Outline the Contemporary challenges facing development in

Brazil
[6 marks]
One of the main challenges that Brazil faces when trying to develop is not
disrupting the environment. Brazil has a lack of fossil fuels and their way around
this was to develop hydroelectric power (HEP) which now provides roughly 80%
of Brazils electricity. As ethanol, manufactured from sugar-cane is used for
transport fuel, nearly 45% of Brazils total energy therefore comes from
renewables. This is a very good solution for the absence of fossil fuels, however
it faces much opposition, especially from wildlife and environmental groups. This
is because in flat basins, large dams can cause flooding of copious amounts of
land, destroying local animals and habitats. As Brazil contains 60% of the
Amazon rainforest, the largest rainforest in the world and home to 10% of all
known species, people are especially sensitive to the destruction of it. Not only
being bad for animals, the floods are also damaging to the environment. Any
plant life that is submerged in them drown in the absence of Oxygen and
therefore create greenhouse gases like Methane which are 25 times more
intoxicating in global warming than Carbon Dioxide. In addition to this, people
also get displaced by hydroelectric dam building which can result in change in
their life style and customs. In some cases this can also cause emotional
scarring. Around 40-80 million people are displaced by the construction of
hydroelectric dams each year.
Another problem faced by Brazil is the prominent divide between the rich and
poor. The richest 10% of people have access to over 40% of the countrys income
whereas the poorest 10% receive only about 1% of the revenue. This inevitably
leads to high crime rates, the most common of which being mugging, robbing,
and kidnapping. As well as offence in the community there is also a large amount
of corruption within the police themselves, meaning that people have little fear
or respect of them. These two notions combined would end up with a very
unlawful country which was why the Ministry of Justice created the National
Public Security Force to handle major emergencies and crises instead of the local
police force. Although this tackled major crime issues it didnt solve the problem
of the extreme difference between the rich and poor. Although Brazilian children
have access to free public education at all levels, the schools are maintained by
the local government meaning that wealthier cities or states have access to
better education than poorer counterparts. The result of this is of poorer children
having a worse education than richer ones. Another reason for lack of change of
social class is child labour. Although it is illegal, poorer families generally prefer
their children to start working as soon as possible. Children as young as 10 years
old are missing school as a desperate attempt to earn money. Non-attendance at
school is one of the main reasons for the high rates of examination failure in
Brazil.