Brazil: Powerhouse Country on a Global Scale

Brazil is the world’s fifth largest country in terms of geographical area and also the fifth most populace. Interestingly, Brazil borders every nation on the South American continent except Ecuador and Chile. The population is concentrated along its 7,367-kilometer coastline and in a few large urban centers in the interior. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are the largest cities with 19.7 and 11.4 million inhabitants, respectively.

Home to a vast array of natural environments, Brazil also has extensive natural resources. Brazilian topography is diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, scrub lands, savannas, rainforests, and a long coastline. The extensive low-lying Amazon Rainforest covers most of Northern Brazil, in contrast to the hilly, low mountainous area of the southern part of the country. Major rivers of course, include the Amazon, the second longest river in the world and the largest in volume of water.

The People
Many different ethnic groups make up the population of Brazil and most can trace their roots back to the country’s indigenous peoples, Portuguese colonists and African. The dominant sectors of the population are either Caucasians or Pardos, a broad term applied to Brazilians of mixed ancestry.

Brazil received 700 thousand Portuguese settlers and over 3 million African slaves during more than three centuries of Portuguese colonization. Then starting in the late 19th century, Brazil opened its doors to immigration and people of over 60 nationalities came into the country. These included Europeans from Italy, Portugal Spain and Germany. In fact, Brazil has the largest population of Italians outside of Italy and the second largest German population outside of Germany.

Government
Brazil is a federation set on six fundamental principles which are sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The country is comprised of three autonomous political entities: States, municipalities and the federal district. There are currently 26 states and 5,564 municipalities. Its constitution sets forth three branches of government: the executive, legislative and judiciary branches with a checks and balances system

Language
Although Brazil is in South America, Spanish is not the native language spoken there. It was a colony of Portugal from the year 1500 until its independence in 1822, therefore nearly 100 percent of the Brazilian population speaks Portuguese. Although it is not exactly the same as the Portuguese spoken in Portugal, the two countries’ people can understand each other in a manner similar to the way the British and Americans do. There are no dialects of Portuguese, but there are slight regional variations. A small number of Amerindian groups and a few immigrants, mainly Asians do not speak Portuguese. The Indian languages spoken are Tupí, Arawak, Carib, and Gê.

Brazilian Society & Culture
Although the nationalities in Brazil are mixed, a class system still exists. There is a great disparity in wages, consequently lifestyle and social aspirations differ among the social classes of Brazil. Although women make up 40% of the workforce, they typically have jobs such as teaching, administrative support, and nursing, which pay less than other career fields.

The Brazilian Ministry of Culture supports six hundred cultural points across the country. Part of the program’s aim is to help individuals in poor and in rural areas produce and share their art. The goal is the production and diffusion of diverse cultural expression, representing the multiculturalism of Brazilian society. Music is a major cultural force.

An annual event, such as its famous Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, is one of Brazil’s major tourist attractions and is recognized throughout the world. It is similar to Mardi Gras but Rio’s elaborate parades are staged by the city’s samba schools. It is usual that during the carnival, aristocrats dress up as commoners, men cross-dress as women, and poor people dress up as princes and princesses – social roles and class differences are expected to be forgotten for the duration of the festival.

Business and Economy
Brazil has one of the ten largest economies in the world, according to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, it has the ninth largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and the tenth largest at market exchange rates. It has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels and mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role and are the sectors that are experiencing rapid growth. Brazil is a net exporter, having gone through free trade and privatization reforms in the 1990s

Brazil’s GDP is the highest of any country in Latin America with large, developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service sectors. Its labor pool is also very large. Since Brazil has enlarged its presence in international financial and commodities markets. It is a major exporter of iron ore, steel, ethanol, textiles, coffee, soybeans, orange juice, and corned beef as well as manufactured products such as aircraft, automobiles, electrical equipment and footwear. Brazil has a diverse and sophisticated service industry as well with tourism playing a strong role.