Brazil
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This article is about the country. For other uses, see Brazil (disambiguation).
| Federative Republic of Brazil
República Federativa do Brasil (Portuguese)
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| Motto: "Ordem e Progresso" (Portuguese) (English: "Order and Progress") |
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| Anthem:
Hino Nacional Brasileiro (Portuguese) (English: Brazilian National Anthem) |
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| National seal Selo Nacional do Brasil (Portuguese) (English: "National Seal of Brazil")  |
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| Capital | Brasília 15°47′S 47°52′W |
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| Largest city | São Paulo | |||||
| Official language(s) | Portuguese[1] | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2010[2]) | 47.73% White 43.13% Brown (Multiracial) 7.61% Black 1.09% Asian 0.43% Amerindian |
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| Demonym | Brazilian | |||||
| Government | Federal presidential constitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | Dilma Rousseff (PT) | ||||
| - | Vice President | Michel Temer (PMDB) | ||||
| - | President of the Chamber of Deputies | Marco Maia (PT) | ||||
| - | President of the Senate | José Sarney (PMDB) | ||||
| - | President of the Supreme Federal Court | Ayres Britto | ||||
| Legislature | National Congress | |||||
| - | Upper house | Federal Senate | ||||
| - | Lower house | Chamber of Deputies | ||||
| Independence | from United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves | |||||
| - | Declared | 7 September 1822 | ||||
| - | Recognized | 29 August 1825 | ||||
| - | Republic | 15 November 1889 | ||||
| - | Current constitution | 5 October 1988 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 8,514,877 km2 (5th) 3,287,597 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.65 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012[4] estimate | 193,946,886 | ||||
| - | 2010 census | 190,732,694[3] (5th) | ||||
| - | Density | 22/km2 (182nd) 57/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.294 trillion[5] (7th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $11,769[5] (75th) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.493 trillion[5] (6th) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $12,788[5] (53rd) | ||||
| Gini (2012) | ▼51.9[6] | |||||
| HDI (2011) | 0.718[7] (high) (84th) | |||||
| Currency | Real (R$) (BRL) |
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| Time zone | BRT (UTC−2 to −4) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | BRST (UTC−2 to −4) | ||||
| Date formats | dd/mm/yyyy (CE) | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | BR | |||||
| Internet TLD | .br | |||||
| Calling code | +55 | |||||
i/brəˈzɪl/ (Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw][8]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil[9][10] (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, 
listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people.[11][12] It is the largest Lusophone country in the world, and the only one in the Americas.[11]Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 7,491 km (4,655 mi).[11] It is bordered on the north by Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French overseas region of French Guiana; on the northwest by Colombia; on the west by Bolivia and Peru; on the southwest by Argentina and Paraguay and on the south by Uruguay. Numerous archipelagos form part of Brazilian territory, such as Fernando de Noronha, Rocas Atoll, Saint Peter and Paul Rocks, and Trindade and Martim Vaz.[11] It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile.
Brazil was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until 1815, when it was elevated to the rank of kingdom and the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves was formed. The colonial bond was in fact broken in 1808, when the capital of the Portuguese colonial empire was transferred from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, after Napoleon invaded Portugal.[13] Independence was achieved in 1822 with the formation of the Empire of Brazil, a unitary state governed under a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. The country became a presidential republic in 1889, when a military coup d'état proclaimed the Republic, although the bicameral legislature, now called Congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824.[13] Its current Constitution, formulated in 1988, defines Brazil as a Federal Republic.[14] The Federation is formed by the union of the Federal District, the 26 States, and the 5,564 Municipalities.[14][15]
The Brazilian economy is the world's sixth largest by nominal GDP and the seventh largest by purchasing power parity (as of 2011).[16][17] Brazil is one of the world's fastest growing major economies. Economic reforms have given the country new international recognition.[18] Brazil is a founding member of the United Nations, the G20, CPLP, Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, the Organization of American States, Mercosul and the Union of South American Nations, and is one of the BRIC countries. Brazil is also one of the 17 Megadiverse countries, home to diverse wildlife, natural environments, and extensive natural resources in a variety of protected habitats.[11] With a confirmed presence of 67 isolated tribes by the Fundação Nacional do Índio, Brazil has the world's greatest number of uncontacted peoples.[19]
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Etymology
Main article: Name of Brazil
The word "Brazil" comes from brazilwood, a tree that once grew plentifully along the Brazilian coast. In Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology "red like an ember", formed from Latin brasa ("ember") and the suffix -il (from -iculum or -ilium).[20][21][22] As brazilwood produces a deep red dye,
it was highly valued by the European cloth industry and was the
earliest commercially-exploited product from Brazil. Through the 16th
century, massive amounts of brazilwood were harvested by indigenous peoples (mostly Tupi) along the Brazilian coast, who sold the timber to European traders (mostly Portuguese, but also French) in return for assorted European consumer goods.[23]The official name of the land, in original Portuguese records, was the "Land of the Holy Cross" (Terra da Santa Cruz), but European sailors and merchants commonly called it simply the "Land of Brazil" (Terra do Brasil) on account of the brazilwood trade. The popular appellation eclipsed and eventually supplanted the official name. Early sailors sometimes also called it the "Land of Parrots" (Terra di Papaga).
In the Guarani language, an official language of Paraguay, Brazil is called "Pindorama". This was the name the natives gave to the region, meaning "land of the palm trees".
History
Main article: History of Brazil
Portuguese colonization
Main article: Colonial Brazil
See also: Indigenous peoples in Brazil and Slavery in Brazil
Through wars against the French, the Portuguese slowly expanded their territory to the southeast, taking Rio de Janeiro in 1567, and to the northwest, taking São Luís in 1615.[36] They sent military expeditions to the Amazon rainforest and conquered British and Dutch strongholds,[37] founding villages and forts from 1669.[38] In 1680 they reached the far south and founded Sacramento on the bank of the Rio de la Plata, in the Eastern Bank region.[39] At the end of the 17th century, sugar exports started to decline[40] but beginning in the 1690s, the discovery of gold by explorers in the region that would later be called Minas Gerais in current Mato Grosso and Goiás, saved the colony from imminent collapse.[41] From all over Brazil, as well as from Portugal, thousands of immigrants came to the mines.[42] The Spanish tried to prevent Portuguese expansion into the territory that belonged to them according to the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, and succeeded in conquering the Eastern Bank in 1777. However, this was in vain as the Treaty of San Ildefonso, signed in the same year, confirmed Portuguese sovereignty over all lands proceeding from its territorial expansion, thus creating most of the current Brazilian borders.[43]
In 1808, the Portuguese royal family and the majority of the Portuguese nobility, fleeing the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon I that were invading Portugal and most of Central Europe, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the seat of the entire Portuguese Empire.[44] In 1815 Dom João VI, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, elevated Brazil from colony to sovereign Kingdom united with Portugal.[44] In 1809 the Portuguese invaded French Guiana (which was returned to France in 1817)[45] and in 1816 the Eastern Bank, subsequently renamed Cisplatina.[46]
Independence and empire
Main articles: Independence of Brazil and Empire of Brazil
Pedro I abdicated on 7 April 1831 and went to Europe to reclaim his daughter’s crown which had been usurped by his brother, leaving behind his five year old son and heir, who became Dom Pedro II.[56] As the new emperor could not exert his constitutional powers until he reached maturity, a regency was created.[57] Disputes between political factions led to rebellions and an unstable, almost anarchical, regency.[58] The rebellious factions, however, were not in revolt against the monarchy,[59][60] even though some declared the secession of the provinces as independent republics, but only so long as Pedro II was a minor.[61] Because of this, he was prematurely declared of age and "Brazil was to enjoy nearly half a century of internal peace and rapid material progress."[62]
Despite the loss of Cisplatina in 1828 when it became an independent nation known as Uruguay,[63] Brazil won three international wars during the 58-year reign of Pedro II (the Platine War, the Uruguayan War and the Paraguayan War)[64] and witnessed the consolidation of representative democracy, mainly due to successive elections and unrestricted freedom of the press.[65] Most importantly, slavery was extinguished after a slow but steady process that began with the end of the international traffic in slaves in 1850[66] and ended with the complete abolition of slavery in 1888.[67] The slave population had been in decline since Brazil's independence: in 1823, 29% of the Brazilian population were slaves but by 1887 this had fallen to 5%.[68] When the monarchy was overthrown on 15 November 1889[69] there was little desire in Brazil to change the form of government[70] and Pedro II was at the height of his popularity among his subjects.[71][72] However, he "bore prime, perhaps sole, responsibility for his own overthrow."[73] After the death of his two sons, the Emperor believed that "the imperial regime was destined to end with him."[74] He cared little for the regime's fate[75][76] and so neither did anything, nor allowed anyone else to do anything, to prevent the military coup, backed by former slave owners who resented the abolition of slavery.[77][78][79]
Early republic
Main articles: República Velha, Estado Novo (Brazil), and Brazilian Second Republic
In the 1920s the country was plagued by several rebellions caused by young military officers.[82][83] By 1930, the regime was weakened and demoralized, which allowed the defeated presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas to lead a coup d'état and assume the presidency.[84] Vargas was supposed to assume the presidency temporarily but instead, he closed the National Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his supporters.[85][86] In 1935 Communists rebelled across the country and made an unsuccessful bid for power.[87] The communist threat, however, served as an excuse for Vargas to launch another coup d'état in 1937 and Brazil became a full dictatorship.[88][89] The repression of the opposition was brutal with more than 20,000 people imprisoned, internment camps created for political prisoners in distant regions of the country, widespread torture by the government agents of repression, and censorship of the press.[90][91]
Brazil remained neutral during the early years of World War II until the government declared war against the Axis powers in 1942.[92] Vargas then forced German, Japanese and Italian immigrants into concentration camps,[93] and, in 1944, sent troops to the battlefields in Italy.[94][95] With the allied victory in 1945 and the end of the Nazi-fascist regimes in Europe, Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown in a military coup.[96] Democracy was reinstated and General Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president and took office in 1946.[97] Vargas returned to power in 1951, this time democratically elected, but he was incapable of either governing under a democracy or of dealing with an active opposition, and he committed suicide in 1954.[98][99]
Contemporary era
Main articles: Brazilian military government and History of Brazil since 1985
The new regime was intended to be transitory[107] but it gradually closed in on itself and became a full dictatorship with the promulgation of the Fifth Institutional Act in 1968.[108] The repression of the dictatorship's opponents, including urban guerrillas,[109] was harsh, but not as brutal as in other Latin American countries.[110] Due to the extraordinary economic growth, known as an "economic miracle", the regime reached its highest level of popularity in the years of repression.[111] General Ernesto Geisel became president in 1974 and began his project of re-democratization through a process that he said would be "slow, gradual and safe."[112][113] Geisel ended the military indiscipline that had plagued the country since 1889,[114] as well as the torture of political prisoners, censorship of the press,[115] and finally, the dictatorship itself, after he extinguished the Fifth Institutional Act.[108] However, the military regime continued, under his chosen successor General João Figueiredo, to complete the transition to full democracy.[116]
The civilians fully returned to power in 1985 when José Sarney assumed the presidency[117] but, by the end of his term, he had become extremely unpopular due to the uncontrollable economic crisis and unusually high inflation.[118] Sarney's unsuccessful government allowed the election in 1989 of the almost unknown Fernando Collor, who was subsequently impeached by the National Congress in 1992.[119] Collor was succeeded by his Vice-President Itamar Franco, who appointed Fernando Henrique Cardoso as Minister of Finance. Cardoso produced a highly successful Plano Real.[120] that granted stability to the Brazilian economy[121] and he was elected as president in 1994 and again in 1998.[122] The peaceful transition of power to Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, who was elected in 2002 and re-elected in 2006, proved that Brazil had finally succeeded in achieving its long-sought political stability.[123] Lula was succeeded in 2011 by the current president, Dilma Rousseff.[124]
Geography
Main article: Geography of Brazil
See also: List of countries and outlying territories by total area
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, and third largest in the Americas, with a total area of 8,514,876.599 km2 (3,287,612 sq mi),[126] including 55,455 km2 (21,411 sq mi) of water.[11] It spans three time zones; from UTC-4 in the western states, to UTC-3 in the eastern states (and the official time of Brazil) and UTC-2 in the Atlantic islands.[127] Brazil is the only country in the world that lies on the equator while having contiguous territory outside the tropics.
Brazilian topography is also diverse and includes hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of the terrain lies between 200 metres (660 ft) and 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation.[128] The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country.[128] The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills.[128]
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).[128] These ranges include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar.[128] In the 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 at 2,994 metres (9,823 ft), and the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean.[11]
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.[129] Major rivers include the Amazon (the world's second-longest river and the largest in terms of volume of water), the Paraná and its major tributary the Iguaçu (which includes the Iguazu Falls), the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and Tapajós rivers.[129]
Climate
Main article: Climate of Brazil
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Snow in São Joaquim, Santa Catarina (South) and tropical climate in Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco (Northeast).
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An 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.[130] Temperatures average 25 °C (77 °F),[132] with more significant temperature variation between night and day than between seasons.[131]
Over central Brazil rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate.[131] This region is as extensive as the Amazon basin but has a very different climate as it lies farther south at a higher altitude.[130] In the interior northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. The semiarid climatic region generally receives less than 800 millimetres (31.5 in) of rain,[133] most of which generally falls in a period of three to five months of the year[134] and occasionally less than this, creating long periods of drought.[131] Brazil's 1877–78 Grande Seca (Great Drought), the most severe ever recorded in Brazil,[135] caused approximately half a million deaths.[136] The one from 1915 was devastating too.[137]
South of Bahia, near the coasts, and more southerly most of the state of São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, with rain falling throughout the year.[130] The south enjoys temperate conditions, with cool winters and average annual temperatures not exceeding 18 °C (64.4 °F);[132] winter frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfall in the higher areas.[130][131] Other kinds of solid precipitation happen in a wider area, including cities as Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. Fall of snow grains and ice pellets, deemed as not dissimilar from true hail, are popularly called granizo.
Biodiversity
Main articles: Wildlife of Brazil and Deforestation in Brazil
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 many species of New World monkeys are found in the northern rain forests.[139][140] Concern for the environment has grown in response to global interest in environmental issues.[141]
Environment
See also: Conservation in Brazil
The natural heritage of Brazil is severely threatened by cattle
ranching and agriculture, logging, mining, resettlement, oil and gas
extraction, over-fishing, wildlife trade, dams and infrastructure, water contamination, climate change, fire, and invasive species.[138] In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development.[142]
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.[141][143] At least 70 dams are said to be planned for the Amazon region, including controversial Belo Monte hydroelectric dam.[144]Politics
Main articles: Politics of Brazil, Federal government of Brazil, and Elections in Brazil
All members of the executive and legislative branches are directly elected.[145][146][147] Judges and other judicial officials are appointed after passing entry exams.[145] For most of its democratic history, Brazil has had a multi-party system, proportional representation. Voting is compulsory for the literate between 18 and 70 years old and optional for illiterates and those between 16 and 18 or beyond 70.[14] Together with several smaller parties, four political parties stand out: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Democrats (DEM). Fifteen political parties are represented in Congress. It is common for politicians to switch parties, and thus the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly.[148] Almost 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.[14] The president is both head of state and head of government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term,[14] with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Dilma Rousseff who was inaugurated on 1 January 2011.[149] The President appoints the Ministers of State, who assist in government.[14] Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of law 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
Main articles: Law of Brazil and Crime in Brazil
The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, which was promulgated on 5 October 1988, and is the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules.[151] As of April 2007, there have been 53 amendments. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution.[152] Municipalities and the Federal District have "organic laws" (leis orgânicas), which act in a similar way to constitutions.[14][153] Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may enact legal norms.[14] Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare situations the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments.[14] There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts.[14] The highest court is the Supreme Federal Court.
This system has been criticised over the last few decades for the slow pace of decision making. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade elapses before definitive rulings.[154] Nevertheless, the Supreme Federal Tribunal was the first court in the world to transmit its sessions on television, and also via YouTube.[155][156] More recently, in December 2009, the Supreme Court adopted Twitter to display items on the day planner of the ministers, to inform the daily actions of the Court and the most important decisions made by them.[157]
Brazil continues to have high crime rates in a number of statistics, despite recent improvements. More than 500,000 people have been killed by firearms in Brazil between 1979 and 2003, according to a new report by the United Nations.[158] In 2010, there were 473,600 people incarcerated in Brazilian prisons and jails.[159]
Foreign relations and military
Main articles: Foreign relations of Brazil and Brazilian Armed Forces
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.[164] In general, current Brazilian foreign policy reflects multilateralism, peaceful dispute settlement, and nonintervention in the affairs of other countries.[165] The Brazilian Constitution also determines that the country shall seek the economic, political, social and cultural integration of the nations of Latin America.[14][160][161][166]
An increasingly well-developed tool of Brazil's foreign policy is providing aid as a donor to other developing countries.[167] Brazil does not just use its growing economic strength to provide financial aid, but it also provides high levels of expertise and most importantly of all, a quiet non-confrontational diplomacy to improve governance levels.[167] Total aid is estimated to be around $1 billion per year that includes:[167]
- technical cooperation of around $480 million ($30 million in 2010 provided directly by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC))
- an estimated $450 million for in-kind expertise provided by Brazilian institutions specialising in technical cooperation
The armed forces of Brazil consist of the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the Brazilian Air Force. With a total of 371,199 active personnel,[169] they constitute the largest armed force in Latin America.[170] The Army is responsible for land-based military operations and has 235,978 active personnel.[171]
The Military Police (States' Military Police) is described as an ancillary force of the Army by the constitution, but is under the control of each state's governor.[14] The 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 to operate an aircraft carrier, the NAe São Paulo (formerly FS Foch of the French Navy).[172] The Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces, and the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service.[173]
Administrative divisions
North Region
Northeast Region
Central-West Region
Southeast Region
South Region
Acre
Amazonas
Pará
Roraima
Amapá
Rondônia
Tocantins
Maranhão
Bahia
Piauí
Ceará
Rio Grande
do Norte
do Norte
Paraíba
Pernambuco
Alagoas
Sergipe
Mato Grosso
Mato Grosso
do Sul
do Sul
Federal
District
District
Goiás
Minas Gerais
São Paulo
Rio de Janeiro
Espírito Santo
Paraná
Santa Catarina
Rio Grande
do Sul
do Sul
Main articles: States of Brazil and Municipalities of Brazil
See also: Regions of Brazil
Brazil is a federation composed of 26 States, one Federal district (which contains the capital city, Brasília) and Municipalities.[14]
States have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and
receive a share of taxes collected by the Federal government. They have a
governor and a unicameral legislative body elected directly by their
voters. They also have independent Courts of Law for common justice.
Despite this, states have much less autonomy to create their own laws
than in the United States. For example, criminal and civil laws can only
be voted by the federal bicameral Congress and are uniform throughout
the country.[14]The states and the federal district may be grouped into regions: Northern, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and Southern. The Brazilian regions are merely geographical, not political or administrative divisions, and they do not have any specific form of government. Although defined by law, Brazilian regions are useful mainly for statistical purposes, and also to define the distribution of federal funds in development projects.
Municipalities, as the states, have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the Union and state government.[14] Each has a mayor and an elected legislative body, but no separate Court of Law. Indeed, a Court of Law organized by the state can encompass many municipalities in a single justice administrative division called comarca (county).
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