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History
Origins
Within Brazil's current borders, most native tribes who were living in the land by the year 1500 are thought to have descended from the first wave of migrants from North Asia (Siberia), who are believed to have crossed the Bering Land Bridge at the end of the last Ice Age, around 9000 BC. By the time Europeans arrived, the territory of modern Brazil had as many as 2,000 nations and tribes, an estimated total population of nearly 3 million Amerindians. A somewhat dated linguistic survey found 188 living indigenous languages with 155,000 total speakers. On 18 January 2007, Fundação Nacional do Índio (English: National Indian Foundation) reported that it had confirmed the presence of 67 different uncontacted tribes in Brazil, up from 40 in 2005. With this addition, Brazil is now confirmed as having the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the world, even more than the island of New Guinea. When the Portuguese arrived in 1500, the Amerindians were mostly semi-nomadic tribes, living mainly on the coast and along the banks of major rivers.
Unlike Christopher Columbus who thought he had reached the East Indies, the Portuguese, best known for Vasco da Gama, had already reached India via the Indian Ocean route when they reached Brazil. Nevertheless, the word índios ("Indians") was by then established to designate the peoples of the New World and stuck being used today in the Portuguese language, while the people of India are called indianos in order to distinguish the two peoples. Initially, the Europeans saw the natives as noble savages, and miscegenation of the population began right away. Tribal warfare, cannibalism, and the pursuit of brazilwood for its treasured red dye convinced the Portuguese that they should "civilize" the Amerindians.[8]
Colonization
Initially Portugal had little interest in Brazil, mainly because of high profits gained through commerce with Indochina. After 1530, the Portuguese Crown devised the Hereditary Captaincies system to effectively occupy its new colony, and later took direct control of the failed captaincies.[9][10] Although temporary trading posts were established earlier to collect brazilwood, used as a dye, with permanent settlement came the establishment of the sugarcane industry and its intensive labor. Several early settlements were founded across the coast, among them the colonial capital, Salvador, established in 1549 at the Bay of All Saints in the north, and the city of Rio de Janeiro on March 1567, in the south. The Portuguese colonists adopted an economy based on the production of agricultural goods that were exported to Europe. Sugar became by far the most important Brazilian colonial product until the early 18th century.[11][12] Even though Brazilian sugar was reputed as being of high quality, the industry faced a crisis during the 17th and 18th centuries when the Dutch and the French started producing sugar in the Antilles, located much closer to Europe, causing sugar prices to fall.
During the 18th century, private explorers who called themselves the Bandeirantes found gold and diamond deposits in the state of Minas Gerais. The exploration of these mines were mostly used to finance the Portuguese Royal Court's expenditure with both the preservation of its Global Empire and the support of its luxurious lifestyle at mainland. The way in which such deposits were exploited by the Portuguese Crown and the powerful local elites, however, burdened colonial Brazil with excessive taxes. Some popular movements supporting independence came about against the taxes established by the colonial government, such as the Tiradentes in 1789, but the secessionist movements were often dismissed by the authorities of the ruling colonial regime. Gold production declined towards the end of the 18th century, starting a period of relative stagnation of the Brazilian hinterland.[13] Both Amerindian and African slaves' man power were largely used in Brazil's colonial economy.[14]
In contrast to the neighboring Spanish possessions in South America, the Portuguese colony of Brazil kept its territorial, political and linguistic integrity due to the action of the Portuguese administrative effort. Although the colony was threatened by other nations across the era of Portuguese rule, in particular by Dutch and French powers, the authorities and the people ultimately managed to protect its borders from foreign attacks. Portugal even had to send bullion to Brazil, a spectacular reversal of the colonial trend, in order to protect the integrity of the colony.[15]
Empire
In 1808, the Portuguese court, fleeing from Napoleon’s troops who had invaded Portugal, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the seat of government of Portugal and the entire Portuguese Empire, even though being located outside of Europe. Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the Portuguese empire from 1808 to 1815. After that, the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves (1815-1825) was created with Lisbon as its capital. After João VI returned to Portugal in 1821, his heir-apparent Pedro became regent of the Kingdom of Brazil, within the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Following a series of political incidents and disputes, Brazil achieved its independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822. On October 12, 1822, Dom Pedro became the first Emperor of Brazil, being crowned on December 1, 1822. Portugal would recognize Brazil as an independent country in 1825.
In 1824, Pedro closed the Constituent Assembly, stating that the body was "endangering liberty". Pedro then produced a constitution modeled on that of Portugal (1822) and France (1814). It specified indirect elections and created the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government; however, it also added a fourth branch, the "moderating power", to be held by the Emperor. Pedro's government was considered economically and administratively inefficient. Political pressures eventually made the Emperor step down on April 7, 1831. He returned to Portugal leaving behind his five-year-old son Pedro II. Until Pedro II reached maturity, Brazil was governed by regents from 1831 to 1840. The regency period was turbulent and marked by numerous local revolts including the Male Revolt, the largest urban slave rebellion in the Americas, which took place in Bahia in 1835.[16]
On July 23, 1840, Pedro II was crowned Emperor. His government was marked by a substantial rise in coffee exports, the War of the Triple Alliance, and the end of slave trade from Africa in 1865, although slavery in Brazilian territory would only be abolished in 1888. By the Eusébio de Queirós law,[17]Brazil stopped trading slaves from Africa in 1850. Slavery was abandoned altogether in 1888, thus making Brazil the last country of the Americas to ban slavery.[18][19] When slavery was finally abolished, a large influx of European immigrants took place.[20][21][22] By the 1870s, the Emperor's control of domestic politics had started to deteriorate in the face of crises with the Catholic Church, the Army and the slaveholders. The Republican movement slowly gained strength. The dominant classes no longer needed the empire to protect their interests and deeply resented the abolition of slavery.[23]Indeed, imperial centralization ran counter to their desire for local autonomy. By 1889 Pedro II had stepped down and the Republican system had been adopted in Brazil. In the end, the empire really fell because of a coup d'etat.
Republic
Pedro II was deposed on November 15, 1889 by a Republican military coup led by general Deodoro da Fonseca,[24] 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. From 1889 to 1930, the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais alternated control of the presidency.[25][26] A military junta took control in 1930. Getúlio Vargas took office soon after, and would remain as dictatorial ruler until 1945. He was re-elected in 1951 and stayed in office until his suicide in 1954. After 1930, successive governments continued industrial and agricultural growth and the development of the vast interior of Brazil.[26][27] Juscelino Kubitschek's office years (1956-1961) were marked by the political campaign motto of plunging "50 anos em 5" (English: fifty years of development in five).[28]
The military took office in Brazil in a coup d'état in 1964, and remained in power until March 1985, when it fell from grace because of political struggles between the regime and the Brazilian elites. In 1967 the name of the country was changed to Federative Republic of Brazil. 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 1964 regime change.[29] Democracy was re-established in 1988 when the current Federal Constitution was enacted.[30] Fernando Collor de Mello was the first president truly elected by popular vote after the military regime.[31] Collor took office in March 1990. In September 1992, the National Congress voted for Collor's impeachment after a sequence of scandals were uncovered by the media.[31][32] The vice-president, Itamar Franco, assumed the presidency. Assisted by the Minister of Finance at that time, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Itamar Franco's administration implemented the Plano Real economic package,[31] which included a new currency temporarily pegged to the U.S. dollar, the real. In the elections held on October 3, 1994, Fernando Henrique Cardoso ran for president and won, being reelected in 1998. Brazil's current president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, elected in 2002 and reelected in 2006.
Government and politics
The Brazilian Federation is based on the union of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District.[4] A fourth entity originated in the aforementioned association: the Union.[4] There is no hierarchy among the political entities. The Federation is set on six fundamental principles:[4] sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial under the checks and balances system), is formally established by the Constitution.[4] The executive and legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, while the judiciary is organized only in the federal and state levels.
All members of the executive and legislative branches are directly-elected.[33][34][35] Judges and other judicial officials are appointed after passing entry exams.[33] Voting is compulsory for those aged 18 or older.[4] Four political parties stand out among several small ones: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Democrats (formerly Liberal Front Party - PFL). Practically all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated to the Executive.
The form of government is that of a democratic republic, with a presidential system.[4] The president is both head of state and head of government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term,[4] with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was elected on October 27, 2002,[36] and re-elected on October 29, 2006.[37] The President appoints the Ministers of State, who assist in governing.[4] Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of laws in Brazil. The National Congress is the Federation’s bicameral legislature, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Judiciary authorities exercise jurisdictional duties almost exclusively.
Law
Brazilian law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions.[38] Thus, civil law concepts prevail over common law practices. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part of the system, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretive guidelines; however, they are not binding on other specific cases except in a few situations. Doctrinal works and the works of academic jurists have strong influence in law creation and in law cases. The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, which was promulgated on October 5, 1988, and is the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules.[39] As of April 2007, there have been 53 amendments. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution.[40] Municipalities and the Federal District do not have their own constitutions; instead, they have "organic laws" (leis orgânicas).[4][41] Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may enact legal norms.[4]
Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare situations the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments.[4] There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts.[4] The highest court is the Supreme Federal Tribunal. This system has been criticised over the last decades due to the slow pace at which final decisions are issued. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade elapses before definitive rulings are made.[42]
Foreign relations and the military
Brazil is sought to be a political and economic leader in Latin America[43][44], even though this claim is partially contested by Argentina and Mexico, who oppose the country's aim of obtaining a permanent seat as the representative of the region in the UN Security Council. Social and economic problems prevent Brazil from effectively exerting global power.[45] Between World War II and 1990, both democratic and military governments sought to expand Brazil's influence in the world by pursuing a state-led industrial policy and an independent foreign policy. More recently, the country has aimed to strengthen ties with other South American countries, engage in multilateral diplomacy through the United Nations and the Organization of American States.[46] Brazil's current foreign policy is based on the country's position as a regional power in Latin America, a leader among developing countries, and an emerging world power.[47] Brazilian foreign policy has generally reflected multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries.[48] The Brazilian Constitution also determines the country shall seek the economic, political, social and cultural integration of the nations of Latin America.[4][49][50][51]
The Armed forces of Brazil comprise the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the Brazilian Air Force.[4] The Military Police (States' Military Police) is described as an ancillary force of the Army by constitution, but under the control of each state's governor.[4] The Brazilian armed forces are the largest in Latin America. The Brazilian Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces, being the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service.[52] The Brazilian Navy is responsible for naval operations and for guarding Brazilian territorial waters. It is the oldest of the Brazilian Armed forces and the only navy in Latin America that operates an aircraft carrier, the NAeL São Paulo (formerly FS Foch of the French Navy).[53] Finally, the Brazilian Army is responsible for land-based military operations, with a strength of approximately 190,000 soldiers.
Subdivisions
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Politically, Brazil is a federation of 26 states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal) which contains the capital city, Brasília.[4] The states are subdivided into municipalities. States are based on historical, conventional borders and have developed throughout the centuries; though some boundaries are arbitrary. The federal district is not a state on its right, but shares some characteristics of a state and some of a municipality. The national territory was divided in 1969 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), for demographic and statistical purposes, into five main regions: North, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and South.
In 1943, with the entrance of Brazil into the Second World War, the Vargas regime detached seven strategic territories from the border of the country in order to administrate them directly: Amapá, Rio Branco, Acre, Guaporé, Ponta Porã, Iguaçu and the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. After the war, the first three territories were retained as states, with Rio Branco and Guaporé being renamed Roraima and Rondônia, respectively. Ponta Porã and Iguaçu resorted to territorial status. In 1988, Fernando de Noronha became part of Pernambuco.
In 1960, the square-shaped Distrito Federal was carved out of Goiás in preparation for the new capital, Brasília. The previous federal district became the state of Guanabara until in 1975 it was merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro, becoming the municipality of Rio de Janeiro.
In 1977, Mato Grosso was split into two states. The northern area retained the name Mato Grosso while the southern area became the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, with Campo Grande as its capital. The new Mato Grosso do Sul incorporated the territory of Ponta Porã and the northern part of Iguaçu. Central Iguaçu went to Paraná, and southern Iguaçu went to Santa Catarina. In 1988, the northern portion of Goiás became the state of Tocantins, with Palmas as its capital.
Regions
The North region covers 45.27% of the land area of Brazil, and has the lowest number of inhabitants. With the exception of Manaus, which hosts a tax-free industrial zone, and Belém, the biggest metropolitan area of the region, it is fairly unindustrialized and undeveloped. It accommodates most of the rainforest vegetation of the world and many indigenous tribes. The Northeast region is inhabited by about 30% of Brazil's population.[54] It is culturally diverse, with roots set in the Portuguese colonial period, and in Amerindian and Afro-Brazilian elements. It is also the poorest region of Brazil,[55] and suffers from long periods of dry climate.[56] The Central-West region has low demographic density when compared to the other regions,[57] mostly because a part of its territory is covered by the world's largest marshlands area, the Pantanal[58] as well as a small part of the Amazon Rainforest in the northwest. However, much of the region is also covered by Cerrado, the largest savanna in the world. The central-west region contributes significantly towards agriculture.[59]
The Southeast region is the richest and most densely populated.[57] It has more inhabitants than any other South American country, and hosts one of the largest megalopolises of the world, and has the country's two largest cities; São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. The region is very diverse, including the major business center of São Paulo, the historical cities of Minas Gerais and its capital Belo Horizonte, the third-largest metropolitan area in Brazil, the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, and the coast of Espírito Santo. The South region is the wealthiest by GDP per capita,[55] and has the highest standard of living in the country.[60] It is also the coldest region of Brazil,[61] with occasional occurrences of frost and snow in some of the higher altitude areas.[62] It has been settled mainly by European immigrants, mostly of Italian, German and Portuguese ancestry, being clearly influenced by these cultures.
States
The Equatorial line cuts through the state of Amapá in the north, and the Tropic of Capricorn line cuts through the state of São Paulo. The southernmost state of Rio Grande do Sul is further to the south than the entire European continent is to the north.[63] Acre is in the far west side of the country, covered by the Amazon forest; Paraíba is the easternmost state of Brazil; Cabo Branco, in the city of João Pessoa, is the easternmost point of Brazil and the Americas. The states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, and Santa Catarina all have a temperate climate.
São Paulo is the economic center of Brazil. Agriculture, industry, commerce, and services are the most diversified of Brazil. Although a large proportion is exported to other states and other countries, the consumer market of the state is also the biggest in the country. Different from other states, where settlement started in the coast and moved inwards, in São Paulo the center of the economy was in a non-coastal city.
Rio de Janeiro, the most well known Brazilian city and with many famous landmarks, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Older books may still reference the state of Guanabara: after the Federal District (capital of the Republic) was moved to Brasília in 1960, the city of Rio de Janeiro was elevated to the condition of state of Guanabara (name of the large bay which washes the city or Rio); however, in 1975, Guanabara was incorporated to the state of Rio and returned to the condition of municipality, with the old name of city of Rio de Janeiro.
Geography
Brazil occupies an immense area along the eastern coast of South America and includes much of the continent's interior region,[64] sharing land borders with Uruguay to the south; Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest; Bolivia and Peru to the west; Colombia to the northwest; Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the overseas department of French Guiana to the north; stretching from the North to the Southern Hemisphere.[1] The factors of size, relief, climate, and natural resources make Brazil geographically diverse.[64] Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world—after Russia, Canada, the People's Republic of China and the United States—and third largest on the Americas; with a total area of 8,511,965 kilometers (5,289,090 mi), include 55,455 kilometers (34,458 mi) of water.[1] It spans three time zones; from UTC-4, in the North (except Pará) and UTC-4, in the central states;[65] to UTC-3, in the eastern states, the official time of Brazil, and UTC-2, in the Atlantic islands.[66]
Brazilian topography is also diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of Brazil lies between 200 metres (660 ft) and 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation.[67] The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country.[67] The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills.[67] The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).[67] These ranges include the Mantiqueira Mountains, the Espinhaço Mountains, and the Serra do Mar.[67] In north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco river system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina with 3,014 metres (9,890 ft), and the lowest point is the Atlantic Ocean with 0 metres (0 ft).[1] Brazil has a dense and complex system of rivers, one of the world's most extensive, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic Ocean.[68] Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water, 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.[68]
Climate
The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large geographic scale and varied topography, but the largest part of the country is tropical and covered by the Amazon Rainforest.[1] Analysed according to the Köppen system, Brazil hosts five major climatic subtypes: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and temperate; ranging from equatorial rainforests in the north and semiarid deserts in the northeast, to temperate coniferous forests in the south and tropical savannas in central Brazil.[69] Many regions have starkly different microclimates.[70][71]
A equatorial climate characterizes much of northern Brazil. There is no real dry season but there are some variations in the period of the year when most rain falls.[69] Temperatures average 25 °C (77 °F),[71] with more significant temperature variations between night and day than between seasons.[70] Over central Brazil rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate.[70] This region is as large and extensive as the Amazon basin but, lying farther south and being at a moderate altitude, it has a very different climate.[69] In the interior Northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. The semiarid climate region receives less than 800 millimetres (31 in) of rain, which falls in a period of two or three months.[70] From the south of Bahía, near São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, here some appreciable rainfall occurs in all months.[69] The South has temperate conditions, with average temperatures below 18 °C (64 °F) and cool winters,[71] frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfalls in the higher areas.[69][70]
Wildlife
Brazil's large territory comprises different ecosystems, such as the Amazon Rainforest, recognized as having the greatest biological diversity in the world;[72] the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity.[73] In the South, the Araucaria pine forest grows under temperate conditions.[73] The rich wildlife of Brazil reflects the variety of natural habitats; however, remains largely unknown, and new species are found on nearly a daily basis.[74] Scientists estimate that the total number of plant and animal species in Brazil could approach two million.[73] Larger mammals include pumas, jaguars, ocelots, rare bush dogs, and foxes. Peccaries, tapirs, anteaters, sloths, opossums, and armadillos are abundant. Deer are plentiful in the south, and monkeys of many species abound in the northern rain forests.[73][75]
Concern for the environment in Brazil has grown in response to global interest in environmental issues.[76] It's natural heritage is extremely threatened due to cattle ranching and agriculture, logging, mining, resettlement, oil and gas extraction, over-fishing, expansion of urban centres, wildlife trade, fire, climate change, dams and infrastructure, water contamination, and invasive species.[72] In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development.[77] Construction of highways has opened up previously remote areas for agriculture and settlement; dams have flooded valleys and inundated wildlife habitats; and mines have scarred and polluted the landscape.[76][78]
Economy
Brazil is the largest national economy in Latin America, the world's tenth largest economy at market exchange rates[79][80] and the ninth largest in purchasing power parity (PPP),[81][82] according to the International Monetary Fund and t