between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean and it is the easternmost country of the Americas. It borders Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the département of French Guiana to the north, Uruguay to the south, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, and Colombia to the northwest. The only South American countries not bordered by Brazil are Ecuador and Chile. The Brazilian coastline covers 7,367 km to the east. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade e Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas.

Tropical climate is predominant. In the south of the country, subtropical climate prevails. Brazil is traversed by the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn lines. It is home to varied fauna and flora and extensive natural resources.

Brazil was colonized by Portugal in 1500 and has been a sovereign nation since 1822. The republican system has been adopted since 1889. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federal Republic. The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities.

The Brazilian population tends to concentrate along the coastline in large urban centers. While Brazil has one of the largest populations in the world, population density is low and the inner continental land has large demographical empty spaces. It is a multiracial country composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements, more often combined in the same individual than separated into different communities. The official language is Portuguese, and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in all the Americas. Catholicism is the predominant religion, though Protestant communities have experienced significant growth in the last decades. Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world.

History

Main article: History of Brazil

The first Brazilians

Main article: Indigenous peoples of Brazil

The territory of Brazil has been inhabited for at least 8,000 years. The origins of the first Brazilians, who were called "Indians" (índios) by the Portuguese, are still a matter of dispute among archaeologists. The traditional view is that they were part of the first wave of migrant hunters who came into the Americas from Siberia, across the Bering Strait. However some archaeologists see signs of a much older human population, morphologically distinct from the Asian hunters and more similar to African and Australian natives, who were displaced or absorbed by the Siberian hunters.

Map of Brazil issued by the Portuguese explorers in 1519.

Colonial Brazil

Main article: Colonial Brazil

It is generally accepted that Brazil was first discovered by Europeans on April 22, 1500, by Pedro Álvares Cabral, though this is contested by some. Until 1530 Portugal had little interest in Brazil, mainly due to the high profits gained through commerce with Indochina. This lack of interest led to several "invasions" by different countries, and the Portuguese Crown devised a system to effectively occupy Brazil, without paying the costs. Through the Hereditary Captaincies system, Brazil was divided into strips of land that were donated to Portuguese noblemen, who were in turn responsible for the occupation of the land and answered to the king. Later, the Portuguese realized the system was a failure (only two lots were successfully occupied) and took control of the failed lots.

The Empire of Brazil

Main articles: Brazilian War of Independence and Empire of Brazil

The most interesting feature in the history of Brazil is the fact that it was one of only two countries among the ‘new worlds’ that housed an effective legal monarchical state (the other was Mexico), for a period of almost 90 years; and for a period of 13 years was the metropolis of a European state. This was the case that Brazil’s capital city — Rio de Janeiro — was from 1808 to 1821 the head of the Portuguese empire, which spread from Europe to Asia and Africa.

In 1808, the Portuguese court, fleeing from Napoleon’s troops which had invaded the territory of Portugal, moved aboard a large fleet, escorted by British men-of-war, with all the government apparatus to its then-colony, Brazil, establishing themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro. From there the Portuguese king ruled his huge empire for 13 years, and there he would have remained for the rest of his life if it were not for the turmoil aroused in Portugal due, among other reasons, to his long stay in Brazil after the end of Napoleon's reign.

Emperor Dom Pedro II of Brazil, 1873.

The Old Republic

Main article: History of Brazil (1889–1930)

Pedro II was deposed on 15 November, 1889 by a Republican military coup led by general Deodoro da Fonseca, who became the country’s first de facto president through military ascension. The country’s name became the Republic of the United States of Brazil (which in 1967 was changed to Federative Republic of Brazil). From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais.

Populism and development

Main articles: History of Brazil (1930–1945) and History of Brazil (1945–1964)

A military junta took control in 1930. Getúlio Vargas took power soon after that, and would remain as dictatorial ruler (with a brief democratic period), until his suicide in 1954. After 1930, the successive governments continued industrial and agriculture growth and development of the vast interior of Brazil.

Provisional President Getúlio Dorneles Vargas ruled as dictator (1930–34), congressionally elected president (1934–37), and again dictator (1937–45), with the backing of his revolutionary coalition. He also served as a senator (1946–51) and the popularly elected president (1951–54).

Vargas was a member of the gaucho landed oligarchy and had risen through the system of patronage and clientelism, but he had a fresh vision of how Brazilian politics could be shaped to support national development. He understood that with the breakdown of direct relations between workers and owners in the expanding factories of Brazil, workers could become the basis for a new form of political power—populism. Using such insights, he would gradually establish such mastery over the Brazilian political world that he would stay in power for fifteen years.

Vargas was responsible for the entry of Brazil into the Second World War on the side of the Allies.

Military Dictatorship

Main article: History of Brazil (1964–1985)

The military maintained power in Brazil from 1964 until March 1985 because of political struggles within the regime and Brazilian elite. Although most historians state that the coup was merely a consequence of the regime's behavior in the final years, others argue that the coup had been planned since 1954. Just as the Brazilian regime changes of 1889, 1930, and 1945 unleashed competing political forces and caused divisions within the military, so too did the regime change of 1964.

Redemocratization to Present

Main article: History of Brazil (1985–present)

Tancredo Neves was elected president in an indirect election in 1985 as the nation returned to civilian rule. He died before being sworn in, and the elected vice president, José Sarney, was sworn in as president in his place. Fernando Collor de Mello was the first elected president by popular vote after the military regime in December 1989. In September 1992 Collor was impeached for corruption. Acting president Itamar Franco was sworn in as president. In elections held on October 3, 1994, Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected president. Reelected in 1998, he guided Brazil through a wave of financial crises. In 2000, Cardoso ordered the declassifying of some military files concerning Operation Condor, a network of South American military dictatorships that kidnapped and assassinated political opponents.

Brazil’s most severe problem today is arguably its highly unequal distribution of wealth and income, one of the most extreme in the world. By the 1990s, more than one out of four Brazilians continued to survive on less than one dollar a day. These socio-economic contradictions helped elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2002.

Government and politics

Brazil's current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The National Congress in Brasília, the capital of Brazil.
Main article: Politics of Brazil

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. Currently the President of Brazil is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Lula). He was re-elected on October 29, 2006, extending his position as President of Brazil until January 1, 2011. One of the fundamental 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 an exclusive prerogative of initiative of legislation on certain matters. Additionally, if relevant and urgent circumstances justify it, the executive may issue a "Provisory Measure," which has the binding force of the Law and comes into force immediately. The "Provisory Measure" retains its full power for up to 120 days, unless it is removed by the Congress.

Law

Main article: Law of Brazil
File:Elleng3.jpg
Justice Ellen Gracie Northfleet, President of the Supreme Federal Tribunal.
The Superior Tribunal of Justice.

Brazilian Law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions. Thus, civil law concepts prevail. Most areas are codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part of the system, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set interpretation guidelines, but are not binding towards other cases, save for very few exceptional situations. Doctrinal works and comments of legal scholars have strong influence in law creation and in legal cases.

The Federal Constitution, promulgated on the 5th of October of 1988, is the fundamental law of Brazil and governs the system. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules. As of April 2007, it has seen 53 Amendments. States also adopt their own Constitutions, but like all other legislation, they must not contradict the Federal Constitution. Municipalities and the Federal District do not have their own Constitutions. Instead, they adopt "organic laws" ([leis orgânicas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)).

Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may also enact legal norms. The Union enacts federal laws through the houses of the National Congress. The States, Municipalities and Federal District enact, respectively, state, municipal and district laws through local legislative houses. There is no hierarchy among federal, state, municipal and district laws. To avoid possible contradictions, the Federal Constitution determines which areas each entity may legislate upon. Therefore, a certain law may be deemed unconstitutional if it invades a subject reserved to laws of another legislative house.

Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare cases, article 52 of the Federal Constitution permits the Federal Senate to pass legal judgments. The judiciary is organized on the Federal and State levels, though not in Municipalities. There are also specialized military, labor, and elections courts. The highest court is the Supreme Federal Tribunal.

The main criticism met by the system over the last decades relates to the slow pace at which final decisions are passed. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years and in some cases more than a decade to see definitive judgment.

States

Main article: States of Brazil

Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states ([estados] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) and one federal district ([Distrito Federal] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), making a total of twenty-seven "federate units".

The Brazilian states enjoy a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a Governor ([governador] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body ([assembléia legislativa] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)). Each state is divided into municipalities ([municípios] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) with their own legislative council ([câmara de vereadores] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) and a mayor ([prefeito] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)), which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both federal and state government. A municipality may include other towns ([distritos] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.

The judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called [foros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). The [foros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) in the state judiciary are called [comarcas] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). Each [comarca] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) may include one or several municipalities. In the federal judiciary the [foros] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) are called [seções judiciárias] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help). One [seção judiciária] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) corresponds to the area of one State or the Federal District, according to article 110 of the Federal Constitution. [Seções judiciárias] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) may be divided in smaller units, called [subseções judiciárias] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help).

See also
Regions of Brazil · List of major cities in Brazil · List of cities in Brazil

Geography

General 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 the Brazilian population and its agricultural base. Along the Atlantic coast are also found several mountain ranges, reaching roughly 2,900 metres (9,500 ft) high.

The highest peak is the 3,014 metre (9,735 ft) Pico da Neblina (Misty Peak) 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 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 southernmost 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.

File:Floripa2006.png
Florianópolis, in Southern Brazil.
Recife, in Northeast Brazil.
The beaches of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, are famous worldwide.

A number of islands in the Atlantic Ocean are part of Brazil:

Geographically, mainland Brazil is commonly divided into five regions: North, Northeast, Central-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. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, with the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is a fairly unindustrialised and undeveloped region. It accommodates most of the largest rainforest of the world 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 most important cities are Recife, Salvador and Fortaleza.
  • The Central-West has a low demographic density compared to the other regions, mostly because of the Pantanal, the world’s largest marshlands area, and a small part of the Amazon rainforest, in the northwest. However, much of the region is covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. It is also the most important area for agriculture in the country. The most important cities of this region are: Brasília (the capital), 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 megalopolis 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 and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the acclaimed coast of Espírito Santo.

Climate

File:Neve santa catarina.jpg
Temperate climate in Southern Brazil.

Although 90% of the country is within the tropical zone, the climate of Brazil varies considerably from the mostly tropical North (the equator traverses the mouth of the Amazon) to temperate zones below the Tropic of Capricorn (23°27' S latitude), which crosses the country at the latitude of the city of São Paulo. Brazil has five climatic regions: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and subtropical.

Temperatures along the equator are high, averaging above 25°C, but not reaching the summer extremes of up to 40°C in the temperate zones. There is little seasonal variation near the equator, although at times it can get cool enough for wearing a jacket, especially in the rain. At the country's other extreme, there are frosts south of the Tropic of Capricorn during the winter (June-August), and in some years there is snow in the mountainous areas, such as Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina. Temperatures in the cities of São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, and Brasília are moderate (usually between 15°C and 30°C), despite their relatively low latitude, because of their elevation of approximately 1,000 meters. Rio de Janeiro, Recife, and Salvador on the coast have warm climates, with average temperatures ranging from 23°C to 27°C, but enjoy constant trade winds. The southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba have a subtropical climate similar to that in parts of the United States and Europe, and temperatures can fall below freezing in winter.

Precipitation levels vary widely. Most of Brazil has moderate rainfall of between 1,000 and 1,500 millimeters a year, with most of the rain falling in the summer (between December and April) south of the Equator. The Amazon region is notoriously humid, with rainfall generally more than 2,000 millimeters per year and reaching as high as 3,000 millimeters in parts of the western Amazon and near Belém. It is less widely known that, despite high annual precipitation, the Amazon rain forest has a three- to five-month dry season, the timing of which varies according to location north or south of the equator.

Economy

Itaipu Dam, the world's largest hydroelectric plant
File:Bovespa2007.PNG
Bovespa, the São Paulo Stock Exchange.
Belo Horizonte, capital of the State of Minas Gerais, is one of the financial centers of Brazil.
Main article: Economy of Brazil
See also: Economic history of Brazil

Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing,[2] and service sectors, as well as a large labor pool, Brazil's GDP (PPP) outweighs that of any other Latin American country, being the core economy of Mercosul. 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, corned beef 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 and tenth largest at market exchange rates. Brazil has a diversified middle income economy with wide variations in development levels. Most large industry is agglomerated in the South and South-East. The North-East is the poorest region of Brazil, but it is beginning to attract new investment.

Brazil's diverse industries range from automobiles, steel and petrochemicals to computers, aircraft, and consumer goods and amount to one-third of the GDP. 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.

According to international standards, Brazil has the ninth biggest economy in the world (see List of countries by GDP) and is among those countries constructing sophisticated technologies such as aircraft (see Embraer). As a core G20 country, Brazil has been expanding its influence in global economic negotiations. Although Brazil's economy is progressive and regionally important, the problems of widespread state bureaucracy, corruption, poverty and illiteracy are still major barriers to furthering its development.

Environment

The Toco Toucan is a typical animal of the Brazilian rain forests.
The flowers of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense): It is a popular Brazilian fruit native to Cerrado vegetation.
Main article: Environment of Brazil

Brazil's immense area is subdivided into different ecosystems, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity. 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.[3]

With abundant fauna and flora, Brazil is home to 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 become extinct.[citation needed]

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 (see bionics).[citation needed] The revenues derived from such plans may still hold the key to preserve the country's animal and plant species.

There is general consensus, that Brazil has the highest number of both terrestrial vertebrates and invertebrates of any country in the world. This high diversity of fauna can be explained by the sheer size of Brazil and also the great variation in ecosystems. The numbers published about Brazil's fauna diversity can vary from source to source, as taxonomists sometimes disagree about species classifications and information can be incomplete or out of date. Also new species continue to be discovered and, sadly, some species go extinct in the wild. Brazil has the highest primate diversity of any country in the world with 77 species and fresh water fish (over 3000 species), it claims the second-highest number of amphibian species, the third highest number of bird species and is ranked fifth in reptile species. Many of the species that are at risk live in threatened habitats such as the Atlantic Forest.

See also
Mammals · Birds · Reptiles · Amazon Rainforest vegetation · Atlantic Forest vegetation · Caatinga vegetation · Cerrado vegetation · Pantanal vegetation · Endangered flora

Demography

File:00040 copy.jpg
São Paulo is the largest Brazilian city and the financial capital of the country. It is one of the largest metropolises in the world.
File:00440.jpg
View of Curitiba, capital of Paraná state.
View from Sugar Loaf, in Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil.
Brasília, the federal capital.
Main article: Demography of Brazil

Brazil's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. In general, Brazilians trace their origins from four sources of migration:

  1. Amerindians, Brazil's indigenous population, came from human groups that migrated from Siberia across the Bering Strait around 9000 BC.
  2. Portuguese colonists and settlers, arriving from 1500 onward.
  3. Diverse groups of immigrants from Europe, Asia and the Middle East arriving in Brazil during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
  4. African slaves brought to the country from 1530 until the end of the slave trade in 1850.

It is believed that the Americas were settled by three migratory waves from Northern Asia. The Brazilian Indians are thought to be descended from the first wave of migrants, who arrived in the region around 9000 BC. The main Native Brazilian groups were the Tupi-Guarani, the Jê, the Arawaks and the Caraibas (Caribs). The Tupi-Guarani nation, originally from the Parana river basin and also the main of Native-Paraguayan nations, had spread all along the Brazilian coastline from South to North and got to be known by the Portuguese as "Os Índios da Língua Geral" ("The Indians of the General Language"); the Jê nation occupied the most of the interior of the country from Maranhão to Santa Catarina. The Arawaks and the Caribs, the last ones to get in contact with the Portuguese, lived in the North and Northwest of Brazil.

The European immigration to Brazil started in the sixteenth century, the vast majority of them coming from Portugal. In the first two centuries of colonization, 100,000 Portuguese arrived in Brazil (around 500 colonists per year). In the eighteenth century, 600,000 Portuguese arrived (6,000 per year). The first region to be settled by the Portuguese was Northeastern Brazil, followed by the Southeastern region. The interior began to be settled during the eighteenth century. The Portuguese were the only ethnic group to settle across Brazil.

The original Amerindian population of Brazil (between three and five million) has in large part been exterminated or assimilated into the Portuguese population. The Mamelucos (or Caboclos, multiple-race between Whites and Indians) have always been present in many parts of Brazil.

Another important ethnic group, Africans, first arrived as slaves. At first many came from Guinea, although by the end of the eighteenth century many had been taken from Angola and Mozambique (or, in Bahia, from Nigeria). By the time of the end of the slave trade in 1850, around three to five million slaves had been brought to Brazil – 37% of all slave traffic between Africa and the Americas. At the time of slavery a multiracial people came out through rapes or affairs between white masters and black or Indian slaves.

The large influx of European immigrants to Brazil occurred in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1870 and 1930, more than 5 million immigrants entered Brazil. These immigrants were divided in two groups: a part of them was sent to Southern Brazil to work as small farmers. However, the biggest part of the immigrants was sent to Southeastern Brazil to work in the coffee plantations. The immigrants sent to Southern Brazil were mainly Germans (starting in 1824, mainly from Rhineland-Palatinate, Pomerania, Hamburg, Westphalia, etc) and Italians (starting in 1875, mainly from the Veneto and Lombardia). In the South, the immigrants established rural communities that, still today, have a strong cultural connection with their ancestral homelands. In Southeastern Brazil most of the immigrants were Italians (mainly from the Veneto, Campania, Calabria and Lombardia), Portuguese (mainly from Beira Alta, Minho and Alto Trás-os-Montes), Spaniards (mainly from Galicia and Andalusia).

Notably, the early part of the twentieth century saw a large influx of Japanese (mainly from Honshū and Okinawa) and Arabs (from Lebanon and Syria). These Arab immigrants were -and still are- wrongly called "Turks" by many Brazilians because their original countries were still under Turkish rule back in the times Arab immigration to Brazil began. The number of actual Turks who immigrated to Brazil was very few, if not even insignificant.

According to the Memorial do Imigrante,[4] Brazil attracted nearly 5.5 million immigrants between 1870 and 1953: approximately 1,550,000 Italians, 1,470,000 Portuguese, 650,000 Spaniards, 210,000 Germans, 190,000 Japanese, 120,000 Poles and 650,000 of many other nationalities.

Brazil's population is mostly concentrated along the coast, with a lower population density in the interior. The population of the southern states is mainly of European descent, while the majority of the inhabitants of the north and northeast are of multiracial ancestry (Amerindians, Africans and Europeans)

According to the Brazilian Constitution of 1988, racism is an unbailable crime and must be met with imprisonment.This is taken very seriously.

Ethnicity

View of the historic town of Ouro Preto, in Minas Gerais, perhaps the most notable sample of Baroque architecture in South America.
The Museum of the Portuguese Language, localized in the Estação da Luz, São Paulo.
The Southern Brazil settled by German immigrants.

The 2000 IBGE census found Brazil to consist of:[5]

Languages

Main article: Languages of Brazil
See also: Brazilian Portuguese

Portuguese is the only official language of Brazil. It is spoken by nearly the entire population and is virtually the only language used in schools, newspapers, radio, TV and for all business and administrative purposes. Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity.

Portuguese as spoken in Brazil has developed independently of the European mother tongue, and it has undergone fewer phonetic changes than the language spoken in Portugal, thus it is often said that the "language of Camões", who lived in the fifteenth century, sounded closer to modern Brazilian Portuguese, than to the language spoken in Portugal today, and that his work is poetically more perfect when read the Brazilian way.

Minority languages

Many Amerindian languages are spoken daily in indigenous communities, primarily in Northern Brazil. Although many of these communities have significant contact with Portuguese, today there are incentives for teaching and preserving native languages. In 2006, the City of Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira in the region of Cabeça do Cachorro (Northwestern region of the State of Amazonas), has adopted some indigenous languages as some of its other official languages along with Portuguese.

Other languages are spoken by descendants of immigrants, who are usually bilingual, in small rural communities in Southern Brazil. The most important are the Brazilian German dialects, such as Riograndenser Hunsrückisch and the Pomeranian language, and also the Talian, based on the Italian Venetian language. In the city of São Paulo, Japanese can be heard in the immigrant neighbourhoods, like Liberdade.

English is also part of the official high school curriculum in most of the Brazilian states, but few Brazilians are truly fluent in the language, even in Brazilian universities. Spanish is understood to varying degrees by many Brazilians, especially on the borders with Colombia, Peru, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The same applies to French which is spoken and understood in the cities bordering the French Guyana.

Social issues

Entrenched between some of the richer areas of Rio de Janeiro, the Vidigal favela is testimony to high economic inequality within Brazil.

According to Fundação Getulio Vargas, in June 2006 the rate of poverty based into lacework was of 18.57% of the population - a 19.8% reduction during the previous four years.[6] The rate of poverty is in part attributed to the country's economic inequality. Brazil ranks among the world's highest nations in the Gini coefficient index of inequality assessment.

Poverty in Brazil is most visually represented by the various favelas, slums in the country's metropolitan areas and remote upcountry regions that suffer with economic underdevelopment and below-par standards of living. There are also great differences in wealth and welfare between regions.[7] While the Northeast region has the worst economic indicators nationwide due to low coverage and quality of public services and widespread corruption, many cities in the South and Southeast enjoy First World socioeconomic standards.[8] In 2005, Brazil had more than 15 million (10.2%) people that were considered to be illiterate.[9]

A recent attempt to mitigate these problems is the "Fome Zero" hunger-eradication program implemented by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Part of this is "Bolsa Família", a major anti-poverty program that gives money directly to impoverished families.

Violence is also a part of life in Brazil. Muggings, robberies and kidnaps are quite common, being considered even as normal by many Brazilians.

Culture

The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum.
File:00009 copy.jpg
The Ipiranga Museum.
Main article: Culture of Brazil

The core culture of Brazil is rooted in the culture of Portugal. The Portuguese colonists and immigrants brought the Roman Catholic faith, the Portuguese language and many traditions and customs that still influence the modern-day Brazilian culture.

As a multiracial country, its culture also absorbed other influences. The Amerindian peoples influenced Brazil's language and cuisine and the Africans, brought as slaves, largely influenced Brazil's music, dance, cuisine, religion and language. The Yoruba traditions, from nowadays Southwest Nigeria had made its way strongly into Afro-Brazilian religion and into Brazilian religiousness as a whole. Ancient Yoruba Orishas (gods) like Shango and Oxum are largely worshipped in Brazil, while samba and capoeira (musical rhythm and martial art, respectively) were originally contributions from the Bantu peoples from Angola.

Italian, German and other European immigrants came in large numbers and their influences are felt closer to the Southeast and South of Brazil.

See also
Brazilian Carnival · Brazilian skyscrapers · Cuisine of Brazil · List of Brazilians · Literature of Brazil · Music of Brazil · Cinema of Brazil · Sports in Brazil · Religion in Brazil · Holidays in Brazil

Religion

Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro
Main article: Religion in Brazil

According to the IBGE census:[10]

Brazil has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world.

Followers of Protestantism are rising in number. Until 1970, the majority of Brazilian Protestants were the ones of "traditional churches", mostly Lutherans, Presbyterians and Baptists. Since then, numbers of Pentecostal and Neopentecostal adherents have increased significantly.

Islam in Brazil was first practiced by African slaves. Today, the Muslim population in Brazil is made up of mostly Arab immigrants. A recent trend has been the increase in conversions to Islam among non-Arab citizens.[11]

The largest population of Buddhists in Latin America lives in Brazil. This is mostly because Brazil has the largest Japanese population outside Japan.

Brazil appears as a devout country to outsiders yet in an IBOPE poll, about 8% of Brazilians declared themselves to be non-religious (with 2% declaring themselves atheists) and 58% of Catholics considered themselves "not very practicing" or "not at all practicing".[12]

Sports

Main article: Sports in Brazil

The most popular sport in Brazil is football, and the country is renowned for the quality of its players, including Pelé, Garrincha, Jairzinho, Rivelino, Carlos Alberto, Roberto Dinamite, Edmundo, Zico, Sócrates, Romário, Ronaldo, Cafu, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos, Juninho, Adriano, Diego, Robinho, Ronaldinho, Mancini, and Kaká. The Brazilian national football team (Seleção), has been victorious in the World Cup tournament a record five times. They are widely regarded as the most talented national team, despite not winning the 2006 World Cup. Eight Brazilian clubs have won Copa Libertadores, the biggest South American clubs tournament.

File:MorumbiSpJuv.jpg
Morumbi Stadium

Brazil has also achieved success in other international sports, mainly volleyball, basketball, tennis, gymnastics, judo and auto racing. Recently, Brazil's volleyball team has achieved victory in almost every championship played.

Sports created in Brazil:

Science and technology

File:Alcantara Base 5.PNG
VLS satellite launcher in Alcântara Space Center.
Main article: Science and technology in Brazil

Brazil has today a well developed organization of science and technology.

Basic research is largely carried out in public universities and research centers and institutes, and some in private institutions, particularly in non-profit non-governmental organizations. Thanks to governmental regulations and incentives, however, since the 1990s is has been growing in the private universities and companies, as well. Accordingly, more than 90% of funding for basic research comes from governmental sources.

Some of Brazil's most important technology nodes are located in São José dos Campos, Campinas, São Carlos, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, Belo Horizonte, Recife and São Paulo.

Brazilian information technology is comparable to other countries that play a major role in the international market, like India and China but with a bigger internal market, the exports of software still limited.[13] Catering for the internal market, Brazilian IT is particularly efficient in financial services, defense, CRM, eGovernment, and healthcare. The government of Brazil is attempting a switch to free software and operating systems in place of proprietary software.[14]

The Brazilian Space Agency (Agência Espacial Brasileira) is the civilian authority in Brazil that is in charge of the country's burgeoning space program. It operates a rocket launch site at Alcântara, Maranhão.

National Holidays

Date English name Local name
January 1 New Year's Day Confraternização Universal
February 20 Carnival Carnaval (2007 date)
April 6 Good Friday Paixão de Cristo (2007 date)
April 21 Tiradentes
May 1 Labour Day Dia do trabalho
June 7 Corpus Christi (2007 date)
September 7 Independence Day Dia da Independência
October 12 Our Lady of Aparecida Nossa Senhora Aparecida
November 2 All Souls' Day Dia de Finados
November 15 Proclamation of the Republic Proclamação da República
December 25 Christmas Natal

International Rankings

Organisation Survey Ranking
Heritage Foundation/The Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom, 2007 70 out of 157
The Economist Worldwide Quality of Life Index, 2005 39 out of 111
The Economist Democracy Index, 2007 42 out of 167
Reporters Without Borders Worldwide Press Freedom Index, 2006 75 out of 168
Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index, 2006 70 out of 163
United Nations Development Programme Human Development Index 69 out of 177

See also

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Lists of Brazilian flora and fauna
Mammals · Birds · Reptiles · Amazon Rainforest vegetation · Atlantic Forest vegetation · Caatinga vegetation · Cerrado vegetation · Pantanal vegetation · Endangered flora

Template:Brazilian states lists

Notes and references

  1. ^ Some possible pronunciations: IPA: [ʁe'publikɐ fedeɾa'tivɐ du bɾa'ziw], [he.'pu.bli.kɐ fe.de.ɾa.'tʃi.vɐ du bɾa.'ziw], [ʁe.'pu.bli.kɐ fe.de.ɾa.'ti.vɐ du bɾa.'zil], [hɛ.'pu.bli.kɐ fɛ.dɛ.ɾa.'ti.vɐ du bɾa.'ziw], [ʀe'publɪkä fedeɾä'tʰivɐ dʊ brä'zɪɫ]. Brazilian Portuguese has no official standard pronunciation, so may change from region to region. European Portuguese pronunciation of the official name of Brazil is: [ʁɛ.'pu.βli.ka fɨ.ðɨ.ɾɐ.'ti.vɐ du bɾɐ.'ziɫ] . See Portuguese Phonology for more details.
  2. ^ CIA Factbook
  3. ^ http://www.fs.fed.us/global/globe/l_amer/brazil.htm, USDA Forest Service International Programs, retrieved February 2007.
  4. ^ Memorial do Imigrante "Memorial do Imigrante". {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ 2000 Demographic Census
  6. ^ FGV - Gráfico Miséria
  7. ^ "PIB dos municípios revela concentração e desigualdades na geração de renda". Retrieved 2007-02-22. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  8. ^ [1]
  9. ^ [2]
  10. ^ "Religion in Brazil" (pdf). IBGE. 2000. Retrieved 2007-04-24. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  11. ^ [3]
  12. ^ "Pesquisa de Opinião dos Católicos Brasileiros sobre Direitos Reprodutivos, Relação Igreja-Estado e temas Relacionados , "Aborto e Temas Relacionados"" (pdf). Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  13. ^ [http://www.bndes.gov.br/conhecimento/seminario/EugenioStaub.pdf Panorama da Indústria Brasileira de Eletro-Eletrônica e Software
  14. ^ "Brazil adopts open-source software". 2005-06-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  • Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website.
  • Wagley, Charles (1963). An Introduction to Brazil. New York, New York: Columbia University Press.
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