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Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil ( or , [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 [2] 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 [3] [4] 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 [5]. The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities [6]. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities [7].
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 [8], 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.
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.
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.[9][10]
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. [11]
Pedro II was deposed on 15 November, 1889[12] 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.[13][14]
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.[15]
Provisional President Getúlio Dorneles Vargas ruled as dictator (1930–1934), congressionally elected president (1934–1937), and again dictator (1937–1945), with the backing of his revolutionary coalition. He also served as a senator (1946–1951) and the popularly elected president (1951–1954).[16]
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.[17]
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.[18]
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.
The Brazilian Federation is based on the indissoluble association of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District. [19] A fourth entity is originated in the aforementioned association: the Union. [20] There is no hierarchy among the political entities. The Federation is set on five fundamental principles: [21] sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism.
The classic tripartite division of power, encompassing the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary branches under the checks and balances system, is formally established by the Constitution. [22] The Executive and Legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, whilst the Judiciary is organized only in the Federal and State levels.
Practically all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated with the Executive. The form of government is Republican and democratic, [23] and the system of government is Presidential. [24]
The President is Head of State and Head of Government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term, [25] with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. Currently the President of Brazil is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was elected in October 27, 2002, [26] and re-elected in October 29, 2006. [27] The President appoints the Ministers of State and is assisted by them. [28]
Governors head the government in States and the Federal District, whilst Mayors are responsible for the government of Municipalities. Governors and Mayors are assisted by Secretaries.
Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of laws in Brazil. The National Congress is the Union’s Legislative. It is a bicameral house formed by the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Deputies are elected every four years in a system of proportional representation, and represent the people. [29] Senators are elected for eight-year terms, and represent the interests of the States. [30]
The ordinary law making process is described in detail by the Federal Constitution. [31] The Executive participates by analyzing and eventually vetoing laws before they are formally enacted. Vetoes can be overturned by the Legislative. On certain matters, the Executive and Judiciary authorities may have exclusive prerogatives for legislative initiative.
In the States and Municipalities the Legislative is organized in unicameral houses named, respectively, Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Chambers.
Legislative houses may pass legal judgment in exceptional cases, [32] and have administrative functions related to their personnel.
Judiciary authorities exercise jurisdictional duties almost exclusively. They can also enact laws related to internal court proceedings. [33] Also, the Judiciary has administrative functions regarding its personnel.
The Union’s Judiciary relates to the Federal Justice system. States have their own Justice system, [34] and so does the Federal District. Municipalities rely upon the State or Federal Justice depending on the lawsuit nature. Both the Federal and State Justice systems are interconnected when appeals reach Higher courts. By historical tradition Brazilian Justice is also divided according to the specialized courts, so there are also labor, military and election courts. [35]
Democracy was re-established in Brazil when the current Federal Constitution was promulgated. The President, Governors and Mayors are elected by direct vote in the Executive. Likewise, the Legislative members are also elected by direct vote. No judicial authorities are elected. Judges are appointed after passing rigorous entry exams.
Voting is compulsory for those aged 18 or older. [36] For people older than 70 and aged between 16 and 18 voting is optional. Voting is also optional for illiterate people. [37]
Candidates must have Brazilian nationality, be affiliated with a political party, and fulfill minimum age requirements as well as basic administrative conditions. No formal education is required, as long as the candidate is alphabetized. [38]
Four political parties stand out among several small ones: PT, PSDB, PMDB and PFL.
Brazil faces an uphill task in organizing its public administrative structure. Reforms have been undertaken in each administration, with mixed results. Public institutions are widely regarded as inefficient. Unprepared and underpaid state personnel, bureaucracy, lack of infrastructure, and rampant corruption are some of the major problems still requiring attention from authorities and reformists.
Recent corruption scandals have further marred the reputation of public authorities in all branches of government, especially the Legislative. [39]
Brazilian Law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions. [40] 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 October 5, 1988, is the fundamental law of Brazil and governs the system. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules. [41] 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. [42] Municipalities and the Federal District do not have their own Constitutions. Instead, they adopt "organic laws" (). [43] [44]
Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary [45] and executive bodies [46] 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. [47] 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, the Federal Constitution permits the Federal Senate to pass legal judgments. [48] The judiciary is organized on the Federal and State levels, though not in Municipalities. There are also specialized military, labor, and elections courts. [49] 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. [50]
Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states () and one federal district (), 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 (), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body (). Each state is divided into municipalities () with their own legislative council () and a mayor (), which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both federal and state government. A municipality may include other towns () besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.
The judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called . The in the state judiciary are called . Each may include one or several municipalities. In the federal judiciary the are called . One corresponds to the area of one State or the Federal District, according to article 110 of the Federal Constitution. may be divided in smaller units, called .
See also : Regions of Brazil List of major cities in Brazil List of cities in 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.
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.
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.[51]
Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing,[52] 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 international financial and commodities markets, and is regarded as one of the group of four emerging economies called BRIC. Major export products include aircraft, coffee, vehicles, soybean, iron ore, orange juice, steel, ethanol, 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 Southern and Southeast. The Northeast is the poorest region of Brazil, but it is beginning to attract new investment.[53]
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.[54]
As a core country of both G20 industrial nations and G20 developing nations, Brazil has been expanding its influence in global economic negotiations, such as the currently debated Doha Round. 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.
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.[55]
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.[56]
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). 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 : Protected areas Mammals Birds Reptiles Amazon Rainforest vegetation Atlantic Forest vegetation Caatinga vegetation Cerrado vegetation Pantanal vegetation Endangered flora
Brazil's population is very diverse, comprising many races and ethnic groups. In general, Brazilians trace their origins from four sources of migration:
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. Nowadays, there are still immigration waves coming from the African continent, from countries such as Cape Verde and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The largest 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, Hokkaidō 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 in fact very small.
According to the Memorial do Imigrante,[57] 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.
The 2000 IBGE census found Brazil to consist of:[58]
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.
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. According to SIL International, 133 native American languages are currently endangered. Some of the largest indigenous language groups include Arawak, Carib, Macro-Gê and Tupi[59]. 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, Chinese and Korean can be heard in the immigrant neighbourhoods, such as 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.
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.[60] 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.[61] While the Northeast region has the worst economic indicators nationwide due to low comprehensiveness and quality of public services, seasonal drought in rural areas, and widespread corruption, many cities in the South and Southeast enjoy First World socioeconomic standards.[62] In 2005, Brazil had more than 15 million (10.2%) people that were considered to be illiterate.[63]
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, due to many social issues such as the blatant inequality between haves and have nots, which generates crime and petty thefts. Muggings, robberies and kidnappings are quite common in many cities, being even considered normal by many Brazilians.
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
According to the IBGE census:[64]
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.[66]
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".[67]
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. 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:
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.[68]
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.[69] 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.[70]
Major Brazilian scientific research institutions with worldwide recognition, include the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, the Butantan Institute and the Brazilian Enterprise of Agropecuary Research.
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.[71]
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