Brazil,
one of the world's largest and most populous countries. It is the largest
country in South America, occupying almost half of the continent and extending
from north of the equator to south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Its largest city
is São Paulo, and its capital is Brasília. Brazil's large size and diverse
population provide great variety in the natural environment, culture, and
economy.
The
nation's natural beauty is reflected in a wide variety of geographic locations,
from the distinctive dome shape of Sugar Loaf Mountain in the city of Rio de
Janeiro, to the magnificent Iguaçu Falls in the far south, to the strange
limestone formations in the state of Minas Gerais.
A broad contrast exists between the
nation's two main physical features: the densely forested lowlands of the Amazon
Basin in the north and the generally open uplands of the Brazilian Highlands to
the south. The climate is generally tropical, but areas located at higher
elevations or farther from the equator tend to be more temperate. Vegetation
varies from rain forests to pine forests to savannas and semiarid scrub. The
forests are a rich source of timber, and the country sustains a diverse
agriculture, producing tropical crops such as sugar and coffee. In recent years
environmentalists have become increasingly concerned over the future of the
Amazon region, where human encroachment has threatened the world's largest
intact rain forest.
Brazil's
population is very diverse. This diversity is the result of intermingling
between Native Americans, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves, which
produced a society of racial and ethnic complexity. Brazil is the only Latin
American country settled by the Portuguese. Before the Portuguese arrived in
1500, many Native American tribes sparsely populated the country. In the
mid-16thcentury the Portuguese began to import African slaves to
work on agricultural production. The ethnic mix between these three groups,
along with other European peoples who immigrated to Brazil after 1850, has
contributed to some distinctly Brazilian cultural forms, especially in music and
architecture. Distinct cultures also continue to survive among Afro-Brazilians,
non-Portuguese immigrants from Europe and Asia, and isolated pockets of Native
Americans. However, Portuguese cultural influences remain strong, with
Portuguese as the primary language and Roman Catholicism as the principal
religion.
The
economic development of Brazil has been strongly influenced by a series of
economic cycles in which different resources were exploited in different parts
of the country. The first commodity to be exploited was the dyewood pau
brasil (brazilwood), from which the country takes its name. In the mid-16th
century colonists introduced sugar cultivation, taking advantage of the good
soil and tropical climate along the Northeast coast. Gold was discovered in the
1690s in what became the state of Minas Gerais. This provoked a gold rush that
brought the first significant settlement of the interior and shifted the
country's economic focus and population center from the Northeast to the
Southeast.
The gold
began to be exhausted in the late 18th century, and there was a gap before the
next, but most important, economic cycle. Coffee production dominated the
economy from about the mid-1800s to the 1930s. It was particularly important in
São Paulo, and was closely linked to the building of railways into the
interior. Since the 1940s Brazilian society has undergone dramatic changes due
to efforts—largely encouraged by government policy—to boost
industrialization and to diversify the economy. Brazil is now the most
industrialized nation in South America, with a rapidly modernizing economy and a
largely urban population. Tropical crops and minerals remain significant
exports, but manufactured goods are increasingly important. Brazil has by far
the largest economy in Latin America.
Although
Brazil holds the potential to become an economic powerhouse, social conditions
stemming from Brazil's early years as a plantation society have continued to
cause inequalities in the distribution of wealth and power. A small and wealthy
elite still controls most of the land and resources, and much of the population
continues to live in poverty, especially in rural areas. Extensive slums have
sprouted up on the outskirts of the larger cities as rural workers move to these
areas seeking employment. Until the 1960s the majority of the people lived in
rural areas rather than in cities or towns, but that situation is now reversed.
In 1999 Brazil had an urban population of 136 million.
Brazil was
a Portuguese colony from 1500 to 1822, when it achieved independence. Unlike
many Latin American countries, Brazil's transition from colony to independent
nation was a relatively peaceful process that spared the country bloodshed and
economic devastation. After becoming independent, Brazil was ruled by an
emperor. The abolition of slavery took place in 1888. The following year a
bloodless revolution led by army officers overthrew the emperor and established
a federal republic. Wealthy landowners in the economically powerful states of
the Southeast dominated the republic until 1930, when another revolution
established a provisional government and led to a military-backed dictatorship;
this dictatorship lasted from 1937 to 1945, when democracy was restored.
Economic problems and political tension led to another military coup in 1964.
The military regime remained in power until 1985, ruling with particularly
repressive methods from 1968 to 1974. The regime began to relax its controls in
the early 1980s and moved to restore democracy. Over the past decade Brazil has
worked to reestablish democratic institutions.
Brazil
occupies an immense area along the eastern coast of South America and includes
much of the continent's interior region. The factors of size, relief, climate,
and natural resources make Brazil geographically diverse. Planners divide the
country into five macro-regions. The North includes most of the Amazon Basin and
covers 45 percent of the national territory, but only 7 percent of the
population lives there. The Northeast is the eastward bulge of the country. It
was the first area to be settled by Europeans. Its semiarid interior, the sertão,
is largely given over to low-density livestock ranching. Much of the population
of the Northeast lives in poverty. The mainly upland area of the Southeast is
the demographic and economic core of the nation. Brazil's two largest cities, São
Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, are located here. The Southeast contains only 11
percent of Brazil's land, but 43 percent of the population lives there. The
South is the smallest region. It is distinct not only because of its temperate
climate, but also because it was primarily settled by European immigrants in the
late 19th century, giving the region a culture that is more European than other
areas of the nation. The Center-west is a landlocked, thinly populated region
that includes Brasília, the national capital.
Two
geographic features dominate the landscape of Brazil: the vast Amazon Basin,
which spans the width of northern Brazil, and an extensive highland plateau,
known as the Brazilian Highlands, which covers most of the South and Southeast.
The Amazon Basin consists of a huge drainage area that contains the world's
largest river and the world's largest tropical rain forest. The population
remains sparse in this region due to thick vegetation and an oppressively hot
and humid climate. In the South and Southeast, the Brazilian Highlands—an
eroded plateau dotted with irregular mountains and crossed by river
valleys—forms the major feature of the landscape. The highlands separate
Brazil's inland regions from a narrow coastal plain that stretches from Ceará
in the Northeast to the Uruguayan border in the south.
In spite
of Brazil's size, the broad pattern of climate is less varied than might be
expected. The equator passes through northern Brazil, running adjacent to the
Amazon River. Because of its equatorial location and low elevation, the
extensive Amazon region has a climate with high temperatures and substantial
rainfall. Farther to the south, temperatures become slightly more moderate. The
state of Rio Grande do Sul in the extreme south exhibits a more temperate
climate, with seasonal weather patterns resembling those of the southern United
States. Rainfall is plentiful in Brazil, except in the sertão, a
semiarid region of the Northeast that is subject to occasional droughts.
Brazil
contains a wealth of mineral and plant resources that have not yet been fully
explored. It possesses some of the world's largest deposits of iron ore and
contains rich deposits of many other minerals, including gold and copper.
Brazil's fossil fuel resources are modest, but this limitation is offset by the
considerable hydroelectric potential of the nation's many rivers. Although
Brazil is an important producer of tropical crops, areas of highly fertile land
are limited, and only a small proportion of the land is actually under
cultivation. There is substantial livestock ranching, and the forests are
important sources of timber, rubber, and palm oil.
Much of
Brazil lies between 200 and 800 m (700 and 2,600 ft) in elevation. The main
upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country. It is an enormous
block of geologically ancient rocks that rises from the northwest towards the
southeast. As a consequence it has a steep edge near the Atlantic coast and in
places drops in a single escarpment of up to 800 m (2,600 ft). The northwestern
parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded
hills. The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges
and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 m (3,900 ft). These
ranges include the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Serra do Espinhaço, the Chapada
Diamantina, and the Serra do Mar. The Serra do Mar forms a sharp edge along the
coast from Rio de Janeiro south for about 1,000 km (about 600 mi) into Santa
Catarina. Behind the Serra do Mar, an extensive plateau reaches through the
state of São Paulo and into the southern states. The highest points in southern
Brazil are the Pico da Bandeira (2,890 m/9,482 ft) and Pico do Cristal (2,798
m/9,180 ft), both in the Serra da Mantiqueira.
In the far
north the Guiana Highlands cover only 2 percent of the country. These highlands
form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon
Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco river system of Venezuela to the
north. The highest point in Brazil—the Pico da Neblina (3,014 m/9,888 ft)—is
in the mountains of the Guiana Highlands.
The most
extensive lowland is the Amazon Basin. Most of its terrain is gently undulating,
rarely rising more than 150 m (490 ft) above sea level. Seasonal flooding occurs
along the Amazon River and its tributaries in stretches of flat, swampy land
called varzeas. A second major lowland is the Pantanal in western Mato
Grosso near the border with Bolivia and Paraguay. Seasonal flooding occurs in
this region along the headwaters of the Paraná and Paraguay river system. It is
a significant area for ranching, but has recently come to be recognized as an
important wetland environment that needs to be conserved.
The third
lowland area is the coastal plain. In the Northeast it may be up to 60 km (40
mi) wide, but in some places it is very narrow, and between Rio de Janeiro and
Santos it disappears entirely. This coastal plain has been a major area of
settlement and economic activity since colonial times, and 12 of the country's
state capitals are located along it. The plain widens in southern Rio Grande do
Sul and extends into Argentina.
Brazil has
a dense and complex system of rivers. The most impressive river system is that
of the Amazon and its tributaries, ranked the largest in the world based on the
volume of water it drains. The Amazon is the world's second longest river, after
the Nile in Egypt. Its major tributary, the Tocantins, joins the Amazon near its
mouth. The second largest river basin in Brazil is that of the Paraná, which
flows south between Argentina and Uruguay to empty into the Río de la Plata
estuary. It drains much of the Southeast, South, and Center-west. The principal
river of the eastern plateau region, the São Francisco, flows north through the
highlands in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia before turning east and
entering the Atlantic. The remainder of the country is drained by a series of
smaller and shorter rivers along the Atlantic seaboard.
The Amazon
is navigable to oceangoing ships as far as Iquitos, in Peru, and its major
tributaries are suitable for inland navigation. Parts of the São Francisco and
Paraná are also navigable. However, except in the case of the Amazon, river
transport is relatively unimportant in Brazil. The rivers are more important as
sources of hydroelectricity, which Brazil depends on for economic development
because the country is short of solid fuel.
Most of
Brazil's large lakes are created by dams constructed to produce hydroelectric
power or to provide water for irrigation. The largest lakes are Sobradinho, on
the São Francisco; Tucuruí, on the Tocantins; Balbina, on the Amazon; and
Furnas, on the Paraná. The São Francisco is also used for irrigation, and
there are a number of reservoirs in the Northeast that provide irrigation and
drinking water during the dry season and drought years.
The nature
of the Brazilian coastline varies considerably. In the North the mouth of the
Amazon is the dominant feature, with major river channels, lowlands subject to
seasonal flooding, swamps of mangrove trees, and numerous islands, of which
Marajó is the largest. The coast of the Northeast is smoother, with substantial
areas of beaches and dunes along the northern strip, and more varied
forms—dunes, mangroves, lagoons, and hills—south of Cape São Roque. Major
features of this area are the mouth of the São Francisco River and Todos os
Santos Bay.
The
Southeastern coast is also varied, with lagoons, marshlands, sand spits, and
sandy beaches. Particularly in the states of Espirito Santo, Rio de Janeiro, and
São Paulo, and in much of the South, the mountains are very close to the coast,
leaving a coastal plain that is narrow or nonexistent. Only in Rio Grande do Sul
does the plain widen again. The major natural harbors are those of Salvador, Vitória,
Rio de Janeiro, Santos, Paranaguá, and Rio Grande. Portuguese settlers
established their first communities along the coast, and most Brazilians still
live within about 300 km (about 200 mi) of the coast.
The
climatic pattern is largely shaped by Brazil's tropical location and by
topographic features. Most of Brazil has high annual average temperatures, above
22°C (72°F). Only in the South and in the highest elevations does the average
fall below this. In the higher elevations, the seasonal variation in temperature
is more marked.
A tropical
wet climate characterizes much of northern Brazil, with abundant rainfall and
little or no dry season. Temperatures average 25°C (77°F), with more
significant temperature variations between night and day than between seasons.
Rainfall averages about 2,200 mm (about 90 in) a year. Over central Brazil
rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate. Eighty percent
of the rain falls in summer (October through March), and there are more seasonal
variations in temperature. Here rainfall averages about 1,600 mm (about 60 in) a
year. In the interior Northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. The
semiarid region receives less than 800 mm (30 in) of rain, which falls in a
period of two or three months. In addition to its scarcity and seasonal nature,
the rain occasionally fails completely, causing serious drought conditions.
In the
Southeast the tropical climate is modified by elevation, with a winter average
temperature below 18°C (64°F) and an average rainfall of about 1,400 mm (about
55 in) concentrated in summer. The South has subtropical conditions, with
average temperatures below 20°C (68°F) and cool winters. Rainfall averages
about 1,500 mm (about 60 in), with no differences between seasons. The region is
also subject to frost, which occurs on average ten days a year and may damage
crops. There are occasional snowfalls in the higher areas.
The plant
life of Brazil depends on climate, elevation, and soil conditions. A broad
distinction can be made between the forests and grasslands, but considerable
variety exists within these areas. The Amazon rain forest is one of the world's
largest woodland areas, covering 40 percent of the country. It has luxuriant
vegetation, with tall trees and several lower layers of vegetation that include
woody vines and unusual varieties of plants that do not root in the soil, but
grow by attaching themselves to other plants. The east coast and the uplands in
the Southeast also had a tropical forest cover, although less dense and diverse
than the Amazon region; however, much of this has been cleared since 1500. In
the South, the Araucária pine forest grows under subtropical conditions.
In central
Brazil the rain forest gradually gives way in the south to the cerrado,
an area of more open vegetation that trends from woodland to a mix of trees,
shrubs and grass, and open grassland. In the semiarid Northeast vegetation is
adapted to the low rainfall. It consists of low scrub, called caatinga.
The trees lose their leaves in the dry season, and cacti and other plants that
can survive very dry conditions are common.
The South
contains open grassland known as the campos. Other small grassland areas
occur in the northern Amazon region and in the mountains. The Pantanal near the
border of Bolivia and Paraguay has distinct vegetation of trees, shrubs, and
grasses that have adapted to the conditions of seasonal flooding. Along the
coast several vegetation types exist, including salt marshes, mangrove swamps,
and sand dunes.
The rich
wildlife reflects the variety of natural habitats. Of an estimated 750 species
of mammals in South America, 394 are found in Brazil. Larger mammals include
pumas, jaguars, ocelots, rare bush dogs, and foxes. Peccaries, tapirs,
anteaters, sloths, opossums, and armadillos are abundant. Deer are plentiful in
the south, and monkeys of many species abound in the rain forests. The country
has one of the world's most diverse populations of birds and amphibians, with
1,635 species of birds and 502 species of amphibians. There is a great variety
of reptiles, including lizards, snakes, turtles, and alligators. There are
estimated to be more than 1,500 species of freshwater fish in Brazil, of which
more than 1,000 are found in the Amazon Basin. The number of invertebrates is
enormous, calculated at more than 100,000 species, of which 70,000 are insects.
However, these figures are probably underestimates, because scientific
exploration is far from complete.
Despite
its abundance, Brazil's animal and plant life are threatened by human activity.
Removal of the vegetation cover has been a continual process since the Europeans
arrived; people have cut and burned the land to clear it for farming and
settlement. Concern about this process intensified as people, settlements, and
industry moved into the Amazon rain forest in the 1970s. Clearing land for
agriculture and felling trees for timber have reduced the habitats of wildlife.
Some species are also threatened with extinction by sport and subsistence
hunting and by industrial and agricultural pollution. By the 1990s hundreds of
species were thought to be at risk, including the jaguar, several species of
monkey, and Pantanal deer. Numerous birds, reptiles, and insects are also
threatened.
Land is a
significant natural resource for Brazil. Although fertile soil is limited, the
country produces many different types of crops and livestock. Despite its
importance as an agricultural producer, only 40 percent of Brazil's land area is
classified as farm land. Moreover, just 6 percent of Brazil's total land area
actually produces crops; the remainder is either grassland, woodland, or
uncultivated fields. Most of the east and south have been cleared for farming,
but 3.31 million sq km (1.28 million sq mi) of rain forest remain in Brazil.
These rain forests produce not only timber, but also a range of products such as
rubber, palm oil, charcoal, and Brazil nuts.
Mineral
resources are particularly important for export and as raw material for
industrial use. The most important, in terms of value of output, are iron ore
and gold. Copper, zinc, bauxite, manganese, and tin are also significant.
Limestone, sea salt, diamonds, and phosphates are leading nonmetallic minerals.
G. Environmental
Issues
Concern
for the environment in Brazil has grown in response to global interest in
environmental issues. The clearing of forests in the Amazon Basin to make room
for agriculture and new settlements has drawn national and international
attention over possible damage to the rain forest. Environmentalists are
concerned that the extensive loss of rain forest vegetation, which produces
large amounts of oxygen, could have a wider impact on the global environment.
However, as of 1996, only 12 percent of the Amazon region was estimated to have
been significantly changed.
In many
areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development.
Highway construction has opened up previously remote areas for agriculture and
settlement; dams have flooded valleys and inundated wildlife habitats; and mines
have scarred and polluted the landscape. Rapid growth of urban areas has also
contributed to pollution. There have been some efforts to deal with the problems
of urban pollution, including cleaning up Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, the
Tietê River in São Paulo, and the heavily polluted industrial town of Cubatão,
near São Paulo.
Brazil has
many different types of environmental conservation units throughout the country,
including national and state parks, reserves, forests, and natural monuments.
The first national parks were created in 1937 in an effort to provide
environmental protection. The largest national parks are those of Jáu and Pico
da Neblina in the state of Amazonas, with areas in excess of 2 million hectares
(5 million acres). In 1973 a government department for the environment was
established. There is now a wide range of protected areas in addition to the
national parks; they include forest parks, ecological parks, natural monuments,
biological reserves, and areas of ecological protection. Many state governments
have designated protected areas, and land set aside for indigenous peoples also
serves as nature reserves.
The
largest single protected area is the National Forest of Rio Negro, also in
Amazonas, with more than 3.7 million hectares (9.1 million acres). Designating
sites does not necessarily mean that they can be securely protected, however.
The government often lacks the resources or the will to stop ranchers and
farmers who move into these protected areas. The country also faces conflicts in
reconciling economic development and environmental conservation, and in
allocating scarce investment funds to preserving the environment. However, the
growth of ecological tourism may be one area in which conservation will be able
to generate its own funds.
Brazil's
population is a mixture of Native American, European, and African peoples. These
groups have intermingled over the years to create a society with considerable
ethnic complexity. The Native American population has been in Brazil the
longest, but is now the smallest group. The Portuguese began arriving in 1500,
and other European groups came after 1850. The ancestors of African Brazilians
arrived as slaves, beginning about the mid-1500s and ending in 1850 when the
slave trade was abolished.
Brazil's
population growth was generally high during the 20th century, but it began to
slow during the 1980s. Until recently the population was predominantly rural and
agricultural. The past 40 years have brought rapid urbanization, due to
population growth and the migration of people from rural areas seeking
employment in the expanding industries of the cities.
A. Population
It
is difficult to estimate the size of the Native American population at the time
the Europeans arrived.
There are no written records, and because
of the scattered distribution of the tribes there is little substantive evidence
remaining about their history. Recent calculations suggest that between 1 and 6
million Native Americans lived in Brazil prior to the arrival of the Portuguese
in 1500. However, as a consequence of war, enslavement, and the introduction of
European diseases, the indigenous population decreased rapidly. Estimates for
1819 suggest that the Native American population had fallen by two-thirds. In
the 1990s Native Americans made up less than 1 percent of the population, living
in isolated groups in remote regions of the rain forest.
Portuguese
settlement was slow and small-scale. When they arrived in 1500, they established
settlements along the coast and exported agricultural products to Europe. By
1600 there were no more than 30,000 European settlers in the country. The
population increased during the 18th century as a result of natural increase and
immigration to Brazil's gold fields, which were discovered in the late 17th
century. Population also increased when the Portuguese brought slaves from
Africa to Brazil to provide labor for the sugar plantations and gold mines. More
than 2 million slaves arrived during the colonial period. By 1800 Brazil's total
population was estimated at around 3.25 million, of which about 1 million were
Europeans, 2 million were free or enslaved Africans or of mixed race, and about
250,000 were Native Americans.
During the
early part of the 19th century over 1 million more slaves were imported. After
the slave trade was abolished in 1850, the country's population continued to
grow by natural increase and immigration. Immigrants from Italy, Portugal,
Germany, and Spain started coming to Brazil after 1850. Brazil's first census,
in 1872, recorded a population of 9,930,478; by 1900 the population was just
over 17 million. Immigration continued to be substantial until the 1930s, with
many Japanese arriving after 1908. Since then, population growth has been
primarily due to natural increase. In 1950 Brazil had 51,944,000 inhabitants,
and by 1980 the population had more than doubled, rising to 119,002,700. The
most recent census, in 1991, recorded a population of 146,825,475. A 2001
estimate placed the population at 174,468,575. Contributory factors to these
high growth rates were immigration, a high birth rate (45 percent of the
population is below 20 years of age), and a death rate that has declined
steadily since 1870.
In Brazil,
there are considerable regional variations in population density. The most
densely peopled states are Rio de Janeiro, the Federal District, and São Paulo.
The least populous state is the interior region of Amazonas. About 80 percent of
the population lives within 350 km (220 mi) of the coast. Until the mid-1960s
there were more rural dwellers than people living in towns; since then the urban
population has increased as industrialization lures workers to the larger
cities. The total number of rural dwellers has decreased since 1970. Some 81
percent of the population is now classed as urban, and a significant proportion
lives in big cities. Forty-six percent of the urban population—one-third of
all Brazilians—now live in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants.
The
largest city in Brazil is São Paulo, the main industrial center of the nation.
São Paulo is also the largest city in South America, with an estimated
population in 1996 of 9.8 million. The former capital, Rio de Janeiro, ranks
second. It is an important port and commercial center. Other important cities
include Salvador, the regional capital of the Northeast; Belo Horizonte, a major
industrial and commercial city in Minas Gerais; and Brasília, the capital of
Brazil. Each of these cities forms the core of a larger urban area. There are
six other cities in Brazil with over 1 million inhabitants: Manaus, a port on
the Río Negro near its confluence with the Amazon; Belém, a northern port on
the mouth of the Amazon; Fortaleza and Recife, along the northeast coast; and
Curitiba and Porto Alegre in the south.
C. Ethnic Groups
Brazil's
population is derived from three main ethnic sources. The earliest secure date
for the arrival of Native Americans in Brazil is about 10,000 years ago.
Europeans arrived in 1500, and for the next three centuries European immigration
was restricted to only the Portuguese. African slaves came from West Africa, the
Congo, Angola, and Mozambique. Relations between these groups created a complex
population pattern of mixed races, described by an often subtle terminology
based on color—for example, preto (black), escuro (dark), mulatoescuro (dark brown), or mulatoclaro (light brown).
Racial
classifications in Brazil are not as sharply defined as in other nations. The
Portuguese colonists who settled Brazil had a more relaxed attitude toward
interracial relationships than other Europeans and often intermarried with
Africans and Native Americans. In addition, racial classification often reflects
an individual's economic or social standing. For example, a Brazilian of mixed
racial heritage who has done well economically may be classified as white.
The white
population tends to be slightly more prevalent in urban areas while the black
and mulatto population is slightly more populous in rural areas. There are also
some strong regional variations. In the Northeast, where large numbers of slaves
were imported during colonial times to work the sugar plantations, more than 70
percent of the people were recorded as black or mulatto in 1996. In the
Southeast the population was classified as 66 percent white and 33 percent black
or mulatto; in the South, which was settled mainly by European immigrants, more
than 82 percent of the people were recorded as white. Brazil is widely regarded
as a racially open society, with few ethnic tensions, and there is no recent
history of legal discrimination. However, whites tend to occupy positions at the
top of Brazil's social structure, while blacks often occupy the lower economic
levels of society. Considerable room for social mobility exists among
individuals with a mixed racial heritage.
Portuguese
is the official and prevailing language of Brazil, although there are some
regional variations in pronunciation and slang words. Since 1938 Portuguese has
been the compulsory language for teaching in schools, but German and Italian are
still spoken in homes in the South by some descendants of immigrants. English
and French are the main second languages of educated Brazilians.
There are
also more than 100 indigenous languages, of which the most important are Tupí,
Gê, Arawak, and Carib. The Portuguese borrowed some Indian words, particularly
from Tupí, which was the common language used in interactions among the Native
Americans of the coastal regions, Jesuit missionaries, and early settlers. Many
settlements and physical features still have Indian place-names. The settlers
also borrowed some words from the vocabulary of African slaves.
E. Religion
Roman
Catholicism is the dominant religion, with 90 percent of the population claiming
at least nominal affiliation. About 6 percent are defined as members of
Protestant churches. In recent years Pentecostal groups, which believe in the
experience of holiness, or Christian perfection, have grown rapidly. The
Spiritist movement, which believes in multiple incarnations and communication
with spirits of the dead, has a small following, mainly among the urban middle
classes. Traditional African beliefs, brought by slaves, have blended with
Catholicism to create Afro-Brazilian religions such as Macumba, Candomblé, and
Umbanda. These incorporate possession by spirits, the use of African music and
dance, and the identification of West African deities with Catholic saints. Such
religions are strongest in former slave areas, such as Bahia in the Northeast.
Native Americans practice a wide variety of indigenous religions that vary from
group to group.
The formal
link between the state and the Catholic Church was severed in the late 19th
century. However, the Catholic Church has continued to exert an influence on
national affairs. It has traditionally been a conservative force, but in recent
years a movement known as liberation theology has emerged among members of the
Roman Catholic clergy. This movement teaches that Christians must work for
social and economic justice for all people; it has encouraged greater church
involvement in social issues, particularly those that affect the urban poor and
the landless rural population.
Primary
education is compulsory between the ages of 7 and 14; secondary education lasts
for four years. Education is free in official primary and secondary schools.
There was a major reform of education in 1971 that provided a basic education of
eight years, with a common core of studies. Students may then continue on to
pursue training for employment or higher education. Despite provisions in the
1988 Constitution decreeing federal expenditures for education, schooling
remains underfunded and considerable variations exist in opportunity between
urban and rural children, among the nation's regions, and among social class.
The
proportion of children attending school falls with age. While almost all
children between the ages of 7 and 14 years of age are in school, the share of
secondary school-aged children enrolled falls to 62 percent. Female
participation in secondary education, at 57 percent, is higher than that for
males, at 42 percent. The level of adult literacy is similar for both sexes. In
1950 only half of the population over 15 years of age was literate. Despite a
literacy campaign begun in 1971, the current level is just 93 percent. Literacy
levels vary regionally and between rural and urban areas. Illiteracy is
highest—around 40 percent—in the Northeast, which has a high proportion of
rural poor. The 1991 census revealed that 19 percent of the urban population
over the age of 10 were illiterate, as opposed to 46 percent of the rural
population.
The
University of Rio de Janeiro was Brazil's first university, created out of
separate faculties in 1920. The University of São Paulo followed in 1934. In
1994 there were 127 universities. Each state (except the newest, Tocantins) has
a federal university, and there are several in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio
de Janeiro, and Rio Grande do Sul. There are state universities in most of the
states of the Northeast, Southeast, and South. The Roman Catholic Church also
has some universities, and there are more than 50 private universities, many of
them in São Paulo state.
Historically
Brazilian society has been patriarchal, with a strong tradition of male social
dominance. This has weakened with immigration, urbanization, and the decline of
the rural sector. Also, independence for women has grown under the influence of
feminism and the expansion of urban employment opportunities for women. The
family is still a crucial social unit, and there is some survival, even in the
cities, of parentela, a kind of kinship system. This extended network
involves close family and distant relatives, godparents and godchildren, and
even family servants. Such linkages are generally stronger among the middle and
upper classes.
There are
significant differences in housing standards between social classes in Brazil.
Striking contrasts exist in the cities between the luxurious mansions and
apartments of the affluent and the favelas (shantytowns) of the poor. In
the countryside the casa grande (big house) of the rancher or plantation
owner and the simple shacks of rural laborers also illustrate the disparities.
In the cities there is a social spectrum of rich, middle class, working class,
and poor, but in the countryside distinctions tend to be more polarized between
the rich and the poor, with few working-class or middle-class individuals.
Clothing
in Brazil is not very distinctive, and formality has diminished over the past 30
years. Although high society is very fashion-conscious, only senior managers and
public servants wear suits and ties to work in the cities; office workers wear
casual clothes. In the countryside, jeans, shirts, and dresses of inexpensive
cotton are typical. The cowboys of Rio Grande do Sul, known as gauchos,still
wear distinctive clothing consisting of ponchos and baggy trousers, while the
cowboys of the Northeast, known as vaqueiros,wear hats, coats, and chaps
made of leather. In Bahia some women maintain traditional African
clothing consisting of long, full skirts, colored shawls, and turbanlike head
scarves. Native Americans may wear few clothes and make use of beads and other
decorations for personal adornment. They may also use body paint and have
distinctive hairstyles. However, except on ceremonial occasions, many Native
Americans who are in contact with mainstream Brazilian society have exchanged
traditional dress for more contemporary clothing.
Important
staples in the Brazilian diet include beans, rice, wheat, and manioc, a plant
grown in tropical areas and also known as cassava. These are consumed throughout
the country, although manioc is an especially important element in the diet of
the poor in the Northeast. Meat, particularly beef, is also widely consumed,
although only occasionally by the poor. Despite the extensive coastline and
river system, levels of fish consumption are low, except along the Northeast
coast and in the Amazon region. Traditional dishes include feijoada completa,
a combination of pork, black beans, and rice, and churrasco, barbecued
meat that is common in the South. In the Northeast there is an important African
legacy in spicy dishes such as vatapá, a fish stew made with onion,
tomato, coconut, and spices. Coffee is the most popular beverage, often drunk as
cafezinho, a small cup of strong and very sweet black coffee. A potent
alcoholic beverage, known as cachaça,is distilled from
sugarcane, and light beer is widely consumed. More affluent Brazilians may drink
wine produced in Rio Grande do Sul. International brand soft drinks are also
popular.
Soccer is
the most popular sport, played in the massive stadiums of the big cities and as
recreation. The game was introduced in the 19th century and was established as a
professional sport in 1933. Although there is great rivalry between local teams,
there is strong popular support for the national team, which has won the World
Cup, soccer's major international competition, four times. Pelé, one of the
world's legendary soccer players, led the Brazilian team to three of those
victories, in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Motor racing is also very popular, and
Brazil has produced a number of championship winners, including Emerson
Fittipaldi and Ayrton Senna. Major participant sports include swimming, tennis,
sailing, and golf.
The
festival of Carnival, with its spectacular street parades and vibrant music, has
become one of the most potent images of Brazil. Its roots lie in the European
Mardi Gras, a lively festival, which precedes the fasting and prayers of the
Roman Catholic holy season of Lent. Carnival begins on the Friday before Ash
Wednesday and lasts for five days. In Brazil it seems to have first occurred in
Bahia in the mid-17th century and in Rio de Janeiro in the 1850s, where it was
associated with street parades and elegant private balls.
Carnival
did not take on its present spectacular form in Rio until the 1930s, when the
dance known as the samba emerged in the favelas (shantytowns) of the
city. Samba “schools” based in the favelas compete to create the most
spectacular groups of extravagantly costumed dancers and original samba songs.
In Rio they now parade through the sambadrome (a street stadium) before vast
crowds of Brazilians and foreign tourists. The more traditional street parties
and balls also continue. Carnival is celebrated throughout Brazil, but the most
spectacular celebrations outside Rio take place in Salvador, Recife, and Olinda,
although the nature of the events varies.
