Brazil

Brazil was first sighted by Europeans in 1500 and developed as a Portuguese commercial colony, based to a large extent on slavery. The Portuguese royal family and government fled Portugal from Napoleon in 1808 and relocated to Brazil. Though they returned in 1821, the interlude led to a growing desire for independence amongst Brazilians and in 1822 the then prince-regent Dom Pedro I established the independent Empire of Brazil. This lasted until the next emperor, Dom Pedro II was deposed in 1889 and a republican based federation was adopted.

Brazil received an influx of over 5 million immigrants in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, a period that also saw Brazil industrialise and further expand into its interior. Brazil became a dictatorship in 1937 under Getulio Vargas, returned to popular elections in 1945, but following a military coup d'état in 1964 saw a succession of generals as president, until 1985. Brazil has since returned to a popularly elected government and is pursuing further development of its economic standing, both domestically and internationally.

The 1988 constitution grants broad powers to the federal government, of which the president and vice president are elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms. The president has extensive executive powers and is both head of state and head of government and he also appoints the cabinet.

The Brazilian parliament, the bicameral National Congress or Congresso Nacional, consists of the Federal Senate or Senado Federal of 81 seats, of which three members from each state or federal district are elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms; one-third elected after a four-year period, two-thirds elected after the next four-year period. Beside the Senate there is the Chamber of Deputies or Câmara dos Deputados of 513 seats, whose members are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms.

There is some talk among monarchists in Brazil of restoring the monarchy as a symbol of national unity and political stability. A national plebiscite was held on the issue in April of 1993, but was ultimately rejected.

See also:

• Cangaço (criminal riots)
• Café com leite (reference to Brazil's domination by the "coffee oligarchs")
• Coronelismo (reference to machine politics)
• Integralism (influential Brazilian fascist movement in the 1930s)

States

Brazil consists of 26 states (estados, singular - estado) and 1 federal district (distrito federal):

• Acre
• Alagoas
• Amapá
• Amazonas
• Bahia
• Ceará
• Federal District
• Espírito Santo
• Goiás
• Maranhão
• Mato Grosso
• Mato Grosso do Sul
• Minas Gerais
• Pará
• Paraíba
• Paraná
• Pernambuco
• Piauí
• Rio de Janeiro
• Rio Grande do Norte
• Rio Grande do Sul
• Rondônia
• Roraima
• Santa Catarina
• São Paulo
• Sergipe
• Tocantins

• List of cities in Brazil

Geography

Brazil is characterised 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 Brazil's population and its agricultural base. Along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean are also found several mountain ranges, amongst which the highest peak is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 m. Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in the world by volume, the Parana with its impressive Iguaçu falls, the Rio Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.

Situated along the equator, Brazil's climate is predominantly tropical, with little seasonal variation, though the subtropical south is more temperate and can occasionally experience frost and snow. Precipitation is abundant in the humid Amazon Basin, though more arid landscapes are found as well, in particular in the northeast.

• National parks (Brazil)
• List of Brazilian National Forests

Economy

Possessing large and well-developed agricultural, mining, manufacturing, and service sectors, as well as a large labour pool, Brazil's economy outweighs that of all other South American countries and is expanding its presence in world markets. Major export products include coffee, soybeans, iron ore, orange juice and steel.

After crafting a fiscal adjustment program and pledging progress on structural reform, Brazil received a USD 41.5 billion IMF-led international support program in November 1998. In January 1999, the Brazilian Central Bank announced that the Real would no longer be pegged to the US dollar. This devaluation helped moderate the downturn in economic growth in 1999 that investors had expressed concerns about over the summer of 1998, and the country posted moderate GDP growth.

Economic growth slowed considerably in 2001 - to less than 2% - because of a slowdown in major markets and the hiking of interest rates by the Central Bank to combat inflationary pressures. Investor confidence was strong at yearend 2001, in part because of the strong recovery in the trade balance. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.

See also:

• Communications in Brazil
• Transportation in Brazil

Demographics

Four major groups make up the Brazilian population: the Portuguese, the original colonisers; 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 people 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 once Portuguese, subsequent waves of immigration have contributed to a diverse ethnic and cultural heritage.

Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. About 80% of all Brazilians belong to the Roman Catholic Church; most others adhere to various Protestant faiths or follow practices derived from African religions.

• List of Brazilians
• Brazilian Literature
• Music of Brazil
• Food of Brazil
• Brazil Skyscrapers

Sports

• Brazilian Football League Teams

Miscellaneous topics

• Military of Brazil
• Foreign relations of Brazil

• So, when does Sam lose contact with reality? Does he undergo a lobotomy or is his final escapism merely a consequence of severe torture inflicted by a former good friend? Are daydreams good or do they blur the distinction between fantasy and reality for everybody?
• Do the terrorists exist at all, or is it just a coverup for the incompetence of Central Services (et al) when all the technology fails? Perhaps the bombings are staged to justify the information department's existence.
• Does Tuttle exist at all, or he just another of Sam's daydream fantasies? In fact, isn't it really Sam himself who tampers with the air conditioning? No one else really meets Tuttle (although he does make an exit when Sam's girlfriend appears!)
• Is the hate-to-love transition inconsistent, or is it that Sam struggles a lot to prove himself worthy to her? When this love-transition finally comes, is it not exactly where Sam loses touch with reality completely?
• Notice the society portayed. Companies and government all meld together. Their technology level is quite high, but all the wrong things are automated, and they are extremely poorly designed. (They put energy into designer ducts, when no one really wants those ducts at all. Computers and phones are also beautiful examples, half modern, half Victorian.) Due to these misdesigns (driven by a central authority), simply everybody is incompetent at what they do.
• What similarities exist between the movie and the societies of Thatcher's Britain or Reagan's USA? After all, isn't the film contemporary to the IRA bombings in London?
• What is the deeper meaning of all the dream sequences? While some of them are clear, many seem to be confusing to the point that the viewer will dismiss them as "just dreams". It should be noted that due to budget problems Gilliam was unable to shoot many of dream sequences he had planned.

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Geography

Demographics

Actually, the current Brazilian Flag was inspired at the old Imperial Brazilian Flag. The two flags are almost identical, and the Green color represents the Bragança Royal Family of Pedro I, the first Emperor of Brazil; and the Yellow color representing the Castela e Lorena Royal Family of Leopoldina, Pedro's wife.

The difference between the old Imperial Flag and the current Republican flag is the Royal Coat of Arms, that was substituted by the blue circle, which is a portrait of the sky over Rio de Janeiro on the morning of November 15, 1889 -- the day of the Declaration of the Republic. It is represented as seen from outside of the celestial sphere (i.e. the view is mirrored). Each of the 27 stars represents a different state and the Federal District. The number of stars changed within the creation of new states. Originally, there were 21 stars.

The star that represents the Federal District is Octans, and its position near the south celestial pole makes it visible across almost the whole country, every day and every hour. Also, all the other stars represented at the flag circums Octans. These facts give to this star a special meaning representing the brazilian capital.

The motto "Ordem e Progresso" (Order and Progress) is inspired at Auguste Comte positivism motto: "L'Amour pour principe et l'Ordre pour base; le Progrès pour but" ("Love the Principle and Order the Basis; Progress the Aim").

A list of constellations and stars on the map:

In 1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral, a Portuguese navigator, is generally credited as the first European to reach Brazil. The colony was thinly settled by various indigenous tribes. Only a few have survived to the present, mostly in the Amazon basin.

In the next centuries, Portuguese colonists gradually pushed inland, bring large numbers of African slaves. (Slavery was not abolished until 1888.) Brazil was developed as a commercial colony, based to a large extent on slavery.

The King of Portugal, fleeing before Napoleon's army, moved the seat of government to Brazil in 1808. Brazil thereupon became a kingdom under Dom Joao VI. Although the royal family returned to Portugal in 1821, the interlude led to a growing desire for independence amongst Brazilians, In 1822, the son of Dom Joao VI, then prince-regent Dom Pedro I, proclaimed the independence, September 7, 1882, and was crowned emperor. The second emperor, Dom Pedro II, was deposed in 1889, and a republic was proclaimed, called the United States of Brazil. (In 1967 the country was renamed the Federative Republic of Brazil.)

On November 15 1889, Deodoro da Fonseca declared the Republic, and deposed the king, Dom Pedro II, assuming the govern of the country.

From 1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup that placed Getúlio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas remained as dictator until 1945.

Brazil received an influx of over 5 million immigrants in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, a period that also saw Brazil industrialise and further expand into its interior.

A military junta took control in 1930; dictatorial power was assumed by Getulio Vargas, until finally forced out by the military in 1945. Since 1930, successive governments have pursued industrial and agriculture growth and development of the vast interior.

Just as the 1889 regime change led to a decade of unrest and painful adjustment, so too did the revolts of 1930. Provisional President Getúlio Dorneles Vargas ruled as dictator (1930-34), congressionally elected president (1934-37), and again dictator (1937-45), with the backing of his revolutionary coalition. He also served as a senator (1946-51) and the popularly elected president (1951-54). 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. During those years, the preeminence of the agricultural elites ended, new urban industrial leaders acquired more influence nationally, and the middle class began to show some strength.

A democratic regime prevailed 1945-1964, during which the capital was moved from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia. If corporatism was the hallmark of the 1930s and 1940s, populism, nationalism, and developmentalism characterized the 1950s and early 1960s. Each of these contributed to the crisis that gripped Brazil and resulted in the authoritarian regime after 1964.

One of the world's most populated urban centers, São Paulo epitomizes the contradictions of modern Brazil, a country with one of the world's most inequitable distributions of wealth. A dynamic, modern city with a sizable middle and upper class, the city center is nonetheless surrounded by high-poverty, high-crime "favelas" or shantytowns. Uneven development and huge disparties between rich and poor are pressing themes in Brazilian history.

In 1964, President Joao Goulart instituted policies that aggravated Brazil's elites; he was overthrown by a military coup. The next five presidents were all military leaders. Censorship was imposed, and much of the opposition was suppressed amid charges of torture. Democratic presidential elections were held in 1985 as the nation returned to civilian rule. Fernando Collor de Mello was elected president in December 1989. In September 1992 Collor was impeached for corruption; he later resigned. 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.

Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem. 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 usher Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Brazil's first elected leftwing president, into the presidency in 2003.

See also