Brazil
Brazil has the largest
population in Latin America and ranks fifth in the world. The
majority of people live in the south-central area, which includes
the industrial cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte. Urban growth has been rapid; by 2005, 81% of the total
population was living in urban areas. This growth has aided economic
development but also has created serious social, security,
environmental, and political problems for major cities.
Six major groups make up the Brazilian population: the Portuguese,
who colonized Brazil in the 16th century; Africans brought to Brazil
as slaves; various other European, Middle Eastern, and Asian
immigrant groups who have settled in Brazil since the mid-19th
century; and indigenous peoples of Tupi and Guarani language stock.
Intermarriage between the Portuguese and indigenous people or slaves
was common. Although the major European ethnic stock of Brazil was
originally Portuguese, subsequent waves of immigration have
contributed to a diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.
From 1875 until 1960, about 5 million Europeans immigrated to
Brazil, settling mainly in the four southern states of Sao Paulo,
Parana, Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Immigrants have come
mainly from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, Poland, and the Middle
East. The largest Japanese community outside Japan is in Sao Paulo.
Despite class distinctions, national identity is strong, and racial
friction is a relatively new phenomenon. Indigenous full-blooded
Indians, located mainly in the northern and western border regions
and in the upper Amazon Basin, constitute less than 1% of the
population. Their numbers are declining as contact with the outside
world and commercial expansion into the interior increase. Brazilian
Government programs to establish reservations and to provide other
forms of assistance have existed for years but are controversial and
often ineffective.
Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. About
three-quarters of all Brazilians belong to the Roman Catholic
Church; most others are Protestant, members of a growing evangelical
movement, or follow practices derived from African religions. |
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Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal in 1500. The colony
was ruled from Lisbon until 1808, when Dom Joao VI and the rest of
the Portuguese royal family fled from Napoleon's army, and
established its seat of government in Rio de Janeiro. Dom Joao VI
returned to Portugal in 1821. His son declared Brazil's independence
on September 7, 1822, and became emperor with the title of Dom Pedro
I. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled from 1831 to 1889, when a federal
republic was established in a coup led by Deodoro da Fonseca,
Marshal of the Army. Slavery had been abolished a year earlier by
the Regent Princess Isabel while Dom Pedro II was in Europe.
From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional republic,
with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao
Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup that
placed Getulio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas
remained as dictator until 1945. Between 1945 and 1961, Jose
Linhares, Gaspar Dutra, Vargas himself, Cafe Filho, Carlos Luz,
Nereu Ramos, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Janio Quadros were elected
presidents. When Quadros resigned in 1961, Vice President Joao
Goulart succeeded him.
Goulart's years in office were marked by high inflation, economic
stagnation, and the increasing influence of radical political
elements. The armed forces, alarmed by these developments, staged a
coup on March 31, 1964. The coup leaders chose as president Humberto
Castello Branco, followed by Arthur da Costa e Silva (1967-69),
Emilio Garrastazu Medici (1969-74), and Ernesto Geisel (1974-79),
all of whom were senior army officers. Geisel began a democratic
opening that was continued by his successor, Gen. Joao Baptista de
Oliveira Figueiredo (1979-85). Figueiredo not only permitted the
return of politicians exiled or banned from political activity
during the 1960s and 1970s, but also allowed them to run for state
and federal offices in 1982.
At the same time, an electoral college consisting of all members of
congress and six delegates chosen from each state continued to
choose the president. In January 1985, the electoral college voted
Tancredo Neves from the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement
Party (PMDB) into office as President. However, Neves became ill in
March and died a month later. His Vice President, former Senator
Jose Sarney, became President upon Neves' death. Brazil completed
its transition to a popularly elected government in 1989, when
Fernando Collor de Mello won 53% of the vote in the first direct
presidential election in 29 years. In 1992, a major corruption
scandal led to his impeachment and ultimate resignation. Vice
President Itamar Franco took his place and governed for the
remainder of Collor's term culminating in the October 3, 1994
presidential elections, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected
President with 54% of the vote. Cardoso took office January 1, 1995,
and pursued a program of ambitious economic reform. He was
re-elected in October 1998 for a second four-year term. Luiz Inacio
da Silva, commonly known as Lula, was elected president in 2002,
after his fourth campaign for the office. He was re-elected in 2006
for a second four-year term.
President Lula, a former union leader, is Brazil's first
working-class president. Since taking office he has taken a prudent
fiscal path, warning that social reforms would take years and that
Brazil had no alternative but to maintain tight fiscal austerity
policies. |
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