Brazil
10 39 'S 52 57' W / -10.65, -52.95
| Repblica Federativa do Brasil (pt) | |||||
| Federative Republic of Brazil (en) | |||||
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| National motto : Ordem e Progresso French : "Order and Progress' currency of the positivist philosopher French Comte | |||||
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| Official language | Portuguese | ||||
| Capital | Braslia | ||||
| More cities | So Paulo , Rio de Janeiro , Salvador da Bahia , Brasilia , Fortaleza , Belo Horizonte , Curitiba , Manaus , Recife , Porto Alegre | ||||
| Form of State | Republic Federal | ||||
| - President of the Republic | Dilma Rousseff | ||||
| Area - Total - Water (%) | Ranked 5 th 8,512,000 (in 2009) ( IBGE ) km 2 0.65% | ||||
| Population - Total ( 2010 ) - Density | Ranked 5 th 190 732 694 inhab. 22.4 inhabitants / km 2 | ||||
| Independence - Declared - Recognized | From Portugal 7 September 1822 29 August 1825 | ||||
| Demonym | Brazilian Brazilian | ||||
| GDP (nominal) ( 2010 ) | 2.025 trillion | ||||
| Indicative Telephone | +55 | ||||
Brazil is the country 's largest and most populous of Latin America. With an area of 8,512,000 sq km in 2009 and a population of 192,759,333 inhabitants, it is also the fifth largest country in area and the number of inhabitants . In 2009, Brazil is the eighth largest economy with a GDP of 1574 039Mds 2.42% of world GDP . It covers half the territory of South America , sharing borders with all countries of the subcontinent with the exception of Chile and the Equator.
Prosperous colony of the Portuguese crown for several centuries, the country is now the only legacy of Portugal on American soil, which is expressed in its official language, Portuguese.
Largest country Lusophone world, he is a member of the CPLP. Portuguese is the language of South America through the Brazilian population.
Brazil has features in common with most other countries of South America is a country predominantly Catholic , the average population density is quite low and the population is highly urbanized (84%).
Federal Republic and liberal, Brazil presents strong contrasts geographical and sociological. While much of the territory is covered by rainforest virtually empty of human beings, the southeastern coast is home to the megacities of So Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and one of the largest "urban area" around the city of Belo Horizonte. Economic inequalities are among the highest in the world , . Brazil is one of the major emerging powers alongside China , of India and Russia.
Summary |
The arms of the republic was, originally, the name adopted by the country after the abolition of the monarchy: Estados Unidos do Brasil (United States of Brazil). The current version, established by Law No. 5700, September 1, 1971, reflects the change in the country's official name became Repblica Federativa do Brasil (Federative Republic of Brazil) .
The Brazilian flag has a large yellow diamond on a green background, symbolizing the imperial union at the birth of the royal family in Brazil. Green represents the royal house of Bragana which belonged Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil. Yellow represents the royal house of Habsburg Austria as the first Brazilian empress, wife of Pedro I, was an Austrian princess. At the center of the diamond, where there was the emblem of the Empire of Brazil, was placed at the Republic, a blue sphere which symbolizes the sky of Rio de Janeiro on the day of the coup that installed the Republic Brazil. In the sky, there are 27 stars for the country's capital and the 26 federal states. At the center of the sphere, there is a white banner with the inscription "Ordem e Progresso" which means "order and progress". The arrangement of the stars of the sky reflects that of Rio de Janeiro November 15, 1889 at 20 h 30, the date of the official institution of the Republic .
French colonization attempts in Brazil: the Antarctic France and France equinoctial
The Portuguese colonization
In 1500 , Pedro Alvares Cabral discovered the coast of Brazil and, returning to Portugal, announced the discovery of new territories. According to the Treaty of Tordesillas , signed in 1494 under the auspices of Pope Alexander VI , all newly discovered lands located more than 370 leagues west of Cape Verde went to Spain, and the others were assigned to Portugal. What is now the eastern half of Brazil and returned to Portugal.
Browsers later returned to Brazil and brought the Brazil wood , wood charcoal color they bought from the Indians, and that Brazil owes its current name. However, the settlement enterprise that really only began in the 1530s during the reign of John III. In 1532 was founded the first village So Vicente. In 1533, Brazil was divided into fifteen captaincy, each headed by a hereditary donatrio. Only two captaincies prospered: So Vicente and Pernambuco. It is first in that it was introduced the sugar cane , Brazil's main commercial wealth to the early eighteenth century. Before the relative failure of colonization, the king of Portugal placed Brazil under his direct authority, and appointed a governor general who oversaw the fifteen captaincy. He settled in Bahia.
During the summer of 1554 , the French Nicolas Durand de Villegagnon secretly visited the coastal region of Cabo Frio , where his compatriots are usually concealed. There, he obtained information of great importance to the Indians Tamoios , inquiring habits of the Portuguese on the coast and collecting the necessary data for a future expedition to establish a colonial settlement. The site chosen was close to two hundred kilometers to the south: in the Guanabara Bay , the Portuguese avoided because of the hostility of the natives of this region. The project was to transform this area into a powerful military and naval base, from which the French Crown could attempt to control trade with the West Indies. This was the beginning of " Antarctic France ", name given to the short-lived French colony , which occupied the bay of Rio de Janeiro , from 1555 to 1567 , and was finally eliminated by the arrival of Portuguese reinforcements. In response to French attempts to conquer other land in Brazil, including France equinoctial near So Lus (Maranho) between 1612 and 1615 , the Portuguese crown decided to intensify the colonization of Brazil and enhance its status.
Brazil began to develop economically, the exploitation of the local Indian population was no longer sufficient for sugar production in 1550 , the first slaves were imported from Africa. The slave trade lasted until the mid-nineteenth century: Brazil is the country that received the most slaves, with about 5.5 million Africans (mostly from West Africa) deportees sixteenth century to the 1850s, 40% of total . Slaves were mainly imported by British traders and French, particularly Bordeaux and Nantes.
In 1630 , the Dutch of the Dutch West India Company (West-Indische Compagnie or WIC) remove the Portuguese cities of Recife , Natal and Salvador to ensure a portion of sugar production. Recife is the capital of the colony under the name Mauritsstaad. Local people are rebelling (Insurreio Pernambucana or "Uprising Pernambuco") against their presence on the occasion of the First Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654) and at the end of it Portugal recovered these territories.
At the end of the seventeenth century, they found the gold in the interior. Mining then took considerable importance and led to the emergence of a vast region known as the Minas Gerais.
Independence
In 1807 , Napoleon invaded Portugal and his regent John VI sailed for Brazil to move to Rio. When he left the American in 1821 alone, he left his son Pedro I of Brazil ( Dom Pedro ). The Cortes , however, wanted to bring Brazil to the rank of colony and recalled Dom Pedro Portugal. Supported by the Brazilian population, the latter refused to return to Europe, proclaimed the independence of Brazil, and was declared emperor in 1822. In 1825 , Portugal recognized Brazilian independence. In 1831, however, Peter I, hotly contested, had to abdicate. He handed power to his son Peter II , then aged six. Peter II was declared of age in 1840.
During the reign of Pedro II, Brazil underwent a beginning of modernization and industrialization. The slavery was abolished, but later than in European countries since it was completely abolished only in 1888.
In 1889, the army overthrew the emperor and the republic was proclaimed. The country does not become a democracy: it was ruled by an oligarchy of wealthy landowners and local elected officials, colonels , until the Great Depression of 1929 .
On 4 October 1930 , Getlio Vargas became president after a coup. In 1942, following attacks by German submarines, the country embarked on the Second World War alongside the Allies (see the UN Declaration ). In 1945, Vargas was forced to resign and Brazil know then twenty years of democracy.
From 1964 , Brazil experienced, like other countries of Latin America , a dictatorship right-wing military. In the 1970s , the Brazilian government took part in the Operation Condor , a huge plan for coordination between military dictatorships in Latin America, led by the CIA, with the aim of fighting across the continent against opponents of the plans. There are a large number of revolutionary groups in 1964, led the resistance against military rule. Most of them have taken shape in the circles of students, including the MR-8 , rather than based in Rio de Janeiro , or the NLA ( National Liberation Action ), based in So Paulo.
In 1985 , Tancredo Neves was elected president but died before taking office. Then Jos Sarney became president. Democracy settled in a difficult economic and financial.
On 27 October 2002 , former trade unionist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the presidential election. He was re-elected on 28 October 2006. He was the first socialist president of Brazil. Dilma Rousseff , Brazil's first woman president, elected October 31, 2010, was succeeded on 1 January 2011.
Politics
Brazil is a republic Federal presidential , composed of twenty-six states and one federal district. Its Constitution was adopted in 1988.
The president is elected for a term of four years and may be reelected once. The current president is Dilma Rousseff , born December 14, 1947, formally invested on 1 January 2011. He is the former chief of staff of President Lula , which it succeeded.
The voting is optional for citizens aged sixteen to eighteen years, for over sixty-five and for the illiterate, it is compulsory for those between eighteen and sixty-five, living in countries. The vast majority of Indians have the protected status of a minor and, as such, do not enjoy civil rights .
Legislative power is exercised by the Chamber of Deputies, composed of 513 seats and the Senate with 81 members: three senators per state, and in addition, three senators for the District.
The churches have a strong influence in Brazilian politics . They are involved in the campaign debates. Several political parties have a name that evokes a religion: Partido Social Cristao , Partido Social Democrata Cristao or Partido Trabalhista Cristao. At the Brazilian Parliament , the group Gospel is composed of 63 deputies (out of 513) and 3 senators (out of 81) .
Geography
Brazil has a total area of 8,547,877 sq. km. The majority of the population lives near the coast Atlantic , which, in the south, is bordered by the Serra do Mar.
The vast plateau of Brazil occupies a large part of south and east. In the northern region of the Amazon rainforest, the elevations are lower, and low population density.
The rainy season extends from November to May, with unusually heavy rains on northern forests. The south, meanwhile, has hot summers and cold winters in July and August. In general, the climate is slightly tempered by the sea, altitude, and under the canopy of forests.
In addition to its mainland territory and islands near the coast, Brazil has a few small groups of islands and islets in the Atlantic: The Rocks of St. Peter and St. Paul , Fernando de Noronha , Trindade and Martim Vaz , and small coral islands called atolls des Roches.
There are five major areas:
The South
States: Paran , Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul
Consists of mid-altitude mountains in its northern part, and vast plains called pampas , in its southern part, this region, the humid subtropical climate , is the only region not to enjoy a warm climate throughout year and is highly developed and strong in its everyday culture by European immigration, especially German and Italian. Its habitat, its ethnography and folklore, allow the merger with Old Europe, and sometimes we could believe in Bavaria.
The southern region is the coldest in Brazil. This region recorded temperature of -17.8 C at the summit of Morro da Igreja, a mountain located in the municipality of Urubici, June 29, 1996. In this region, winters can be harsh and every year it snows in the mountains of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. Frosts are frequent and the seasons are well defined. Substantial precipitation each year.
Curitiba , a model of urban planning, and Porto Alegre , known since the World Social Forum, are the two largest cities in the south. Border of Argentina and Paraguay are the waterfalls of Iguau , one of the most beautiful natural wonders. Finally, 20 km away on the river Paran , is Itaipu , the second largest hydroelectric dam in the world after that of the Three Gorges , China.
South East
States: Esprito Santo , Minas Gerais , Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo
This is the most urbanized region and most industrialized cities with three very important: Rio de Janeiro , Belo Horizonte and So Paulo.
Rio de Janeiro is the former federal capital, the state capital of Rio de Janeiro. It is located in one of the most beautiful bays in the world, dominated by the Sugar Loaf and the statue of Cristo Redentor ( Corcovado ), perched at an altitude of seven hundred meters. Its carnival and schools of samba made her famous, and its beaches like Copacabana , a href = "Ipanema_ (Rio_de_Janeiro)" title = "Ipanema (Rio de Janeiro)"> Ipanema, Leblon and Barra da Tijuca. Country's cultural capital, it is the largest city on the artistic, with the Academia Brasileira de Letras, the largest library in the country, the Museu Nacional, Museu de Arte Moderna and the Municipal Theater, inspired by the building ' Opera de Paris. The Maracan , the third largest stadium in the world, is also in Rio.
There are also beautiful beaches around Rio Angra dos Reis , Cabo Frio and Buzios. In the south of the state lies the town of Parati , which has beautiful baroque facades, blue, yellow or green, which are reflected in the calm waters of its harbor. At the Serra do Mar is the city of Petropolis , founded by Emperor Dom Pedro II , and one can still see his summer palace, a very popular attraction.
Located at the crossroads of the State of Minas Gerais, "General Mines" in French, which took place in the seventeenth century, one of the largest gold rushes, Belo Horizonte spans more than twenty kilometers.
So Paulo, founded by the Jesuits in 1554 , is now the largest city of Brazil. It crosses a population of European descent, Japanese or Arabic, which has made this city the world capital of coffee, one of the largest business centers in the world, and the first economic city in Brazil. So Paulo is also the richest city in the country.
The North is
States: Alagoas , Bahia , Cear , Maranho , Paraba , Pernambuco , Piau , Rio Grande do Norte and Sergipe
Encompassing nine states, the Northeast, or "Nordeste", a known seventeenth century , its heyday with the culture of sugarcane. By their precious legacy of colonial architecture and the beauty of their facades decorated with tiles (blue tiles), the cities of Salvador , the most "African" So Lus do Maranho , founded by the French in 1612, Recife , "the Venice of the North East ", or Olinda , "Dutch," testify to this glorious past.
Today, the region has fifty million people. She knows serious socio-economic, despite the presence of significant natural resources, including oilfields. Social inequalities are particularly high. Cyclical droughts that hit the backwoods , semi-arid interior of the Northeast, land of legendary Cangaceiros, sometimes hero, sometimes bandits, not facilitate the lives of thousands of landless and forced to migrate to big metropolises of the South.
The Midwest
States: Mato Grosso , Mato Grosso do Sul , Goias and Brasilia.
This region is sparsely populated, and includes, in the far east, Brasilia , the capital of the country since 1960, and west, the State of Mato Grosso covering the majority of its area; farming is in expansion and cause significant deforestation. This region is home of the Brazilian Pantanal , the largest wetland in the world, and one of the world regions with the greatest biodiversity.
North
States: Acre , Amap , Amazonas , Par , Rondnia , Roraima and Tocantins.
The North is largely covered by rainforest. The population density is very low: slightly more than four people per sq km in the State of Par , in the west, and twice more in that of Amazonas. The two main cities, Belm in Par and Manaus in Amazonas, located along the Amazon.
The Amazon constitutes the largest biological reserve, has about one tenth of the world's living species Fauna Partly covered by the Amazon, the largest forest basin in the world, Brazil is one of the richest countries in the world for its biodiversity, it is part of the group of seventeen mega-diverse countries. Lowland tropical forests, mountains and subtropical savannas, pampas, marshes and hills, offers many ecological niches for thousands, perhaps millions of species, partially identified. More than six hundred species of mammals are found in Brazil, many of the family cat , as jaguar , the puma and jaguatirica or ocelot. Other mammals can find lazy , the antas ( Tapirus americanus ), the armadillos , the Dolphin submarines, capybaras (large aquatic rodents which can weigh up to 66 kg), and about thirty species of monkeys. Brazil, with 1,772 known species, has the largest variety of birds in the world, after Colombia and Peru, including two hundred and thirty endemic, including rheas , hoccos , raptors , parrots , toucans , pics , cock- of rock , cotingas , tyrants , etc.. There are at least forty species of turtles , one hundred and twenty species of lizards , two hundred and thirty species of snakes , five species of alligators , three hundred and thirty species of amphibians and 1500 species of fish in freshwater. Naturalists have identified more than 100 000 invertebrates , including over 70,000 insects. The Amazon contains the greatest concentration of biological organisms, and nobody really knows how much, but scientists believe they are between 15 and 30% of all known species in the world. While naturalists rpertorient new species of freshwater fish, their findings suggest that there could be up to 3000 kinds of fish in rivers and lakes of the Amazon. Among the fish-specific region, we find the pirarucu , which is said to be the largest freshwater fish in the world with specimens measuring over two meters in length and weigh up to one hundred twenty- five kilograms., the tambaqui , which belongs to the family of frugivorous and has teeth capable of breaking the seeds as hard as those of the rubber tree , the tree latex, or those of palm jauari and the piranha. Brazil contains some of the largest biome of rainforest in the world, the Amazon. This region is home to over 21 million people and contains one fifth of freshwater in the world with the Amazon River . It's also the rich biodiversity that gives it its value. It includes a multitude of species of flora and fauna and many are still those to be discovered. However, the rainforest experiencing a very rapid rate of deforestation that threatens the ecosystem. The main causes are the cattle (80% of the deforested area), cutting wood for construction, and agriculture that the culture of coffee , the sugar cane and soy . Already 17% of the forest has been razed to the purpose and the destruction continues at an alarming rate . Deforestation causes fragmentation or complete disappearance of habitats and many species are susceptible. In addition, the tropical forest stores a large amount of carbon. The rapid destruction of forests contributes significantly to climate change, since much of the carbon dioxide is removed when the biomass of these forests is burned to fertilize the soil. Indeed, this promotes agriculture or the growth of grasses for cattle, but for a shorter period because this type of land use inevitably leads to desertification in the longer term, making the land unproductive and unusable . Given the sensitivity of many species to deforestation, major corridors and protected areas should be designed to allow wildlife movement, dispersal of seeds and plant genetic diversity of the rainforest the Amazon . Brazil is one of the few countries in the world that can extend the amount of land cultivated, even devastate forests. Between 1980 and 2000, more than half of new fields have been torn from the rainforest. Brazil consists of twenty-six states and one Federal District , whose capital is Brasilia. Brazil's land borders extend over a total of 14 691 km. Only two South American countries do not border Brazil: the Chile and Ecuador. The borders of Brazil are the result of an active westward expansion, which started from the seventeenth century by the Bandeirantes but not completed. Franco-Brazilian border (between Guyana and French State of Amap ) is the largest French border. The Brazilian armed forces consist of the Army (exrcito), the Brazilian Navy (Marinha) whose infantry and aviation as well as the Brazilian Air Force (Fora Area Brasileira, FAB). The armed forces consist of 287,000 active soldiers. The Brazilian Army (exrcito) high of 189 000 men and women can implement 220 tanks. The Air Force has over 700 aircraft including Mirage 2000 , the famous Embraer EMB 312 Tucano and Super Tucano , Lockheed C-130 Hercules , AMX International AMX. The transportation of the President of Brazil is also ensured by the air forces. In 2001, the Ministry of Defence of the French Republic sells its aircraft carrier Foch to the Brazilians. It was renamed So Paulo during the transaction. There is a duty military men from age 18. The basic military service lasts nine to twelve months. The defense budget in 2005 amounted to 9.94 billion U.S. dollars or about 1.3% of GDP, a value rather less than the global average (about 1.6% Germany). The military is also used in peacetime to protect against disasters and rescue service, as well as for scientific services (based on Antarctic Comandante Ferraz). Brazil assumed command of the peacekeeping mission MINUSTAH in Haiti in 6000 men with 1,200 Brazilians, since 1June 2004. Civil air traffic control is the responsibility of the aeronautical forces and the Infraero (organization that manages the airports), and the Alcantara Launch Center. The military police should not be confused with the Brazilian armed forces under the responsibility of the Union (federal government), because each state has federal responsibility. An economic crisis erupted in 1998. The fragile economic growth has not come without pain. Economic disparities are high and constitute an important political issue. The International Monetary Fund decides to grant a loan of 41.5 billion U.S. dollars in November 1998, as Brazil has adopted the reform imposed (privatization) and reduced its budget spending, particularly in education. Today, the economy tends to stabilize, but remains fragile. Brazil has the largest GDP total in Latin America. GDP per capita, however, is lower than that of Argentina, Chile and Mexico. Although having a strong commercial farming and a relatively diversified industrial sector, Brazil is largely service sector: in 2006 the services sector accounted for 64% of GDP . April 15, 2008 , Brazil entered a new era in its economic history with the announcement of the discovery of huge oil deposits in the Basin Santos. These would be around 33 billion barrels . In 2010, Petrobras announced a forthcoming share issue of about 50 billion in exchange for oil rights on what would be the largest oil reserves identified in the Americas since the early 80s . In March 2010 , the Brazilian Ambassador to Canada , Paulo Cordeiro de Andrade Pinto , said that the size of the Brazilian economy has exceeded that of Canada . Today, it reached 1572 billion USD, while Canada's is about 1 510 billion U.S., although income per capita is about 5 times lower. There are, indeed, enormous differences between social classes and different regions. But thanks to the policies of President Lula, the middle class now accounts for more than 50% of the population, the country has experienced a slight decrease of 0.02% in 2008-2009 - years of global financial crisis. There was only one university in 1906 while Brazil has more than two hundred in 2009, the government investing 5% of its GDP in education. Fifth largest country in population and member of G20 , Brazil has elected 31 October 2010, a woman Dilma Rousseff to succeed President Lula, who enjoys popularity as high as 80% but was unable to for a third mandate as stipulated in the Constitution. Agriculture accounts for only about 5% of GDP . However, Brazil is a major agricultural export. Some crops such as soybeans or sugar cane (used in particular for ethanol , which serves as biofuel ) are booming. On the green , advances in agriculture are associated with high deforestation , especially in Amazonia. In fact, each year, pastures are in an advanced state of degradation, the yields are lower and lower, farmers seeking new land, which inevitably leads to deforestation. Despite its industrial takeoff, Brazil has not abandoned its agricultural development: it remains one of the leading world exporters in this area, just behind the United States , the Netherlands and France. He achieved this by adapting quickly to the request and putting on the market of new products, which have sometimes overshadowed the oldest. Thus, while it did not produce soybeans before 1975, it quickly became the second largest producer in the world (especially in the region of Ribeiro Preto and Lenis Paulista , 300 km from So Paulo , or Araatuba ). In the last decade (2000-2009), its share in world exports of raw sugar rose from 7% to 62% . With the United States , Brazil alone produces 70% of the world's ethanol , which most (85%) is consumed on the domestic market . The production of ethanol has the effect of drastically increasing the price of land (between 2001 and 2006, the average per hectare has increased by 113% in the State of So Paulo , the largest producer of ethanol, according a study of the Institute of Agricultural Economics ) and the cost of production of corn , the milk , the sugar and meat. Producers of ethanol as Archer Daniels Midland or conglomerate Cosan (pt) , owned by billionaire Paulista Rubens Ometto Silveira Mello (pt) , have drawn criticism from researchers who fear a possible starvation due to a likely rise in the price of food and monoculture soil, forcing producers to import essential food . In 2008, Brazil produced 22.3 billion liters of ethanol, or 1 / 3 of world production . Brazil was able to retain its strong position in agricultural development, downstream, a powerful agro-industrial complex , which processes and enhances agricultural commodities. So the meal produced from soybeans are used in feed for poultry sold onto the markets of the Middle East where Brazil compete vigorously breeders Brittany. In addition, Brazil may increase production by clearing new land. Between 1975 and 1985, farms have gained 52 million hectares Regional cooperation Since 1991, Brazil is part of Mercosur (Portuguese "Mercosur"), Common Market of the "Southern Cone" of Latin America including the Argentina , the Paraguay , the Uruguay since 2005 and Venezuela. It is a common market like the EU or NAFTA. Brazil, for its economic weight, occupies a de facto dominance. On February 1, 2006 , the Argentina and Brazil sign, after nearly three years of negotiations, an agreement to help protect the production sectors that may be too badly affected by competition from the neighboring country. The Mechanism of Competitive Adaptation "(MAC) allows to set tariffs on products" too competitive "in the neighboring country for a period of three years renewable. . The Portuguese immigration to Brazil began in the sixteenth century reached its peak in the early twentieth century. It is estimated that the Brazilian population is now mostly ethnic Portuguese or Luso-Brazilian. Of the 90.063 million of whites that account Brazil, 60.03% are original Portuguese while 45.53% were very distant ancestors Portuguese. Today it is estimated that about 25 million of the Luso-Brazilians are descendants of the 1.5 million Portuguese immigrated to Brazil after 1850. Several studies genetic conducted in Brazil also confirm that 50% of blacks and the vast majority of Mtis also have Portuguese ancestry. Today there are in Brazil 26 million people who consider themselves ethnically Portuguese, including 700,000 people who possess the nationality Portuguese. In 1906, 133,000 Portuguese living in Rio de Janeiro (not counting the large number of descendants of Portuguese), which made Rio de Janeiro , even today, the second city which, after Lisbon , the Portuguese in addition to world. Brazil has large diasporas : According to Le Monde of 22 February 2005 , 50,000 murders on average, 36 000 firearms are committed every year in Brazil, which ranks third in the world behind Colombia and Russia. 17 million guns circulating in the country . Sunday 23 October 2005, a referendum proposing to prohibit the sale of Brazilian arms, but he is rejected by citizens in a large majority. A series of attacks was 170 dead (including 38 members of security forces) between the night of May 12 and May 16 , 2006 at Sao Paulo and its region . These attacks were the police of the state and fire stations. They have been attributed to organized crime , particularly the " First Command of the Capital (PCC). They constitute a reprisal for the transfer of several prisoners to prison high security. They have also been accompanied by several mutinies. Between 11 and July 15, 2006, 106 attacks have been perpetrated against the courts, supermarkets, banks, buses and police stations : these acts of violence are again attributed to the PCC. Rural Brazil became a quarter-century a highly urbanized country: buildings and skyscrapers, ghetto chic and luxurious residences are opposed to the immense tide of slums , the favelas. According to the census of 2000 by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics , the country is overwhelmingly Christian Most Indians practice the traditional rituals. The church was officially separated from the state. In time, slaves were trained. The settlers prevented them from practicing this fight. The slaves have circumvented the ban by turning the struggle into dance. Brazil is among the emerging countries. Economic inequalities are among the highest in the world. Social and racial segregation exists de facto between poor slums and richest families, who hide in bunkers equivalents to protect themselves from crime , including kidnapping in Rio de Janeiro and So Paulo. While anti-racism and miscegenation are part of Brazilian nationalism, many racial prejudices remain. Brazil has the second largest population black or mestizo in the world after Nigeria. 49.5% of the population is black or mestizo said according to surveys (IBGE 2006). Elected in 2002 on a program to reduce social inequalities, President Lula launched January 30, 2003 the program "Zero Hunger" to eliminate hunger in Brazil. In this part of the Bolsa Familia program, which links the payment of a sum of money to poor families in the schooling of their children. This program came into effect gradually in 2006 and affects nearly 30% of the population. It would have contributed significantly to recent declines in poverty in Brazil according to a report from the World Bank . In 2007, there were about 50,000 homicides per year in the country . Between January and September 2007, police killed 1,300 people just in the state of Rio, an increase of 60% . Each day, three youths aged 15 to 24 are killed . An automobile was stolen in Rio de Janeiro every twelve minutes . The Portuguese is the official language of Brazil since the 1988 Constitution (Article 13). Even if are 170 indigenous languages and thirty from the immigration , the Portuguese left for his language spoken by almost all Brazilians. Portuguese language, brought by settlers from Portugal , is very close to that spoken in Portugal. It differs in words, phrases and accents including related interbreeding and cultural peculiarities of South America (climate, vegetation, food) in the country. As a result of several reforms, the spelling has differentiated, especially with the deletion of consonants without sound: eg. Electricidad (Portugal) written Eletricidade (Brazil). But further reform is underway for the Portuguese language, the spelling reform in Brazil apply from 1 January 2009 for an adjustment period of four years, after which the new rules do apply fully. The same rules apply spelling in Portugal, where the transition period will last six years, and in 6 other states where Portuguese is the official language: the Angola , the Cape Verde on East Timor , the Guinea Bissau , the Mozambique and Sao Tome and Principe. But the differences between European Portuguese and Portuguese America are essentially the same between those separating other European languages ( French , Spanish , English ) of their respective States. The teaching of Spanish mandatory in schools since a 2005 law, like the Portuguese is almost compulsory in schools in neighboring countries, given the demographic, geographic and economic development of Brazil. The Uruguay , for example, the Portuguese gave equal status to Spanish in its educational system along the northern border with Brazil. In the rest of the country, it is taught as a compulsory subject from Grade 6 Brazil is known for its football , the most popular sport at the national level: the national team has won five times at the World Cup football ( 1958 , 1962 , 1970 , 1994 and 2002 ). The player is emblematic of the country Pele , best known today are Ronaldo , Ronaldinho , Robinho , Kaka , Ballon d'or 2007 , Alexandre Pato , Daniel Alves da Silva. Brazilians have distinguished themselves in other sports at international level: Cesar Cielo Filho swimmer Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten in tennis , Ayrton Senna , Emerson Fittipaldi , Rubens Barrichello , Nelson Piquet and Felipe Massa in Formula 1 , and Torben Grael and Robert Scheidt for sailing. The practice of martial arts especially judo and jiu-jitsu or Gracie jiu-jitsu is currently well developed in Brazil. The capoeira game, typical Brazilian, halfway between dance and martial art, is a very comprehensive because it consists of singing, dancing samba de roda " and fighting. The capoeira is very popular. It was introduced in the epoch of slavery by Africans and is part of Brazilian culture. Brazil also has a team of volleyball has won several world championships. It is recognized with Italy as one of the best volleyball teams in the world. The different Olympic Games , Brazil has won 343 medals (55 gold, 117 silver and 171 bronze). Torben Grael of Brazil is the most medals at the Olympics with five medals (2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze). In addition, Brazil will host the Summer Olympics of 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil has the code: Anguilla (United Kingdom) Antigua and Barbuda Aruba (Netherlands) Bahamas Barbados Bonaire (Netherlands) Cayman Islands (United Kingdom) Cuba Curacao (Netherlands) Dominican Republic Dominica Grenada Guadeloupe (France) Haiti Jamaica Martinique (France) Montserrat (United Kingdom) Isle of Navasse (U.S.) Puerto Rico (U.S.) Saba (Netherlands) St. Barthelemy (France) Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint-Eustache (Netherlands) Saint-Martin (France) Sint Maarten (Netherlands) Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Lucia Trinidad & Tobago Turkey Islands and Caicos (UK) Virgin Islands United States (U.S.) British Virgin Islands (UK) Deforestation
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