Case Study Brazil

Brazil is situated in Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and it is the largest country in South America. Brazil shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. It’s climate is mostly tropical. Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, Brazil peacefully gained its independence in 1822, maintaining a monarchical system of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888 and the subsequent proclamation of a republic by the military in 1889. Brazilian coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getulio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil underwent more than half a century of populist and military government until 1985, when the military regime peacefully ceded power to civilian rulers. Brazil continues to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of its interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is today South America's leading economic power and a regional leader. Highly unequal income distribution and crime remain pressing problems.

Until the beginning of the 20th century the Brazilian economy was characterized by a succession of cycles, each of them based on the exploitation of a single export commodity: timber (Brazilwood) in the first years of colonization; sugarcane in the 16th and 17th centuries; precious metals (gold and silver) and gems (diamonds and emeralds) in the 18th century; and finally, coffee in the 19th. Slave labor was used for production, a situation that would continue until the last quarter of the l9th century. Paralleling these cycles, small-scale agriculture and cattle farming were developed for local consumption. A first surge of industrialization took place during the years of World War I, but it was only from the 1930's onwards that Brazil reached a level of modern economic performance. In the 1940's, the first steel plant was built in...