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Capital | Rio de Janeiro | ||||||
Largest city | São Paulo | ||||||
Other cities | Rio de Janeiro, Santiago | ||||||
Language | Portuguese, Spanish | ||||||
Religion | Catholic | ||||||
Ethnic Groups main |
White, Pardo | ||||||
others | Black, Asian, Amerindian | ||||||
Government | Congressional/Presidential Republic | ||||||
Population | (1945) 49,211,516 | ||||||
Currency | Real | ||||||
Time Zone | BRT, BRST | ||||||
Calling Code | +55 |
Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Republic of the United States of Brazil, is the largest country and the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America. With a population of over 40 million and increasing rapidly, as well as one of the world's most rapidly increasing militaries and most dynamic economies, Brazil is one of the World's Major powers and maintains a large scale influence, and a wide array of Trade friends and business associates which have allowed for Brazil's development as a major world power.
Great Depression[]
The tenente rebellion did not mark the revolutionary breakthrough of Brazil's bourgeois social reformers. But the ruling paulista coffee oligarchy could not withstand the near-breakdown of world capitalism in 1929. Brazil's vulnerability to the Great Depression had its roots in the economy's heavy dependence on foreign markets and loans. Despite limited industrial development in São Paulo, the export of coffee and other primary products was still the mainstay of the economy. Days after the U.S. stock market crash on October 29, 1929, coffee quotations immediately fell 30% to 60%. The subsequent decline was even sharper. Between 1929 and 1931, coffee prices fell from 22.5 cents per pound to 8 cents per pound. As world trade contracted, the coffee exporters suffered a vast drop in foreign exchange earnings. The Great Depression possibly had a more dramatic effect on Brazil than on the United States.
However in 1933-1934, Vargas managed to push his way through to acquire foreign investment in the expansion of Brazil's industry, internal development, and a fully expansive program to continue the development as well as expand internal resource extraction. Alongside this, powerful internal development incentives, the use of deficit spending the rebuild Brazil's Job base, and the militarization of Brazil led to massive job increases, industrial expansion on par with Germany's rapid industrialization in its beginnings, and a resource development which allowed for much of Brazil's previously import economy to do a complete turn around and replace certain major goods on the market. Brazil major re-rise to power did, however, begin its turn back to a more powerful form of Democracy rather than Vargas' blatant Fascism. Vargas, while very unhappy with this, has allowed more Democratic policies to push through into Brazil's government
Government[]
History and Recent Changes[]
On November 15, 1889 Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca deposed Emperor Dom Pedro II, declared Brazil a republic, and reorganized the government. In reality, the elections were rigged, voters in rural areas were pressured or induce to vote for the chosen candidates of their bosses (see coronelismo) and, if all those methods did not work, the election results could still be changed by one sided decisions of Congress's verification of powers commission (election authorities in the República Velha were not independent from the executive and the Legislature, dominated by the ruling oligarchs). This system resulted in the presidency of Brazil alternating between the oligarchies of the dominant states of São Paulo and Minas Gerais. This regime is often referred to as "café com leite", 'coffee with milk', after the respective agricultural products of the two states. This period ended with a military coup that placed Getúlio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas remained as president until mid 1945 in which after various Democratic procedures during the latter stages of his Regime, he was replaced by Nereu Ramos through free and fair elections.
While some nations doubted the validity of the elections, the Brazilian government when questioned, said if the elections were truly rigged that Vargas would still be in power. Brazil's Democratic government has ever since the early 40's undergone a much more powerful and dynamic change in which the government has truly become democratic in order to be a powerful example to its allies as well as others around it on the continent who have for years been extremely corrupt democracies or dictatorships including Brazil itself for a period. Brazil since its earlier procedures has become an example to many of the corrupt and overly dictatorial governments surrounding it highly influencing the internal and external politics of Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Venezuela, and had successfully begun a settlement process in the Guyanas in order to make the area more South American.
Politics[]
The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative organization of Brazil comprises the federal government, the states, the federal district and the municipalities. The federal government exercises control over the central government and is divided into three independent branches: executive, legislative and judicial. Executive power is exercised by the President, advised by a cabinet. Legislative power is vested upon the National Congress, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Judicial power is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Federal Court, the Superior Court of Justice and other Superior Courts, the National Justice Council and the Regional Federal Courts. The states are autonomous sub-national entities with their own constitutions and governments that, together with the other federal units, form the Federative Republic of Brazil. Currently, Brazil is divided politically and administratively into 27 federal units, being 26 states and one federal district. The executive power is exercised by a governor elected to a four-year term. The judiciary is exercised by courts of first and second instance addressing the common justice. Each State has a unicameral legislature with deputies who vote state laws. The Constitution of Brazil knows also two elements of direct democracy. Along side this Brazil has various political parties for the elections. The Two most prominent parties being the Federalist Party, which advocates more centralization and unification with its allies, and the other party being the Conservative party which advocates a slower process of gradual economical unification, military co-operation, and standardization. These two parties, however, as written in by amendments to the Brazilian constitution, are required to be bi-partisan in an attempt to prevent stall outs in Congress and other areas of government. These two prominent parties are currently both majorly in power with an equal rate of voting coming in for each side. This leads to much more co-operation in the government as failure to get certain things done means no candidate from either side can be up for re-election. Brazil's populace, while previously very isolationist and more country involved than anything, has undergone a transformation in which their involvement in global politics spurred on by Germany has led to many agreeing that future unification of the various nations should happen. This influence has spread from Brazil - primarily into Argentina, and has also begun to permeate Venezuela and is expected to spread to Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia as well.
Economy[]
When the Portuguese explorers arrived in the 15th century, the native tribes of current-day Brazil, totaling about 2.5 million people, had lived virtually unchanged since the Stone Age. From Portugal's colonization of Brazil (1500-1822) until the late 1930s, the market elements of the Brazilian economy relied on the production of primary products for exports. Within the Portuguese Empire, Brazil was a colony subjected to an imperial mercantile policy, which had three main large-scale economic production cycles - sugar, gold and, from the early 19th century on, coffee. The economy of Brazil was heavily dependent on African enslaved labour until the late 19th century (about three million imported African enslaved individuals in total). In that period Brazil was also the colony with the largest amount of European settlers.
By 1945 Brazil with its extensive influence, various trade agreements and investments in its allied nations (and to a degree foreign investments by them and European powers) Brazil has gone from an economically depressed dictatorial state with major socio-economical problems, to an increasingly industrialized (the point of major global competition), Increasingly state of the art, and highly influential state. This status was achieved in large part due to risky European (mostly Swiss and German) investment into the Brazilian industry and Keynesian economics in the early years allowing for the Brazilian industries and agricultural centers to take off exponentially. Brazil now boasts a population growth of nearly 4% due to recent familial trends and large amounts of much more cheap but high quality housing among other improvements over the past 15 years.
Brazil expansion into a much more powerful industrial power has extended into global politics in which is provides large amounts of materials for military equipment to Germany, and Consumer goods on the world market including most recently the United States who has viewed Brazil's expanding influence warily over the past few years. With nuclear power, nuclear weapons development, a large scale civilian and military industrial complex, Brazil has filled in the gap as an up-and-coming power in South America not only maintaining but highly expanding its GDP, heavily solidifying its place for the foreseeable future as the Americas second largest economy which may raise itself to compete with the United States if it continues on its nearly 6.5% growth per year. Along with this Brazils investments and joint business ventures has economically uplifted various other nations within its sphere pulling Argentina ahead of not only Chile, but Mexico as well becoming the third largest economy in the Americas. The economical position of Brazil and its major ally of Argentina are expected to maintained for the foreseeable future with Mexico gaining as teh fourth largest economy.
Military[]
The Brazilian military is the main force which is used in the defense of Brazil. With a strength of nearly 800,000 and possible expansion, Brazil in the mid to late 30's had undergone a major modernization and re-armament program by retooling its economy to a major degree.
[]
Carriers:
Infame | 1935- | Infame Class | (Active Service) | ||
Libertad | 1936- | Infame Class | (Active Service) | ||
Dom Afonso |
1937- | Infame Class | (Active Service) | ||
Amazonas |
1939- |
Infame Class | (Active Service) | ||
Salvação | 1941- | Salvação Class | (Active Service) | ||
Humayta | 1941- | Salvação Class | (Active Service) | ||
Getulio Vargas | 1941- | Salvação Class | (Active Service) | ||
Lusitania | 1941- | Salvação Class | (Active Service) |
Total: Eight Fleet Carriers.
Battleships:
Sao Paulo | 1909- | Minas Geraes Class | (Active Service) | ||
Minas Gerais | 1910- | Minas Geraes Class | (Active Service) | ||
Dom Pedro | 1936- | Dom Pedro Class | (Active Service) | ||
Salvadore | 1937- | Dom Pedro Class | (Active Service) | ||
Rio de Janeiro | 1939- | Dom Pedro Class | (Active Service) | ||
Natal | 1942- | Natal Class | (Active Service) | ||
Fortaleza | 1942- | Natal Class | (Active Service) |
Total: Nine Battleships, Two under stalled construction.
Cruisers:
Santiago Class | 1938 | 8 built | Order Complete | (Active Service) | |
Accension Class (Battle Cruiser) | 1954 | 15 Built | Order Complete | (Active Serive) | |
Netuno Class | 1955 | 6 built | Order Complete | (Active Service) |
Total Ships: Eleven Normal Cruisers. Three Battle cruisers
Destroyers:
Asuncion Class | 1956- | 30 Built | Order Complete | (Active Service) | |
Acre Class | 1938- | 65 built | Order Complete | (Active Service) | |
Castillo Class | 1952- | 50 Built | Order Complete | (Active Service) |
Frigates:
Brasil class | 1935- | 30 Built | Order Complete | (Active Service) | |
Mato Grosso Class | 1937- | 40 Built | Order Complete | (Active Service) | |
Vargas Class | 1951- | 30 Built | 20 Under Construction | (Active Service) |