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HISTORY OF BRAZIL

In contrast to the Inca and Maya, the Brazilian Indians never developed a centralized civilization. Assisted by the jungle and climate, they left very little evidence for archaeologists to study: just some pottery, shell mounds and skeletons. he Indian

population !as "uite diverse and there !ere an estimated t!o to si# million living in the territory that is no! Brazil !hen the $ortuguese first arrived. oday there are fe!er than %&&,&&&, most of them in the hidden jungles of the Brazilian interior. In '(&& $edro Alvares )abral set sail from *isbon !ith '+ ships and '%&& cre!, ostensibly for India, and arrived on the Brazilian coast near present,day $orto -eguro by .accident.. -ome historians say it !as his intended destination all along, and it.s true that his .discovery. !as reported to the king in such matter,of,fact terms that it seems that the e#istence of Brazil !as already !ell,kno!n to mariners. In '(+' /ing 0o1o III of $ortugal sent the first settlers to Brazil and, in '(+2, fearing the ambitions of other 3uropean countries, he divided the coast into '( hereditary captaincies, !hich !ere given to friends of the )ro!n. he colonists soon discovered that the land and climate !ere ideal for gro!ing sugar cane, and solved the prodigious labor

re"uirements by enslaving the Indian population, despite their

resistance. Brazil.s

he capture and sale of slaves soon became one of dominated by the

most lucrative trades, and !as

bandeirantes, men from -1o $aulo usually born of Indian mothers and $ortuguese fathers. hey hunted the Indians into the interior,

and by the mid,'4&&s had reached the peaks of the $eruvian Andes. heir brutal e#ploits, more than any treaty, secured the

huge interior of -outh America for $ortuguese Brazil. 5rom the mid,'4th century, and particularly during the '6th century, African slaves, despite their resistance, replaced Indians on the plantations. hey !ere less vulnerable to 3uropean Quilombos,

diseases, but their lives !ere short regardless.

communities of runa!ay slaves, !ere common throughout the colonial era. hey ranged from mocambos, small groups hidden in

the forests, to the great republic of $almares that survived for much of the '6th century. In the '47&s, gold !as discovered in Minas 8erais and the rush !as on. Brazilians and $ortuguese flooded into the territory and countless slaves !ere brought from Africa to dig and die in the mines. In '9&6, :apoleon.s army marched on *isbon. !o days before the invasion, the $ortuguese $rince ;egent, later to become <om 0o1o =I, set sail for Brazil. -oon after arriving, he made ;io de 0aneiro the capital of the >nited /ingdom of $ortugal, Brazil and the Algarve? Brazil became the only :e! @orld colony to serve as the

seat of a 3uropean monarch. In '9%% the $rince ;egent.s son, $edro, !ho had been left behind to rule the colony !hen his father returned to $ortugal, pulled out his s!ord and yelled the battle cry .Independncia ou morte!. Aindependence or deathB. $ortugal !as too !eak to fight its favorite son, so Brazil became an independent empire !ithout spilling a drop of blood. <uring the '7th century, coffee replaced sugar as Brazil.s major e#port. At first the coffee plantations used slave labor, but !ith the abolition of slavery in '999, thousands of 3uropean immigrants, mostly Italians, poured in to !ork on the coffee estates, called fazendas. In '997, a military coup, supported by the po!erful coffee aristocracy, toppled the Brazilian 3mpire, and for the ne#t 2& years, Brazil !as governed by a series of military and civilian presidents supervised, in effect, by the armed forces. In '7%7, the global economic crisis !eakened the coffee planters. hold on the government and an opposition *iberal Alliance !as formed !ith the support of nationalist military officers. @hen the *iberal Alliance lost the election in '7+&, the military seized po!er on their behalf and installed the *iberal leader, 8etClio =argas, as president. =argas, !hose regime !as inspired by Mussolini.s and -alazar.s fascist states, dominated the political scene for the ne#t %2 years, until he !as forced out of office in '7(2. Dis replacement, 0uscelino /ubitschek, !as the first of Brazil.s big

spenders? he built BrasElia, the ne! capital, !hich !as supposed to catalyze the development of the interior. By the early '74&s, the economy !as battered by inflation, partly because of the e#pense of building the ne! capital, and fears of encroaching communism !ere fueled by )astro.s victory in )uba. Again, Brazil.s fragile democracy !as s"uashed by a military coup in '742. he military

rulers then set about creating large,scale projects that benefitted a !ealthy fe!, at the e#pense of the rest of the population. In the mid,'79&s, Brazil.s economic miracle, supported largely by loans from international banks, petered out and the military handed po!er back to a civilian government. In :ovember '797, Brazilians had their first opportunity to elect a president by popular vote in almost +& years, and elected 5ernando )ollor de Mello, e#, karate champion, over the socialist *uiz da -ilva, by a narro! but secure majority. )ollor gained office promising to fight corruption and reduce inflation, but by the end of '77%, the man !ho had once reminded 8eorge Bush -nr of Indiana 0ones had been removed from office and !as being indicted on charges of corruption , accused of leading a gang that used e#tortion and bribery to suck more than >-F' billion from the economy. ADe escaped prison.B =ice $resident Itamar 5ranco became president in <ecember '77% on )ollor.s resignation, and !ith the introduction of a ne!

currency, the real, stabilized the economy. In :ovember '772, 5ernando )ardoso, architect of the $lano ;eal A;eal $lanB !as elected president. hrough the mid,'77&s )ardoso presided over a Brazil !ith a gro!ing economy, stable currency and record foreign investment. hese achievements !ere offset by the legacy of

longstanding problems: the loss of t!o million jobs bet!een '797 and '774 and ongoing problems !ith agrarian reform? a '774 >nited :ations report sho!ed that Brazil had the !orld.s most une"ual distribution of !ealth. -till, this didn.t stop )ardoso from persuading congress to change the constitution to allo! him a second term, and he comfortably !on a second four,year term in '779. 5ollo!ing the election the real had to be devalued, ushering in a period of belt,tightening, but by %&&& the economy !as gro!ing again. But economic gro!th doesn.t necessarily mean social justice. Gver (& million Brazilians remain truly poor, many desperately so. 8ains in education, land reform and !elfare compete against a sickly health system, urban overcro!ding, rural landlessness and environmental abuse.

)orruption in Brazil remains a !ay of life, despite the beginnings of attempts to tackle it. Brazil has some !ay to go before it can shake off the jibe that .it.s the land of the future and al!ays !ill be..

SOUTH AMERICAS LARGEST COUNTRY


Brazil is famous for its football, for its carnivals and for the Amazon. But Brazil is much more. It is an enormous and immensely varied country. In fact Brazil is the fifth largest country by area in the !orld. Gnly the ;ussian 5ederation, )anada, the >-A and )hina are bigger. Brazil lies on the eastern side of -outh America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Gcean on the east and on the !est by the Andes Mountains. Brazil lies on either side of the 3"uator A& B, !ith part of the country in the northern hemisphere but most in the southern hemisphere. Brazil stretches from about ( north to +% south and from +( !est to almost 6( !est. 5rom Belem, the most northeasterly city in Brazil, to *iverpool in the >nited /ingdom is nearly 4,(&& kilometres. 5lying in a 0umbo 0et, it !ould take you about '' hours to get from *ondon to ;io de 0aneiro, one of BrazilHs major cities on the Atlantic coast. Brazil has an area of 9,('',74( s"uare kilometers. ItHs greatest !idth is 2,+'7 kilometers, nearly as far as *ondon is from :e! Iork. Brazil covers 26.+J of the continent of -outh America. It is

almost +( times bigger than the >/. 3#cept for a small number of islands, Brazil consists of one single unbroken landmass.

How is Brazil gover e!" he >nited /ingdom is a monarchy !ith the Kueen as the Dead of -tate !ith members of $arliament elected by all the people over '9 years old. 5rom the days of its first settlement in the early '(&&s until independence in '9%%, Brazil !as also a monarchy, ruled by the /ing of $ortugal either through a 8overnor 8eneral or, for a short time in the '(&&s, through a system of LdonatariosH !ho !ere responsible for the defence and economic development of their territories. hese territories !ere called LcaptainciesH. -ome of them !ere larger than $ortugalM A#$er i$s i !e%e !e &e #ro' (or$)gal In '9%%, Brazil remained a hereditary monarchy !hen the )ro!n $rince of $ortugal had himself cro!ned 3mperor of Brazil. Dis son, $edro II, succeeded him as 3mperor in '9+'. De !as only five years old and ruled through regents. :ine years later, !hen he !as still only '2, he began to rule in his o!n right as a figure of national unity. De stayed in po!er for nearly (& years.

Do!ever,

in

'997,

anti,monarchy

pressure

especially

from

lando!ners and the army became irresistible. abdicated and Brazil became a ;epublic.

he 3mperor

he !ords L/ingH and L3mperorH are still in common use in Brazil even today. Iou !ill often hear people use the !ords to describe a particularly successful person, such as L/ing $eleH, BrazilHs most famous footballer. Brazil is a ;epublic on similar lines to the >-A, !ith a $resident as elected Dead of -tate and Dead of 8overnment. must be Brazilian born and at least +( years old. he $resident

Again like the >-A, Brazil is divided into -tates. It has %4 -tates and one 5ederal <istrict !here Brasilia, the capital of the country is situated. 3ach of the -tates has its o!n government, !ith a structure that mirrors that at the federal level. @ithin the -tates are Municipal )ouncils, responsible for purely local matters. 5or all people bet!een the ages of '9 and 6&, voting is compulsory. =oting is optional for teenagers bet!een the ages of

'4 and '6, for senior citizens and people of any age !ho cannot read or !rite.

LAN* OF CONTRASTS
Brazil has an amazing variety of contrasting landscapes. here are rainforests and semi,deserts, enormous rivers and magnificent !aterfalls, coastal plains and palm,fringed tropical beaches, !ide savannas, vast highlands and high mountains. But there are no volcanoes and no earth"uakes either. Moving apart is !hat the -outh American and African plates did millions of years ago. hat movement is called Lcontinental driftH. If you look at the shape of BrazilHs coastline, youHll notice that it seems to fit into the coastline on the African side of the Atlantic Gcean. he earthHs crust under Brazil is very similar to the crust

under @est Africa. he t!o plates are still moving a!ay from each other. But they are too far apart to be a cause of volcanoes or earth"uakes. he Brazilian Dighlands dominate the southeastern part of Brazil. hey are like a ro! of tables all tilted a!ay from the Atlantic coast. he edge facing the ocean N the L8reat 3scarpmentH N is very steep and very high, rising from sea level to around %,(&& metres in places. here is a narro! coastal plain running from south near

$orto Alegre to -alvador in the northeast. Inland, the Dighlands gradually slope do!n to the other main landscape feature of Brazil N the Amazon basin, some 2,&&&,&&& s"uare kilometers in e#tent.

A'azo

+asi

A river basin Asometimes called its LcatchmentHB is all the land drained by a river and its tributaries. he Amazon basin is

enormous, the largest in the !orld in terms of the "uantity of !ater that drains through it. he Amazon itself is the longest river in the !orld after the :ile in Africa. he Amazon and its basin have all the features of a typical river valley although on a grand scale. 5or e#ample, its flood plain in places is '&& kilometres !ide !ith river cliffs '&& metres high. he river is navigable by ocean,going steamers as far as I"uitos in $eru, +,99( kilometres from the river mouth. More than half of Brazil A(4JB is drained by the Amazon and its tributaries the ocantins,Arguaia rivers. Iga&)o #alls his is ho! a British brochure describes a visit to the Iguacu 5alls in BrazilHs south: LIou need a full day to savour the breath,taking spectacle of the Iguacu 5alls. =ie! the sheer immensityOover %6( separate cataracts emptying 2.( million litres of !ater every second into the foaming $arana ;iver N a sight to make :iagara or =ictoria 5alls look insignificant by comparison.H

he Iguacu 5alls !ere created as the river flo!ed over a layer of hard rock Acalled diabase in -outh America but dolerite in 3uropeB !hich n turn overlaid easily eroded soft rock. he hard overlying

rock is continually being undermined and the !aterfall continues to move upstream. T,e Na$)ral E viro 'e $ Many people kno! that the largest rainforest in the !orld is in the Amazon Basin of Brazil. Do!ever, most people do not realize that the rest of Brazil N some (9J of the country N is not covered by rainforest. Instead you can see grassland, pine forests and even in places semi,desert. Brazil mostly lies south of the 3"uator. Gnly a small proportion of the :orth ;egion lies in the northern hemisphere. =irtually all the -outh ;egion lies south of the ropic of )apricorn, !hich is some +,&&& kilometeres south of the 3"uator. Much of Brazil lies !ithin the tropics, so most of the country has high temperatures all year round. Gnly !here the land is higher in the southeast and central !est does the average temperature fall belo! %% ).

he south lies outside the tropics. Dere the average temperatures are belo! %&) and !inters are cool !ith some frosts and even sno!. Most of the country receives bet!een ',&&&mm and %,&&&mm per year but the figure can be as lo! as 2&&mm. BrazilHs vegetation is mostly either forest or grassland, but there is enormous variety, especially !here the forest merges into grassland. @ith its amazing amount of forest and grassland, you might think that the soils in Brazil are very fertile. -adly, this is not entirely true. In some parts of the country, the soils are poor and infertile and !here the forest is removed they "uickly become barren and eroded. -ince prehistoric times, human beings have interfered !ith the natural environment in !hich they live. Do!ever, in Brazil, it is only during the last '(& years or so that large,scale changes have occurred. 5or e#ample, in the '76&s, !ith the rise of coffee gro!ing, there !as less than 9J natural forest left. Many believe that the grasslands in central Brazil are the result of the earliest inhabitants using fire to help them hunt !ild animals. :o! these grasslands, once almost completely infertile, have

become very productive N thanks to ne! farming methods developed in Brazil.

MEET THE (EO(LE


Brazil is the fifth most populous country in the !orld. Its population today is estimated at more than '(( million. !o thirds of them

live in to!ns and cities, most of them on or near the coast. 4%J of the total population is under %7 years of age. In '79&, BrazilHs population !as ''7 million. he '77' census

recorded a total of '24,9%(,26( Brazilians N '26 million in round figures. An estimate made in '77( puts the figure at '((.9% million. *ike that of most countries, BrazilHs population is still rapidly increasing Aalthough gro!th rate has been declining in recent decadesB. Brazil has a much larger population than most other countries N in fact only )hina, India, the >-A and Indonesia have more. Brazil is the fifth largest in terms of area, so it has plenty of space for every person. he first figures available for BrazilHs population are for '664. Imagine ho! difficult it !ould have been more than t!o hundred years ago to LcountH the number of people living in such a vast countryM oday censuses are much accurate. >p to '7&&, the population increased by about %J each year. Bet!een '7&& and '76&, it increased by more than %J each year.

-ince '76& the rate of increase has slo!ed do!n to less than %J each year. he highest rate of increase !as in '7(&. -o the rate at !hich BrazilHs population is increasing is slo!ing do!n. In the early '74&s, !omen could e#pect to have si# children on average but this figure has fallen to fe!er than three in the early '7&&s. It is estimated that by the year %&&& the average number of children born to each !oman !ill have fallen to just over t!o. 3ven so there are a lot of young people in Brazil. 4%J of the population is under %7 years of age and 22J under '7 N a fact that has important implications for future population gro!th. Gver the ne#t '& to %( years, there !ill be more people than ever before of childbearing age. Brazil is divided into five large ;egions N :orth, :orth 3ast, -outh 3ast, -outh and @est )entral. More than 2&J of Brazilians live in one ;egion, the -outh 3ast. If you add the neighbouring -outh ;egion, more than 6&J , seven out of every ten Brazilians N live in the southern parts of the country !hich has only '9J of the land. his means that much of the rest of Brazil is very thinly populated. he areas of highest population density are around the to!ns and cities. oday most Brazilians are city d!ellers and the cities are

gro!ing in size. Many of the big to!ns and cities are on the coast, especially on the south east coast. he main centre of population is around -ao $aulo. he population is most dense on the coast and

becomes increasingly less dense the further inland you go. *arge areas in the interior are very sparsely populated.

BRAZIL (EO(LE AN* ORIGIN


Brazilians are descended from people !ho came originally from many other parts of the !orld. -ome of them came thousands of years ago? some came hundreds of years ago, and some only arrived in this century. hey no! live as one nation. ;emains of early types of human beings !ho lived about t!o and a half million years ago have been found in 3ast Africa. Gver a period of hundreds of thousands of years, human beings, like us in all respects, began to move out to other parts of the !orld. ;emember that these early peoples did not have the !heel, and certainly not cars, ships or planesM he spread of people from Africa and across the continents !as very slo!. Iou may kno! that Africa and -outh America !ere once joined. But the t!o continents split and began to drift apart 2&& million years ago, long before the first human beings appeared. A look at the !orld map suggests that there is no !ay people could have reached -outh America !ithout sea,going vessels. But remember, though, that during the Ice Age a lot of the !orldHs !ater !as in the form of ice caps and not in the oceans. -o the sea level !as much lo!er.

he map sho!s you ho! people spread throughout the !orld during and after the Ice Age. It also sho!s ho! -outh America and the area !e no! call Brazil !ould be the last parts of the !orld to have a human population. he first Americans crossed into :orth

America about '(,&&& years ago !here the Bering -trait is no!. 3ven today Asia and :orth America are separated by only 7&kms of "uite shallo! !ater. hose prehistoric travelers then spread do!n into -outh America. he Indians !ho still live in the remotest parts of Brazil are the descendants of these early peoples. he first settlers of Brazil in modern times !ere the $ortuguese. In '727, -pain and $ortugal signed the reaty of ordesillas. $ortugal !as to have all the land east of a line of longitude +6& leagues Aabout '66& kilometresB from the )ape =erde Islands. his !as

BrazilHs first frontier N although it !as later moved much further !est. After an e#pedition to the ne! lands in '(&& by $edro Alvares )abaral, a $ortuguese sea captain, other $ortuguese came across and settled. Gther 3uropean po!ers tried to set up colonies alongside the $ortuguese ones. he first e#pedition from 3ngland to Brazil !as in '((%. 5rance invaded ;io de 0aneiro in '(((. 5rom '4+& to '4(2, the <utch occupied $ernambuco !hich !as the center of sugar cane production.

As the $ortuguese began to develop their ne! lands, they brought in native African :egroes. hey came from parts of Africa such as his trade in

those kno!n today as :igeria, Benin and Angola.

slaves continued until the late nineteenth century !hen slavery !as abolished. Immigration from 3urope !as given a fresh boost in '9&9 !hen la!s !ere passed allo!ing foreigners to o!n land in Brazil. 5rom then throughout the nineteenth century and especially in the early t!entieth century many people from other 3uropean countries migrated to Brazil. As !ell as from $ortugal, they came from Italy, 8ermany, -pain and $oland, and from the *ebanon too.

Immigration from outside 3urope and *ebanon also increased. oday, for instance, Brazil has the biggest population of 0apanese descent outside 0apan. he ancestors of BrazilHs Indian people !ere hunters and

gatherers.

hey spread gradually into -outh America in their

search for food and shelter. $ortuguese colonies in Brazil !ere set up first on the north east coast. his area has a !arm moist climate. 5ertile soils on the he colonists

coastal plain are suitable for gro!ing sugar cane.

survived by sending sugar and other products such as timber, gold and silver back to 3urope.

-lavery began in Brazil !hen the sugar plantations !ere set up in the early '(&&s. he slaves !ere captured in @est Africa and sold by 3uropean and Arab slave traders and even by their o!n people. Do!ever slavery !as finally abolished in Brazil in '999. It had been declining before that as immigrant !orkers replaced slaves on farms and in mines. Many of todayHs Brazilians are descended from slaves !ho !ere brought over from @est Africa. In the late nineteenth and early t!entieth centuries many 3uropeans !ent abroad to !ork in ne! Le#tractiveH industries and on the plantations that !ere developing to supply 3urope !ith ra! materials and food products. hey came to the Amazon basin

!here they !orked in the rubber industry and to the coffee plantations in the -outh 3ast of Brazil. As you see, the population of Brazil came originally from many different places and backgrounds. Gn a !alk do!n a cro!ded street in Brazil, a visit to a festival or a big sporting occasion, you !ill see many different faces. Many of them !ill be of mi#ed race because right from the first days of $ortuguese settlement the different people of Brazil have intermarried. he '77' census recorded that about ((J of people !ere of 3uropean origin, +7J of mi#ed race, (J of African origin and &.(J of 0apanese origin.

>ntil '9%%, Brazil !as part of the $ortuguese 3mpire and $ortuguese settlers had a very important effect on life in modern Brazil. he $ortuguese first settled along the coast and built the ports, !hich have become important Brazilian to!ns such as :atal, ;ecife and -alvador. hey started the production of sugar in coastal plantations and later developed gold mining in the state of Minas 8erais and coffee gro!ing around ;io de 0aneiro and -ao $aulo. hey introduced the $ortuguese !ay of life and language to Brazil. In the older to!ns, many buildings look like ones you could see in $ortugal. $ortuguese is the official language and 7&J of the population says they are ;oman )atholic although Brazil does not have an official religion. @hen the $ortuguese arrived in Brazil the small Indian population !as scattered throughout the country. oday there are about

%(&,&&& native Indians living in about t!o hundred groups in the remoter parts of the country and speaking about '9& different languages. hey live in areas set aside for them, !hich are about

three times the size of the >nited /ingdom. Dere they are free to follo! their traditional !ays of life.

@hen slaves !ere brought from @est Africa, they !ere forced to become farm !orkers and miners. Do!ever, they had metal!orking skills that the native Indians did not have. dances, music, martial arts and cookery. hey brought !ith them hese have helped to

shape the lifestyle that all Brazilians no! share. Most of recent 3uropean settlers !ere attracted to the coffee, gro!ing industrial to!ns of the southeast. -o, apart from a very fe! native people, Brazil has been occupied by people for a much shorter length of time than most other countries. Its people come from a number of different parts of the !orld and they all have helped to produce BrazilHs o!n lifestyle and to create the largest multi,racial democracy in the !orld.

NE- O((ORTUNITIES IN A NE- CENTURY


Brazil has changed dramatically over the last (& years. 5or one, the population has tripled and most people no! live in cities. Agriculture is being modernized. And the country has taken its place among the !orldHs leading industrial nations. he %' st

century !ill offer many ne! opportunities and Brazil has the resources and the confidence to make full use of them. .)es$io s $o i ves$iga$e/ Do! !ill BrazilHs population change in the futureP @hat are the prospects for BrazilHs economyP Is the prosperity gap bet!een rich and poor likely to closeP Do! !ill tourism develop in BrazilP @hat is BrazilHs future on the !orld stageP Do! !ill BrazilHs population change in the futureP BrazilHs population is gro!ing rapidly. Bet!een '7(& and '77( it gre! from ('.7 million to over '(( million. But, this only a part of the story. In '7(& the population !as increasing at more than +J each year. oday the figure is around '.97J. @hy has this

happened and !hy is it important to BrazilHs futureP

A gro!ing population means more mouths to feed, more children to educate and a rising demand for houses, health care and other services. It also means more young people, !ith ne! ideas, able and !illing to !ork, a greater pool of talent, and a bigger market for consumer goods. he economy must gro! to provide all these

benefits, including opportunities for !ork. In older industrialized countries, like those in !estern 3urope, the population is gro!ing very slo!ly, if at all, because the birth rate is very lo!. In these countries, older people make up an increasing part of the population. he rate of population gro!th is slo!ing

do!n in Brazil, mostly because of the decline of the fertility rate Athe number of births per thousand !omen aged '(,27 yearsB, !hich !as around 2.2 per thousand in '79&. Iou can see from the table belo! that this number is e#pected to fall to %.( per thousand by the year %&&&. 5ertility rates and population gro!th Brazil @orld Digh Income )ountries '77+, %&&& +.% %.7 '.9 '.6 +.6 Above average countries '77+, %&&& +.& %.4 -outh America '77+, %&&& %.7

'77+ ,%&&& 5ertility rates %.9 %.(

'77+, %&&&

Average rates of population gro!th '79&, '77+ '77+, %&&& %.& '.4 '.6 '.( &.4 &.( '.7 '.4 %.& '.6

Do! !ill this affect the structure of BrazilHs populationP

he table

belo! sho!s that compared !ith more developed countries like 0apan and the >-A? Brazil has more children and fe!er old people. )omparative age group structure of BrazilHs population ,,,,,,,,,,,,)ountries,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Age 8roup >pto years '(,%7 +&,(7 Gver 4& %9.' %7.7 6.+ +&.4 %6.% 4.% %2.( ++.% '+.% %2.% +6.( '4.6 %%.' 2%.& '9.6 '2 +2.6 +4.& %7.' %'.4 '6.% Brazil Me#ico Argentina >-A 0apan

he population pyramids sho! the age structure of BrazilHs population in '79&and in '77'. :otice that young children already make up a smaller part( of the population that they did in '79&. If this trend continues, an increasing percentage of the population

!ill be of !orking age. *ast projections sho! that !ithin the ne#t +& years Brazil !ill have around +% million people !ho are 4& years old, almost + times more than the '' million it has today, !hich represents appro#imately 6.( percent of the current population. his !ill represent an important change of its demographic profile. @hat are the prospects for BrazilHs economyP hroughout its history, Brazil has had periods of fairly short, lived prosperity based on the e#port success of one product after another. 5irst it !as Brazil !ood, then sugar, follo!ed by gold. ABrazil !ood !as highly prized in 3urope partly because it produced a very attractive red dye and also because it could be used to make handsome furniture. IouHve heard of Brazil nuts, of courseMB :atural rubber from the Amazon !as the ne#t economic LstarH, follo!ed by cocoa and coffee. In the '7(&s, coffee provided more than half of BrazilHs e#port earnings. )ocoa !as another star product. @ith each boom, different parts of the country e#perienced prosperity and then decline. -ince the '7(&s, Brazil has become an industrialized country. In '77(, agriculture provided only '&.6J of the gross domestic product A8<$B, !hile manufacturing and other industry accounted

for 2%J and services 26.+J.

he industrialized and urbanized

south east of the country is the core area of the economy. Gther regions are no! joining in as ne! roads, rail!ays, and air routes are opened. Bet!een '749 and '79&, BrazilHs economy gre! by 9.7J a year and Brazil changed from a rural to an urban nation as people flocked to the cities looking for !ork. But much of the gro!th !as based on foreign investment and loans. In the mid '76&s and '79&s, three things brought this gro!th to halt. '. Bet!een '76+ and '79&, the price of crude oil rose from >-F% a barrel to over >-F +&M %. Interest rates on BrazilHs foreign debts shot up. +. he prices that Brazil could get on international markets for its ra! materials Aincluding agricultural productsB fell. Do!ever, investment in ne! projects made during the '76&s means that Brazil can increase its e#ports and so reduce imports of manufactured goods and pay off foreign debts. In addition, multinational companies are continuing to invest in Brazil. oday, there are more 8erman industrial companies

operating in -ao $aulo than in any city in 8ermany. Multinationals no! account for about a "uarter of BrazilHs total industrial

production.

heir ta#es add to government income and they are

able to pay good !ages. Gffshore oil discoveries and the increased production of ethanol from sugarcane Aas a petrol substituteB are cutting dependence on imported oil. BrazilHs '(( million people are an immense market for consumer goods. If the economy does !ell, people !ill earn more N and buy more. Do!ever, Brazil has suffered in the past from high inflation. In '797, prices !ere rising by 9&J a month. In '772, the Brazilian government introduced a ne! currency, the L;ealH N and inflation has been brought under control. By the first "uarter of '774, it !as do!n to less than 'J a month. -o, !ith inflation and foreign debt under control, Brazil can look for!ard !ith confidence. here should be increased output from its factories and farms. 3#ports of manufactured goods should increase, adding to the trade in ra! materials and agricultural products. Is the prosperity gap bet!een rich and poor likely to be closedP In the mid '77&s, the top '&J of BrazilHs population took half the national income. he bottom half took '%J. In the countryside,

poor people survived by gro!ing subsistence crops. In the cities, many people have little regular !ork.

-ince '79(, Brazil has had a democratically elected government that replaced previous military ones. he present government has

given strong priority to its social agenda. Its stabilization plan should help keep government e#penditure in check and encourage private companies to create more jobs. 3ducation is one of the key factors in the 8overnmentHs strategy. -chool attendance figures are improving slo!ly, but that almost %&J of children bet!een 6 and '2 do not go to school and fe!er than 4&J stay on after '(. Brazil needs it young people to be !ell educated. In '77(, the government began innovative Ldistance learningH programme. 3ventually (4,&&& LremoteH schools via television and video recorders !ill train teachers and educate young people throughout the country. Illiteracy rates amongst %( year olds in Brazil are e#pected to fall by '&J by the year %&%&. Do! !ill tourism develop in BrazilP Most of BrazilHs tourists came from in '77+. Most came from other countries in -outh America. 8ermans, -paniards and Italians are the most numerous 3uropean tourists. Gne of the most rapidly gro!ing forms of tourism is eco, tourism, catering for people !ith an interest in the natural environment. his kind of tourism !ill

help to preserve the Amazon forest and bring better living standards to local people. @hat is BrazilHs future on the !orld stageP Brazil has become one of the !orldHs most successful and sophisticated industrial countries. Its is a major e#porter and a !orld leader in scientific research.Q he M3;)G->* Lcommon

marketH !ith Argentine, $araguay and >ruguay is up and running. And Brazil no! plays an increasingly influential role in such !orld organizations as the International Monetary 5und AIM5B, the @orld Bank and the >nited :ations. @ith this success as global trader, Brazil is enhancing its !orking relationships !ith the rest of the !orld and raising its profile internationally.

-HAT IS CULTURE"
)ulture, as according to the o#ford <ictionary is a developed under,standing of literature, art, music etc.? the art, the customs etc. of a particular country or society. )ulture is something one picks up and internalises. It only e#ists if people act according to the codes and conventions of it. Iet a culture also passes through a set of things e#ternal to the members of the group it defines, as artifacts, rituals and te#ts. hese things should not be confused !ith culture itself. Gne learns a culture through these things, but these things only come to have meaning !ithin the net!orks of actions that people make of them. his is the fourth thing !e can say about culture. It uses rituals and artifacts to sustain its coherence across space and time, but it is not reducible to those artifacts and rituals. >nderstanding culture is not just a matter of reading its .te#ts.. Gne has to follo! them around, see !hat uses or abuses they are subjected to in everyday life. C)l$)re &a a$$i$)!es -o culture is a set of signs and rules that signal ho! !e might differ from one other. And it is also a set of signs and rules about rubbing along, or not, depending on the particular cultural convention of +e o%e or &lose! $o !i##ere $ +e,avio)rs a !

that place and time. -ome cultures affirm their e#istence by thumping anyone !ho breaks its rules. -ome cultures are rather more confident about themselves than that, and don.t really give a damn.s his is the third thing !e can say about culture: there are ethical and political "uestions at stake as to ho! open or closed a particular culture is to different behaviors and attitudes, both !ithin the ranks of those it considers .inside. it, and those it considers .outside.. he signs and the rules set up these notions of an inside and an outside. thing as cultural politics. C)l$)re/ a w,ole wa0 o# li#e1 a s$r)&$)re o# #eeli g here is contestation. here is such a

)ultural historian ;aymond @illiams spent a lot of time trying to come up !ith a definition of culture. De referred to it as a !hole !ay of life, or a structure of feeling. It gives you the sense of culture as something you learn, perhaps !ithout really being a!are of it, yet it shapes your a!areness of everything around you and ho! you react to things. he actions of the truck packers and

myself in the street are shaped by something !e have learned about each other and about getting along in that particular, urban environment. here is a patch!ork of such rules, different in place

and time, and not al!ays adhered to any!ay.

C)l$)res are a reso)r&e #or 'a2i g se se o# $i'e a ! s%a&e he fifth thing !e can say about cultures is that they make sense of time and space for their members. hey are a resource for

coping !ith good and bad fortune. In the city !here my encounter !ith the truck packers took place, both the cultures in "uestion are under stress. In :e! Iork, gay culture has been hard hit by the AI<- pandemic. >rban !orking class culture is struggling because blue collar jobs are drying up. In both cases, the sense of identity provided by the culture is a resource for coping !ith these bad tums of fortune, but in neither case can culture itself reverse that fortune. hat depends on the resources the state and the economy bet!een them put to!ards health care and employment, in these e#amples. C)l$)re is $,e %ro&ess a$ wor2 $,a$ le !s &o $i )i$0 a ! 'ea i g $o lives Modern living added a !hole ne! dimension to !hat it is cultures have to manage. )apitalism, as /arl Mar# said, is a dynamic force in society, and the modem society it shapes is one !here .all that is solid melts into air, all that is sacred is profaned..2 )apitalism accelerated the changes that culture has to try to make intelligible to its members. his is one of the reasons a !ide range of people

have come to focus on culture, because it appears to be the process at !ork that lends continuity and meaning to lives that

other!ise are battered pretty hard by rapid economic and social change. -o the si#th thing !e can say about culture is that it has become a focus for attention as capitalism increases the pace and scale of change people have to adapt to. his idea goes back to the

-cottish enlightenment, and the idea I.ve already discussed of the role culture has to play once the division of labour has fragmented life and makes of us narro! people.( C)l$)re/ &o'%e sa$io #or a #rag'e $e! a ! alie a$e! li#e

More radical !riters, influenced by Mar#, !ill see the idea of culture as compensation for a fragmented and alienated life as a con. 8uy <ebord, perhaps the last of the great revolutionary thinkers of 3urope, !ill call it .the spectacle.. In his vie!, everything that is alienated from us by the relentless division of labour comes back to haunt us as the media spectacle. Iou go to !ork. Iou make things. Iou never see those things again. Iou get paid. @ith that pay, you are supposed to buy things back again. But the value of the things you made is greater than the value of the stuff you can buy !ith your pay. he difference is called profit. he people !ho eam the

profit are called capitalists.

his !ay of organising things is called

capitalism. As if for compensation for being short changed in terms of the things one can buy, everything seems to be available as an image. he images of advertising and = and cinema present back

to the people that made stuff the image of !hat they have made and no longer possess, appearing as a perfect !orld of things in all their splendour. As <ebord puts it in his o!n cryptic style, .all time, all space, becomes foreign to them as their o!n alienated products accumulate. he spectacle is a map of this ne! !orld , a map

dra!n to the scale of the territory itself..4 <ebord !as al!ays looking for!ard to the day !hen !orkers !ould give in to the passions the spectacle incites, not just by buying a ne!

dish!asher, but by thro!ing a brick through the !indo! and taking it. As <ebord sees it, the looting that accompanied the *os Angelesriots is just as much a product of the structure of feeling of capitalism as a Mother.s <ay shopping spree. C)l$)re/ a 3war!ro+e o# sig s3 his is the first thing !e can say .culture. is: a !ardrobe of signs people put out to each other, indicating !here !e are coming from and !hat !e.re about, so other people can size us up and decide !hat to do ne#t. It is a !ay of marking out !hat makes us different. Its the other guy.s move no! he and I have made eye contact, and !e both kno! from !hat he.s said that he doesn.t like my kind all that much. @hat does he doP -ay, in classic :e! Iorker style, .fuck youM.P -tep over and thump me oneP :G, he stares at me, for one

of those moments that seem to cut a hole in time. hen he ignores me completely and I !alk on around to the club.

4C)l$)re is lear e!1 i$ is wi$,i I'i$a$io -e &a

o$ +iologi&al5 I$

is $ra s'i$$e!

so&ie$0 #ro' ge era$io a ! I s$r)&$io o$ lear

$o ge era$io 1 $,ro)g,

o)r e $ire &)l$)re 6 age1 se71 s$a$)s 'a0

!e$er'i e $,ose as%e&$s o# $,e &)l$)re were e7%ose! $o5 8 9:ARL MENHEIM o sum it up: )ulture makes use of artefacts and rituals to pass on notions of identity. hese resources of identity sustain structures of feeling that organise and make sense of everyday life. It has to do so under the e#traordinary pressure of the modern division of labour,!hich fragments people.s e#perience, such that people are al!ays having to negotiate !ith each other a culturalpolitics that allo!s different bits of identity to coe#ist. -ounds impossible. But it gets even harder !hen culture finds itself circulated and

negotiated not just through media that can simultaneously reach millions.

BRAZILIAN FESTI;ALS
$ulsing !ith irresistible rhythms, Brazil continues to confuse those !ho !onder ho! a country in such persistent distress can keep on dancing. Brazilians dance to spite their plight, and to transcend it,,, believing that pleasure is the only !ay to relieve pain. And if you doubt the prescription.s effectiveness just plop yourself do!n for a minute in the mayhem of )arnival, or look into the rolled,back eyes of a drum,!hacking cult priestess. -uddenly things like solutions and inhibitions get tossed aside in favor of fate and fun. -uddenly, you.ve turned Brazilian. Brazil.s indigenous people had their o!n festivals long before the $ortuguese colonizers brought their traditions and special days. :e#t came African slaves, !ho added e#otic rhythms and elements of their animist religions to the Iberian )hristianity of their masters. oday, the fallout of this three,!ay culture clash is an ethnically scrambled, geographically huge nation that.s incredibly rich in tradition. Brazil is a country !here people constantly gather to sing, dance, and celebrate something,,,be it religion, sports, or life itself. )arnival in ;io de 0aneiro , 5ebruaryQMarch Le$ $,e ,a%%i ess +egi 1< !e&lares :i g Mo'o1 ig i$i g a #ire o# #a $as0 a ! r,0$,' so e7$ravaga $ $,a$ $,e e $ire

worl! #eels $,e ,ea$5 <T,e worl!3s grea$es$ %ar$0< is a slee%less =)gger a)$ o# ')si&1 'as>)era!e1 'agi&1 a ! 'a! ess999a garga $)a are i $i'a$el0 i volve!5 @here to startP 5irst, there.s the magnitude. Although the official holiday lasts only four days, almost nothing else happens for t!o !eeks. raffic comes to a halt and cabbies don.t care? they can !atch a beautiful girl,,,or boy,,,slither across the hoods of their cars. housands of transvestitesH parade in front of the 8arota de s%e&$a&le i w,i&, $,e s%e&$a$ors

Ipanema, and neighborhoods become rhythm machines as more than 4&& block parties and street parades send up a cacophony of drums, !histles, triangles, and yelping instruments called cuicas. At nighttime balls, ;io.s rich and famous dance a!ay in F'&,&&& costumes, !hile on the beach strolling samba bands attract throngs of !rithing se"uined bikinis. Delicopters spin overhead, broadcasting the event to a nation!ide television audience concerned !ith nothing else. Although the balls cater to a rich, mostly !hite cro!d, on the streets )arnival has the role of great e"ualizer in Brazil.s highly stratified society. he samba beat penetrates all social levels in Brazil? secretaries become feathered dancing "ueens for the !eek, !hile bankers jump into the musical fray !ith street s!eepers and petty thieves. he celebration also e"ualizes the se#es, since in addition to being

the !orld.s biggest party, it.s the !orld.s biggest transvestite gathering. And no matter !hat kind of scene they.re into, )arnival.s +&&,&&& or so overseas visitors find language gaps and cold,climate reserve melting a!ay in a !hirl of confetti, se#ual ambiguity, and Afro,Brazilian percussion. ;io.s samba schools present the highlight of the city.s organized activities, a t!o,day parade at the R-ambadromeR built especially for this purpose. he huge open,air structure has grandstands,

party bo#es, and largely unused chairs. :early everyone remains standing, dancing to the breathtaking pageant of massive floats, shimmying costumes, and infectious tempos. A burst of fire!orks announces seach school.s entrance, then the bateria, a corps of four or five hundred drummers, blitzes out a samba beat that !hips the dancers,,,all +,(&& or so,,,into a frenzy of motion. At that point, one of the !orld.s most dramatic spectacles of popular culture unfolds onto the promenade, a giant, dynamic mass of rhythm and color. 3ach school is determined to drive the cro!d !ild and !in acclaim as the best sambistas in ;io. he audience,

sensing correctly that it.s part of the sho!, responds to the visual and auditory rhythms !ith singing, hugging, and a massive free, form dance frenzy. Inside and outside the -ambadrome, the e#uberant, infectious, and all,consuming fever is every!here. In halls and streets packed !ay past capacity, all sense of decorum

has long since evaporated into an orgy of dancing, singing, and e#hibitionism, driven past all limits by the primal po!er of the samba beat.

LAN*S OF CONTRASTS
hree "uarters of Brazilians live and !ork in cities. Most of these cities are more than a thousand kilometers from the vast empty lands of the north and !est !hich make up much of the country. .)es$io s $o i ves$iga$e Do! many people live in citiesPP @here are BrazilHs citiesPP @hy do so many people live in citiesPP @hat are the main cities likePP Do! many people live in citiesP Brazil has %% to!ns and cities !ith more than half a million people. -ome of them have many more. '(.% million people live in the urban area around and including the city of -ao $aoloSmore than live in 8reater *ondon. 5or ;io de 0anerio, the figure is 7.4 million. Gf BrazilHs '(( million people, ''( million live in cities. @here are BrazilHs citiesP If you look at the map, you !ill see that many of the cities !ith over half a million people are located in the south and south east. he rest are strung out along the coast and only a fe! are inland.

-everal of the big coastal cities !ere founded !hen Brazil !as first settled by the $ortugese in the '(&&s. As time !ent by, these early settlements became ports for the e#port of products like sugar and coffee from nearby regions. hey also became capitals of the

states !hich developed around them. 5or instance, -alvador, the third biggest city, is the capital of the state of Bahia, in fact it !as capital of the !hole country for almost t!o hundred years until '64+. he inland cities developed as service centres for agricultural industry. )uritiba, the capital of the -tate of $arana, is the commercial centre for a rich agricultural region. Its factories process farm products. Manaus is the state of Amazonas stands !here the rivers :egro and -olimoes meet to form the Amazon, so it has al!ays been a river port. It gre! into a !ealthy city at the end of the nineteenth century as the centre of the trade in natural rubber. hat has no! finished, but today Manaus has a free trade

zone !here hundreds of factories have been built, they pay no ta#es and the products they make can be flo!n out directly from the airport. @hy do so many people live in citiesP As recently as 2& years ago, less than half the population lived in cities. oday, three "uarters do. Brazil has changed from being a

mainly rural society into an a mainly urban one.

@hyP Dere are some of the reasons: here are more jobs in cities, because of the gro!th of manufacturing and service industries. 3ducation, medical care and housing are all better. @ages are usually higher. $eople living in rural areas are attracted by the urban lifestyle. -ome rural areas face environmental problems, such as the droughts that affect the north east of Brazil. $eople in cities tend to live longer because of better conditions. he gro!th of cities has put enormous pressure on housing and on public services like !ater supply, se!erage, health care and education. (&years ago there !as more permanent housing in rural than in urban areas. oday, the situation is much different. he

number of permanent is gro!ing rapidly in urban areas. 3ven so, for many of the ne!comers and young gro!ing up in the cities, it is difficult to find some!here to live. hey cannot afford to buy or rent permanent housing, so they often finish up living in shanty to!ns, called LfavelasH in Brazil. -hanty to!ns are common

in other industrializing countries of the !orld !here people are moving to cities in search of better living.

Douses in favelas are often built of cheap materials and have no running !ater or proper sanitation. -ome are built on land near the city centre !hich no one else !ants, such as steep hillsides or marshes. Gthers may be on the outskirts of the city !here land prices are lo! but !here the cost of travel of jobs in the city centre are high. After a !hile, the favelas develop into !hole communities and in some places government N supported housing schemes replace the shacks !ith simple but better built houses. In '77( there !ere nearly +(&& favelas in Brazil. them !ere in and around ;io de 0aneiro !o thirds of he

and -ao $aolo.

favelas in ;io and outskirts contained %+(,&&& homes. Do!ever, in some of the poorer states of the north and nortyh east, favelas make up a bigger percentage of the housing than in the richer south east. @hat are the main cities likeP -ao $aolo stand on plateau about ''% kilometers inland from the port of -antos !hich serves it.

Do! do you measure the size of a cityPP <o you count only the people !ho live inside its boundariesP Gr do you include the !ho come into the city to !ork, or shop or simply to enjoy their leisureP he city of -ao $aulo has over '' million people. If you include all the outlying suburbs and favelas, in other !ords, the !hole metropolitan area, the figure reaches over '( million. -ao $aulo is no! BrazilHs biggest city, and one of the !orldHs biggest. It has large numbers of people of Italian, -panish, 8erman, ;ussian and japans descent. And although in brazil most people are ;oman )atholic, in -ao $aulo one third of the people follo! other religions. In other !ords too it is city of contrasts. It has a large central business district !ith skyscraper offices, a vast industrial park, and e#pensive housing. In addition, there are !orking class suburbs and favelas !hich form a ring round the city. Dere as many as five million $aulistas live in poor housing conditions. ;io de 0aneiro is a coastal city !ith a magnificent harbour and beaches, you may have heard of the )opacabana and Ipanema beaches. he cityHs situation, bet!een the sea and a series of

sharp granite peaksAthe most famous is the L-ugarloafH mountainB make it one of the most easily recognized cities in the !orld. Its beautiful site, plus its lifestyle and !arm climate, have made it an attractive destination for tourists. >p to the '7(&s though, it !as a

more important financial and economic centre than -ao $aulo and until '74& it !as the capital of Brazil. Brasilia, a specially designed city on an empty site, took ;ioHs place as capital of Brazil in '74&. Brasilia is '%&& kilometres inland from ;io de 0aneiro. It is much more central, nearer to the heart of the country. he move !as symbolic of BrazilHs !ish to develop the

resources of the interior. It !as also a !ay of constructing a ne! magnet for gro!th a!ay from the -outh 3astern ;egion. Do!ever, being so, ne! Brasilia is still only the eight largest city. -o Brazil has become an urbanized country in a very short time, largely because of the development of industry and commerce. But the e#tremely rapid gro!th of the cities has created housing and other social problems . ;esources and ;esponsibilities Brazil has vast resources, and the responsibilities that go !ith them. Brazil is committed to the aim of sustainable development, development that uses resources to meet todayHs needs !ithout preventing future generations from meeting their needs. ;esources are things that are useful to people. hey can be either natural or humanQman,made.

:atural resources can be rene!able, like !ater,po!er and timber, or non rene!able, like oil and metals. Anote: some non rene!ables can be reused or recycled.B Duman resources include skills and the number of !orkers available. Man,made resources are usually called capital resources, they can be used over and over again to make other things. A factory is a good e#ample of man,made capital resource. But some natural resources, soil and !ater,po!er for instance and of course human resources, are also classed as capital resources. Brazil has an abundance of most kinds of resources. 3ven its reserves of oil and gas, once thought very small , are proving substantial thanks to successful off,shore e#ploration. Do! important to Brazil are its non,rene!able resourcesP he table underneath sho!s that in '77+ Brazil !as one of the !orldHs largest producers of iron ore *eading !orld producers of iron ore, '772 ;anking A'&&&metric tonesB ' % + )hina Brazil )I%+7,&&& '49,&&& '+4,&&& )ountries $roduction

2 ( 4

Australia >-A India

'%9,6&& (9,2&& (6,(&&

At )arajas in the state of $ara is the !orldHs largest single source of iron ore. $roduction started there in '79( but vast sums of money had to be spent first on a ne! settlement for the !orkers and on a rail!ay 97& kilometres long to get the ore to the docks at -ao *uis in Maranhao. A hydro,electric station ALhydroH means L!aterHB !as built at ucurui to provide po!er fro the mine, the

rail!ay and an aluminium factory. Gther plans include steel!orks, modern farms and ne! cities. In '77(, Brazil !as the eight largest producer of steel in the !orld , ahead of such industrial po!ers as 5rance, the >/ and )anada. Brazilian steel mills produced over %( million tons of ra! steel in that year. he steel is used in other industries for making such

things as cars and household goods. -o, BrazilHs iron ore resources not only earn money through the e#port trade, but also form the basis for BrazilHs industrial gro!th. Brazil is a major producer of several other metals. By international standards, Brazil is not a major producer of oil, gas or coal, although in '77( its 6'4,&&& barrels a day oil production meet

about half the nations demand A In the same year, >/ production averaged %,6((,&&& barrels a dayB Do! are its po!er resources being developedP BrazilHs rivers have the potential to produce %(( million kilo!atts of electricity. About one "uarter of this has been so far not been greatly developed for hydroelectric po!er. Dydroelectric schemes often create environmental problems. <uring construction, they disturb !ildlife. flood farmlands, rural settlements and heir reservoirs may forests. Do!ever,

hydroelectric po!er is a clean rene!able source of energy and does not create pollution problems !hen used. Moreover, the reservoirs can support a fishing industry, attract tourists, control flooding and sustain !ater flo! during droughts. $roperly planned, these schemes can bring many advantages to an undeveloped region. @hat is happening to the rainforest resourceP Although agriculture produces '2J of BrazilHs gross domestic product A8<$B, there are large areas of the country !here there is little farming, especially in the north !here rainforests still cover huge areas of land. But the soils there are not very suitable for farming. he best areas for farming are on the fringes of the

rainforest in Mato 8rosso, Mato 8rosso do -ul, 8oias, and Maranhao.

ocantins

he AmazonHs rainforest is a vast natural resource. It could provide timber and a !ide variety of plants, food crops and medicines.

he forest also has an important effect on the !orldHs !eather. It is also home to hundreds of thousands of uni"ue !ildlife species. Do!ever, the government has a responsibility to bring

development to the '2 million people !ho live in the Brazilian Amazon and to find !ays of improving the lives of all its people by using its resources sensibly. All the industrializing countries have achieved their prosperity in this !ay. Do! "uickly is the Amazon rainforest being clearedP 5igures published by the @orld Bank in '799 stated that '%J of the Amazon has been cleared. he Brazilian :ational -pace ;esearch

Institute reached a much lo!er estimate of (J. A figure reached by :A-A Athe >- -pace AgencyB suggested that the forest is being cleared at only &.+J each year. his is less than the rate at !hich forests are being cleared in the >nited -tates.

It is estimated that by '76&, '&&,&&&s"uare kilometers of forest had ben cleared, mostly in $ara and Maranhao. he figures belo!

sho! that the annual rate of clearnece fell from '769 on!ards. Average rate of clearance As". kmB '769,99 '799,97 '77%,7+ %',(&& '9,9%2 '',&&&

At the current rate, it !ould take +&&& years to remove all the Amazon rainforest, even ignoring the fact that many forest clearings are abandoned each year. In the most deforested state ;ondonia not more tan '%.4J of the forest has been lost. It is easy for people living outside Brazil to imagine that the forest is being destroyed and nothing is being done to protect it. 8iven the vast size and remoteness of the Amazon basin, it is difficult to control !hat is happening there. Do!ever, some important steps have been taken in recent years. Dere are just one of them. In '796, the $G*AMATG:IA programme for setting up LdevelopmentH areas in the Amazon !as suspended. he '799 Brazilian )onstitution emphasized the need to protect the environment.

In '797, the L:ossa :aturezaH AGur :atureB programme established a :atural 3nviornment 5und. is backed by the Institute for his programme and

3nviornmental

;ene!able ;esourcesAIBAMAB By '77( all companies using !ood as ra! material or energy source must get their supplies from planted and managed forests he rate of deforestation has also been reduced though lack of public funds for road building. Gf nine projects planned for '77%, si# has been postponed, one suspended and only one !ent ahead. oday in the Amazon there are: 3ight national parks. -even biological reserves. en ecological stations hree ecological reserves %2 national forests. 5our attractive reserves

Altogether, the cover %9.+ million hectares, an area !ell over the size of the entire >nited /ingdom.

-o, BrazilHs resources, rene!able and non rene!able are being used to develop the economy and create better living standards all around. And steps are being taken to ensure that the environment is also protected.

FOO* AN* FOO* HABITS


Breakfast is a simple affair in Brazil: coffee, milk, bread and jam, sometimes cheese and ham, !ith fresh fruit. In BelUm do $arV mangoes and a !onderful avocado cream. In ;ecife, a !onderful grilled cheese A"ueijo de coalhoB. It.s also available in certain restaurants in ;io, kind of a recent fad. @hether at home or in a restaurant, meals are sacred: a time to eat, but also to share precious moments !ith family and friends. :o!, here.s a Brazilian customW: a decent, sit,do!n, leisurely, paced lunch andQor dinner. 5or lunch and, depending on the location, also dinner, Brazilians have !onderful, ine#pensive restaurants !here home,style meals

are sold buffet,style by kilo. Iou just pile the food on your plate and someone !ill !eigh it for you. he same goes for desserts. Iou order drinks from your !aiter and pay him at the end of your meal. In the big cities, children are a common sight in restaurants at night, since Brazilians !ill take their kids out to dinner at all hours. As a result of this and the traditional -unday lunches, Brazilian kids learn table manners and eti"uette at an early age. 5or Brazilians in ;ecife and $orto Alegre, for instance dinner is a lighter meal of cafU au lait, bread, cheese and cold cuts. *anchonetes X *ojas de -ucos @hen you stop to eat at a lanchonete Asnack barB or at a juice bar, stand around until you finish your food. It.s not ok to eat on the go. Brazilians do not eat !hile !alking do!n the street or !hile riding the bus or the sub!ay. Also, they !ill not have coffee cups and drinks in their cars. hey do enjoy stopping at a juice bar for a

sand!ich and a glass of freshly,s"ueezed juice, but !ill stand around until all the food is consumed. Brazilians find it rude to eat in places that are not meant for that. popcorn at the movies, but that.s that. Brazilians drink small , but potent , cups of coffee all day long, at lanchonetes and juice bars. hey.ll have tiny bags of

5ruits and =egetables Brazil is the country in the !orld !ith the most fruits. he choices

are unbelievable, so go ahead and splurgeM If you go to ;io, the place to buy fruits and vegetables is your neighborhood.s street market or Rfeira.R AGther cities have street markets too.B Markets in the Amazon !ill have completely different stuff, e#cept for the usual oranges, mangoes and so on. here and also in northeastern Brazil the selection of tomatoes and lettuce, for instance, !ill be limited, but all manners of more e#otic veggies are available.

5eiras happen once a !eek, al!ays on the same location. Iou don.t need to get there really early, though. Many Brazilian men love to go to these markets, by the !ay. Men and !omen !ill shop !ith large stra! bags or little carts. Brazilian bananas , large or tiny , are s!eet and taste fantastic, because they are not harvested green to travel around the !orld. Brazilians like to eat them fried for dessert or as a garnish for meals. Granges and *imes , here are many varieties of oranges in Brazil, including RlimasR A!hich are not limes, but a bitters!eet orangeB and laranja,lima, also called laranja,do,cUu Aheaven.s orange, an apt and !ell,deserved name, considering ho! s!eet and tasty they

areB in ;io 8rande do -ul. angerines are very, very s!eet, you got to try them to believe it after the tart ones !e have here. *imes are called Rlim1o galegoR and lemons Rlim1o ahiti.R Brazilian pineapples are called Rabaca#i.R hey are !hite inside

and several degrees s!eeter than anything that comes out of Da!ai. Brazil is one of the largest producers of apples in the !orlds. hey.re called Y5ujiZ. here are a couple of different papayas: a very large one, !hich is delicious, but not as much as the little ones. hese are used in a

fabulous Brazilian dessert called Rcreme de papaya.R Avocados are huge and used for desserts and milk drinks called RvitaminasR. Mangoes come in several delicious varieties, from little green ones, kno!n as R)arlotinhasR to enormous red ones. $ersimmons, called Rca"uiR in $ortuguese, came from 0apan originally and have become as Brazilian as any native fruit. )oconuts are sold green, ready to drink, or grated on the spot. 5antasticM Brazilians routinely eat some veggies that may be unfamiliar to you: chuchus, ma#i#e, jil[, fresh hearts of palm and RmandiocaR Aalso called RaipimR in many placesB manioc root. Brazilian pumpkins Acalled ab[boras in $ortugueseB are !onderful hey taste

as good as they look. hey.re used as a side dish and also to make a superb dessert called Rdoce de ab[bora.R -pices and )ondiments 5rom the ones you.re familiar !ith like bay leaves to ones you.ve never seen before, it.s a lot of fun to shop at these markets. ry

the e#tremely hot Brazilian peppers called malagueta and pimenta, de,cheiro from the Amazon. )ookies and )rackers <epending on !here you are you.ll see giant bags of cookies that are sold by kilo or grams. 5or packaged ones, try your supermarket or bakery. RBiscoito de polvilhoR salted or s!eet, they.re light and airy and melt in you mouth. Breads Brazilians like their breads freshly baked. -o, t!ice a day, early in morning and in the evening, they.ll make a track to the closest RpadariaR and bring home all sorts of hot rolls and baguettes. Brazilians have a lot of !onderful packaged cookies, some similar to Greos and such, but most !ill be ne! to Americans. )hocolate, flavor !afers ostines are a craze. Also, freshly baked arro!root,

coconut and cornstarch cookies are marvelous.

Meats Although you may recognize meat cuts like pork chops and such, beef cuts are very different and prepackaged meats are not as prevalent. :ormally, good supermarkets !ill have a butcher !ho !ill cut and !eigh the meats for you. Also, as if you !eren.t confused enough, names of cuts !ill vary from ;io and -1o $aulo to the south of Brazil. In ;io and -1o $aulo, ask for Rcontra,filUR for steaks, RmaminhaR for roasts, RpicanhaR for barbecues and RalcatraR for hamburguer. Buy your cut of meat and then ask for it to be minced Athe e#pression is Rpassar na mV"uinaR? ask them to do it t!iceB. RBistecaR is also a nice steak. 8et a Brazilian cookbook in 3nglish that e#plains the different cuts. Brazilian supermarkets also sell a variety of salt meats used in feijoada and other traditional dishes and imported salt cod, !hich is used in dishes of $ortuguese origin, like the fabulous Rbolinhos de bacalhau.R -ausages are also completely different from !hat they eat in the >-. )hickens in Brazil taste delicious? it has to do !ith the !ay they are fed and the fact that they are not so fat. ry a RgaletoR or very

young chicken !hich you can buy already roasted. A lot of places called R.padariasR AbakeriesB also sell spit,roast chickens.

Milk and Gther <airy $roducts Brazilians have a type of milk called *onga =ida A*ong *ifeB, !hich is sold in bo#es and doesn.t re"uire refrigeration until it.s opened. he Italian company $armalat has been in Brazil for a !hile no!: they sell all sorts of milk products in cute little cartons. he other strange !ay to sell milk is in liter,size plastic bags. here are some marvelous yogurt and yogurt and fruit drinks in bottles in Brazil. -alamis and other cold cuts are sold !ith the cheeses and the variety is amazing. Fr)i$s a ! ;ege$a+les If you.re in ;io or -1o $aulo shop at their superb street markets. -1o $aulo and $orto Alegre also have fabulous produce markets under one giant roof A)ampinas also has a RMercado Municipal,R !hich is located do!nto!n and is open on -unday mornings.B ;io has the )obal markets in *eblon and DumaitV. 5ruit 0uices 5ruit juices at the supermarket are sold either in glass bottles or in bo#es that do not re"uire refrigeration until opened. Iou.ll need to dilute juices like cashe! or passion fruit and add sugar to them because they.re e#tremely tart.

<on.t pass up the opportunity to try the Brazilian soft drink called 8uaranV made from Amazonian berries. It.s loaded !ith caffeine and superior in taste to )oke or anything else in the >-. Brea!s a ! (as$a Iour supermarket !ill have a good selection of breads and pastas, !hich Brazilians eat a lot of. he best breads !ill probably come

from your corner bakery ARpadariaR in $ortugueseB, !hich also sells soft drinks, cheeses, cold cuts and a small selection of foodstuff.

REGIONAL FOO* STYLES


Ur+a Areas a ! E$, i& Se$$le'e $s

he ingredients of the cities are not surprisingly more international the non,urban areas of Brazil. $asta and potatoes? sausage, be it $ortuguese, Italian, 8erman and $olish, and beef tenderloin? !heat bread, beans, rice, eggs, milk and cheese are given a Brazilian style in barbecues, ste!s and soups. 5eijoada, a thick soupy black bean dish seasoned !ith onion, garlic, and pork sausages, tongue, ribs, ears, tails, and bacon is the classic Brazilian dish. A'azo ;oasted game meats are the meat of choice in the Amazon. >nfortunately, the deforestation of the area and increased hunting are putting many animals as risk of e#tinction. 0uice of tucupi leaves are used as a sauce for game meat Aespecially duckB, and the leaves Atasting of spinach and chicoryB are also eaten. $irarucu Aa species of codB and mucua Aa kind of turtleB are "uite popular. he fruit of the acai palm is a favorite among children. Ba,i African influence is noticeable in Bahia. <ende oil is derived from a palm native to @est Africa. 5arfoa, manioc flour roasted in dende oil, accompanies many dishes, such as \in#im Aa chicken and

shrimp ste!B and =atapa A a puree of fish or shrimpB. Acaraje, a mashed bean fritter stuffed !ith peppers, dried shrimp, onions, ginger and dende oil. -!eets are common in Bahia: -tar friut sorbet and tapioca bars dipped in s!eet condensed cream. )innamon and cloves are other ingredients associated !ith Bahia. Rio Gra !e !o S)l he land of prairies, cattle ranches, rice and !heat plantations. Beef is a main ingredient and barbecue is common. 8rapes gro!n and !ine produced here are shipped all over Brazil. FESTI;E FOO* I #l)e &es Carnaval is based on 3uropean )hristian traditions and !ould not be complete !ithout pepper AchiliB scented rice, combining 3uropean and African influences. In the Amazon, Bumba or Bull festival, is kno!n by the Minini fish and coconut ste! A3uropean and Indian influencesB. he barbecue of the southern Brazilian

cooking takes much from the indigenous peoples traditional techni"ues and recipes? upscale apartments may come !ith a barbecue room. Holi!a0s

Dolidays like )hristmas and :e! Iears are similar to their counter parts in the >nited -tates. )hristmas dinner is often a stuffed turkey marinated in cachaca or !ine and a table of s!eets, breads, Brazil nuts, raisins, dates, !ine and coffee. -eptember 6 is Brazilian independence day, celebrated !ith parades and parties. 0une is a month full of festivals. -t. 0ohn, the protector of corn, is celebrated on %2 !ith corn cakes, corn pudding and corn on the cob. -e!!i gs @eddings are large affairs and formal events. hey usually begin

!ith a church service and end !ith a large party for friends. Meals vary by region, but !ill include meat dishes, beans and rice. @edding cake is also served. Brazilian recipes use !heat, corn, rice and beans. But, manioc AcassavaB is one of a number of local roots that play a central role in Brazilian food. )ashe!s and Brazil nuts are also native ingredients. Fr)i$s ? ;ege$a+les :ative fruits, such as banana, papaya and pineapple are kno!n internationally? but other native fruits, such as graviola, acai, caju

and maracuj can only be found in regional markets. Gne of the more popular vegetables is okra. Sea#oo! he many rivers and long coastline provide a !ealth of ingredients to Brazilian cooking. -hrimp, fish, octopus and crab are fried, baked and ste!ed. Bir$,!a0 (ar$ies Birthday parties are a family affair in Brazil, for all ages to mingle, from babies to grandmas. -o, remember to invite your children.s friends and their families. Gne !ould not have a party just for children, like in the >-. 5oods served are usually small savory pasties and appetizers called RsalgadinhosR and small s!eets called Rdocinhos.R Gh, and cake, of course, !ith candles and all that. =ery often, there.ll be creamy coconut candy !rapped in colorful papers decorating the table. hese are just about the

yummiest birthday s!eets you.ll ever eat. Iou can order all these goodies from specialty stores called Rdoceiras.R In ;io, !e have an absolute favorite in the neighborhood of *eblon, called $etits 5ours. If you live in a small city, there are !omen !ho make docinhos and salgadinhos for parties. he birthday song is $arabUns a voc], a version of Dappy Birthday to Iou, !hich !as introduced to Brazilians by American tourists.

he $ortuguese !ords came from a national competition among the listeners of ;Vdio :acional in ;io de 0aneiro in '72'. he

!inner !as a young pharmacist from -1o $aulo named Berta. his story is told by -Urgio )abral in his book :o tempo de Almirante. he Brazilian !ords are: $arabUns a voc]Qnesta data "ueridassQmuitas felicidadesQmuitos anos de vida. Ge eral I #or'a$io *arge Brazilian cities have great supermarkets. $orto Alegre has some of the best seen any!here in the !orld. -upermarkets in *eblon, Ipanema and other ;io neighborhoods tend to be very cro!ded, due to lack of space. Gnce you go to the suburbs, they increase in size dramatically. Gn the other hand, smaller chains like 5arinha $ura have superb stuff, stocking only the best of everything. Also in ;io, Dortifrutti A!ith several locationsB carries !onderful fruits and vegetables. )ashiers do not !eigh produce, you.ll have to do that !hen you bag them. -hopping seems to be a family past,time in Brazil, it.ll take more time to shop in Brazil than it does in the >-. In spite of that, one of the best things in Brazil is food shopping. 8oing to the supermarket and checking out the different departments for Brazilian fruit drinks and pastes, soft and creamy cheeses like Kueijo de Minas, ;e"ueij1o and )atupiry, and marvelous Brazilian sausages and salt meats. <on.t be afraid to try them.

Brazilians !ill usually use a fork and knife for pizza, open sand!iches, and even chicken. hey are amused and even amazed at the American !ay of eating such foods !ith their hands. he

fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right Aunless you.re a leftie, of courseB. Res$a)ra $s/ :umerous barzinhos and pastelarias Ainformal street cafesB can be found in the larger Brazilian cities. 5oods include sand!iches, fruits and s!eets made from brazil nut. Adults eating in public are considered rude in Brazil. @hen eating at outdoor cafes or food stands use the tables provided or stand nearby and finish your food before going on your !ay. Feijoada Ablack beansB is the "uintessential Brazilian dish, but you can only find it on @ednesdays and -aturdays. ;egional styles in food can be pronounced, enjoy local dishes to get a good taste of Brazil.s =egetarian diets are not common in Brazil *RIN:S OF BRAZIL Mi7e! *ri 2s Brazilians generally prefer soft drinks, beer and fruit drinks to li"uors. -ugar cane is the source of many distilled li"uors in Brazil.

$inga, a sugar cane rum and cachaca are used in a variety of drinks. Beer ? -i e )onsumed !ith and after dinner, at parties and festivals, Brazilians enjoy both beer and !ine. @ines are produce in southern Brazil. Brahma and \ingu are t!o brands of beer produced in Brazil. Tea ? Co##ee )afezinho, a small .black. coffee, actually comes !ith much sugar as Brazilians tend to have a s!eet tooth. Mate, or tea is ubi"uitous and served in gourds !ith silver plated stra!s. -ugar and lime juice are preferred e#tras in teas. So#$ *ri 2s ? Fr)i$ *ri 2s Batidas, or fruit drinks can be served !ith or !ithout rum or cachaca. )oconut and pineapple are typically used in fruit drinks. Brazilians s!eet tooth has had a negative impact on the dental health of the nation. Many Brazilians have lost all their teeth by middle age.

To)ris$ S%o$s here are great spots for hang,gliding in ;io, especially around $edra Bonita, near $epino beach. -urfing is popular all along the coast and !aves are especially good in the southern state of -anta )aterina, although there is also plenty of good surf close to ;io. @ind,surfing has caught on in Brazil , !hile BCzios is a good place to go, the hardcore mecca is north,!est of 5ortaleza in places such as 0ericoacoara. -ailing is big in BCzios and off the larger resorts along the coast. Inland, the ;io Araguaia in 8oiVs and ocantins is kno!n as a fishing paradise. here are e#cellent opportunities for rock climbing in and near ;io and in the national and state parks, and hiking is great along the coast and in some of the national and state parks. 5utebol AsoccerB is the national. Gn a trip to ;io , and !hat immediately follo!s, a !alk on the beach , anyone !ith an eye for fashion can.t help but be utterly fascinated by the teeny,!eeny, colorful, and beautifully, designed beach!ear on the golden bodies of the !omen from Ipanema. here is such a variety of shapes, cuts, gorgeous prints and details, that you ask yourself: ho! do they do itP Do! can they keep coming up !ith something different all the time, !hen all they have to !ork !ith is a fe! inches of fabricP It helps, of course, to have a source of inspiration in some of the most magnificent

scenery on the planet, year,round !arm !eather and a large consumer base, considering that no !oman seems to be too old or too chunky to !ear a bikini in ;io. Middle,aged mothers, pregnant young !omen !ith s!ollen bellies, even !rinkled little old ladies, !alk and bathe in their small suits right ne#t to some lithesome goddesses, and no one seems to notice? in fact, no one cares. he important thing is to get a tan, e#ercise, and socialize !ith your friends and neighbors. heirs are the most stylish, durable, and gorgeous bikinis, than their American counterparts. -unkinis and one,piece suits !e.ve ever seen, any!here in the !orld. -alina bikinis are sold around Brazil. hey also have a kiddies line, in northeastern Brazil. he

incredibly !onderful beach !raps called RcangasR come in an infinite number of designs. A he name comes from Africa and !as originally spelled kanga.B -hocking pink, oranges, lime green, are the predominant colours of Brazil etc. Indian and oriental influences all the !ay to the beach. obsession, and if you can play the game or talk about it meaningfully you.ll become an instant hit !ith the locals.

*OING BUSINESS IN BRAZIL


Ge eral a!vi&e/ Introductions from mutual ac"uaintances are very important. It is also advisable to have an ac"uaintance before going to Brazil. he importance of having personal contacts in Brazil is e#tremely high. R8etting straight to the point R is something Brazilians find "uite offensive, so don.t be aggressive. <oing business is a type of social interaction in Brazil. $eople need to get ac"uainted and

comfortable !ith each other before getting do!n to business. 5or the same reason, !hen calling someone on the phone, remember to chat first and talk business second. $reliminary generic, break,the,ice kind of chitchat is important for the Brazilians. Do! do I lookP 8eneral advice: Brazilians are "uite particular about the !ay they dress, they try not to perpetuate the stereotype of the badly,dressed gringo or grange. Brazilians are usually "uite shocked by the !ay Americans dress. he "uestion most people ask is: R@hy is it that !ith all the money

and stores that are available in the >-, Americans dress as if they !ere poorPR In keeping !ith the global trends, jeans are very popular !ith Brazilians of all ages, but they are normally ironed, !orn !ith belts and donHt have holes and patches on them. 5or !omen: Brazilians are fashion conscious and follo! 3uropean styles. It is not !ise to look do!dy or unfashionable, so avoid polyester and double,knits like the plague Aunless it.s the ne! generation of polyester fabrics and the style and cut are impeccableB. -tick to crisp, elegant,looking shirts and tops. In ;io and places north, !here it gets very humid and hot, !omen usually !ear dresses or short skirts !ith sandals to !ork. 3ven though it is said that Brazilian !omen !ear more makeup than American !omen, they usually go for a light po!dering of the nose and a bright,colored lipstick. he reason is obvious: !ith that humidity, ho! long do you think they could keep eye,shado!s, mascaras, etc. from running do!n their facesP he other reason

being that !ith a permanent tan like the one they have, !ho needs make up.

It is !iser to stick to light makeup during the day. Its not vie!ed as unprofessional to !ear bright colors, in Brazil. Brazil is a tropical country, so !omen tend to !ear very colorful prints and bright colors. But Brazilians have a flair for colors that Americans cannot match. <o not !ear green and yello! together: those are the colors of the Brazilian flag and look great there, but not on items of clothing. 5or men: @earing socks !ith sandals even !hile going casual is not the Brazilian !ay. hat.s reserved for totally clueless tourists... 0eans are ubi"uitous for casual !ear, so take a good pair , no holes or patches or frays , along. hey are al!ays !orn !ith belts. 8ood shoes and a good leather belt are a must. In most Brazilian government offices and businesses, coffee !ill be offered to you !hen you arrive. he Brazilian version of the

espresso, that is, dark and strong, served in !e'i$asse &)%s. It.ll come on a tray !ith a sugar bo!l and tiny spoons. A maid or office boy !ill serve Ca#ezi ,os several times during the day. Gn a first name basis P :o, unless invited to do so. he American

custom of first names in the !ork place is "uite disconcerting to Brazilians. hey are accustomed to !ell,defined social statusQage

and rankQposition !ays of addressing each other.

he !ay I see it,

calling the boss R$eterR doesn.t make me his e"ual, so !e might as !ell keep our distance, linguistically speaking. he $ortuguese

language provides for that, !ith the formal pronouns Ro senhorR for men and Ra senhoraR for !omen, in direct address: for instance, R!ould you like a cafezinhoPR becomes Ro senhor, aceita um cafezinhoPR or Ra senhora, aceita um cafezinhoPR here are also the !ords like R-euR before the first name for men and R<onaR before the first name for !omen, !hich are al!ays used !hen addressing someone Auntil they tell you not to, basicallyB. -o you !ould call your male business associate or employee R-eu $edroR and your female business associate or employee R<ona Ana.R It.s very common for male bosses, e#ecutives and any higher, ranking official or bureaucrat to be called RdoutorR in Brazil. It doesHnt mean that this person is a medical doctor or has a $h<, necessarily...in most cases, actually, it.s just an honorific title. By the !ay, elementary school teachers , usually females , are called RtiaR, !hich means aunt.

FOOTBALL
Brazilian football Afutebol) is revered the !orld over and it is a privilege to e#perience it at first hand. 8ames are usually enthralling: the mi#ture of into#icating attack and clumsy defence !hich has traditionally marked Brazilian international sides is to be found at all levels of the game in Brazil, !hich makes for plenty of goals and entertainment. he stadiums are often spectacular

sights in their o!n right, and Brazilian cro!ds are fantastic: !ildly enthusiastic, and bringing along their o!n e#cellent live music N a packed Maracan1 has more drummers than the largest samba schools. he only do!nside is a recent upsurge of cro!d violence,

provoked by small but highly organized hooligan groups. It is not a good idea to !ear a local team shirt to a match, although foreign team shirts !ill guarantee you a friendly conversation !ith curious fans. 5ootball !as introduced into Brazil by -cottish rail!ay engineers in the '97&s, and Brazilians took to it like a duck to !ater. By the '7%&s the ;io and -1o $aulo leagues !hich dominate Brazilian football had been founded, and Brazil became the first -outh American country to compete in the @orld )up A Copas) in 3urope,

sending a s"uad to 5rance in '7+9. Brazil is the only country in the !orld to have participated in every Copa. 8etClio =argas !as the first in a long line of Brazilian presidents to make political capital out of the game, building the beautiful $acaembC -tadium in -1o $aulo and then the !orld.s largest stadium, the Maracan1 in ;io, for the @ABC -orl! C)%, !hich Brazil hosted. In that competition they had !hat many older Brazilians still think !as the greatest Brazilian side ever, !hich hammered everybody, and then in the final, !ith the !hole country already celebrating, came up against >ruguay. >nfortunately the >ruguayans hadn.t read the script and !on %N', a national trauma that still haunts popular memory nearly fifty years on. Iet success !as not long in coming. A series of great teams, all !ith (ele as playmaker, !on the @orld )up in -tockholm in '7(9 Athe only @orld )up !on by a -outh American team in 3uropeB, )hile in '74% and, most memorably of all, @ADC i Me7i&o. Me#ico

sa! the side that is no! !idely regarded as the greatest in football history, !ith $ele playing alongside such great names as 0airzinho, ;ivelino, )arlos Alberto, 8erson and ost1o. As three,time !inners, Brazil also got to keep the 0ules ;imet rophy, the original @orld

)up. Most also agree that the '79% Brazilian team built around -ocrates, 5alc1o, 3der and )erezo !as e#traordinary, although

they lost +N% to the eventual !inners, Italy, in one of the greatest matches in football history. It took Brazil until @AAE to reclaim the @orld )up, deservedly beating Italy on penalties in a dramatic clima# to !hat had been an occasionally dull final. It touched off enormous popular rejoicing, as Brazil became the first country to !in the @orld )up for the fourth time. his !as a triumph built on such un,Brazilian virtues as a

combative rather than a creative midfield, and a solid defence. Gnly in attack, !here the genius of Ro'Frio found the perfect foil in Bebeto, !as the '772 side truly Brazilian. 5our years later, Brazil looked !ell placed to defend their cro!n in 5rance, but despite the gala#y of stars they had lined up N including the prodigy Ro al!o N they had an unconvincing campaign, !ere slightly lucky to get to the final, and then lost to a good but not great 5rench side to !hom they !ere clearly superior on paper. his loss crystallized a feeling of unease at home about

the direction of the national side, !hich !as !idely felt to have sold out to commercial interests, !ith stars making their living in 3urope and forgetting their roots. here is something to this: the '77&s did see an unprecedented amount of money pouring into Brazilian football, and the fact that the national side did not manage to score a single goal in open play in t!o @orld )up finals !ould have been unthinkable to the

'76& and '79% sides. But small to!ns, to !hich football offers a glittering e#it route, are a permanent conveyor belt of talent, and Brazil !ill al!ays be a contender at the highest level. Goi g $o a 'a$&, 8oing to a football match is something !hich even those bored by the game !ill enjoy purely as spectacle: the stadiums are sights in themselves, and a big match is !atched behind a screen of ticker, tape and !aving flags to the accompaniment of massed drums and thousands of roaring voices. he best grounds are the temples of

Brazilian football, Maracan1 in ;io and the Art <eco $acaembC in -1o $aulo, one of the most beautiful football stadiums in the !orld. Ti&2e$s are cheap N less than a couple of dollars to stand on the terraces Ageral) around F( for stand seats Aar!uibancada)"

championship and international matches cost a little more. Most stadiums are t!o,tier, !ith terracing at the bottom surrounding the pitch, and seats on the upper deck. 3ven the small cities have international,class stadiums: they.re a municipal virility symbol. he number of regional championships and national play,offs means there is football virtually all the year round in Brazil N the a$io al &,a'%io s,i% is a complicated mi# of state leagues and national sudden,death play,offs. 3ven though many major Brazilian stars play in 3urope these days, there is still enough domestic talent to support very high,"uality football.

Tea's a ! s,ir$s 8ood teams are thickest on the ground in ;io and -ao $aulo. In ;io, Fla'i go and Fl)'i e se have historically had the most intense rivalry in Brazilian club football, though the latter are currently in steep decline and =asco has taken their place? together !ith Bo$a#ogo they dominate carioca football. In -1o $aulo there is similar rivalry bet!een SGo (a)lo and CorH $ia s, !hose pre,eminence is challenged by G)ara H, (al'eiras, (or$)g)esa and Sa $os, the last of these no! a shado! of the team that $ele led to glory in the '74&s. he only clubs else!here that come up to the standards of the best of ;io and -1o $aulo are I $er a&io al and GrI'io in $orto Alegre, A$le$i&o Mi eiro in Belo Dorizonte, ;i$Jria and Ba,ia in Bahia, and S%or$ in ;ecife. Brazilian football s,ir$s, true to the national character, are stylish and much more colourful than their 3uropean e"uivalents. make great souvenirs. hey

heir )ost ranges from around F+& for an

official repro shirt bought at a sports shop, to around F'& for unauthorized cotton copies available in any clothes shop. he most common ones you !ill see are the red and black hoops of 5lamengo, the green and maroon stripes of 5luminense, the !hite and black diagonal stripe of =asco, the !hite !ith red and black hoop of -1o $aulo, and the blue, !hite and black stripes of 8r]mio.

he instantly recognizable national shirt, of course is canary yello!M

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