Transcript Brazil
Brazil An Emerging Power in South America Example: Rio 2016 Emerging Power of South America • What a visitor would see in Brazil – Physical complexity & beauty – Multicultural society • Reality – Effects of colonialism – Underplanned economic development Demographics for Brazil • • • • • • • • Population: 184 million GNI PPP Per capita: $10,160 Fertility rate: 1.9 Population growth rate: 0.9 Life expectancy: 74 Literacy rate: 99% females, 97% males Population living below $2: 10% Size: about same area as United States Regions of Brazil • The Northeast Region – Settlement on the coast by Portugal in 1500s – Colonists brought enslaved Africans to work on the plantations (African heritage) – Sertao (interior plateau) – Tropical wet & dry; subject to severe drought and then punishing rains – Severe poverty; lower life expectancy (49); lower income (1/3) Regions of Brazil • The Southeast Region – 11% of the land area – 40% of the population – Humid subtropical and fertile soil – Sao Paulo and Rio de Janerio • Major cities like NYC, Tokyo, etc. • Lack infrastructure planning (sanitation, water, transportation, schools, etc.) • Urban growth poles-idea that if people were attracted to city (investment) that social development and infrastructure would follow – Urbanization started in 1930s and has not slowed • 77% urbanization – Economically healthy except…. • Favelas-slum communities, shantytowns • High crime rates; homeless street children Will you see this in 2016? Regions of Brazil • The Brazilian Highlands – North of southeast coast; central plateau – Brasilia, built for economic development in 1960 • Took 3 years to complete • 500 miles from old capital, Rio de Janeiro • Draw migrants and investment for the development of the western highland area (forward capital) • Solve the overcrowding problem in southeastern coastal cities • Still see elements of old Brazil even though they tried hard to keep them out Regions of Brazil • The Amazon River Region – – – – – – – 50% of the land area 10 % of the population Amazon Basin-drained by the river and its tributaries Earth’s largest expanse of rainforest 20% of earth’s fresh water More than 100,000 species of plants and animals Home to some of the last relatively undisturbed indigenous cultures; no benefit for the Europeans so left alone – Hunters and gatherers, subsistence cultivators Temperature-altitude zones • As altitude increases, the temperature of the air decreases by about 1 degree F per 300 feet. – sea-level to 3000 ft-Tierra caliente-tropical crops – 3000-6000-Tierra templada-corn,bean, coffee, wheat – 6500-12000 feet-tierra fria-wheat, fruit trees, root vegetables, cabbage, broccoli – Above 12000 feet-tierra helada-some grains, root vegetables, ranching sheep, llamas, guinea pigs Poverty in Brazil • Rural areas– small group of people own the large plantations – Landowners farm in the sertao – Brazil has about 18 million poor rural people, the largest number in the Western Hemisphere. • Urban areas– Increase in number of people moving to city large, but not enough resources/jobs to keep up with urbanization Industrialization in Brazil • Growth of industry in Brazil started in 1940’s & 1950’s – Built steel mills – Oil refineries – Hydroelectric dams – Established a bank for business loans • The government created this programs to take Brazil from agricultural dependent to an industrialized nation. Encouraging Interior Development • Government encouraged the development of Brazil’s interior lands – Why? Reduce overcrowding in SE coastal cities – How? • Designed and built Brasilia • Designed and built road system leading to interior • Issued land and mining permits in the Amazon Basin and highlands Success and Failure • Success of Brazil’s govt. plan – Manufacturing now 1/3 of GDP – Gasohol (response to cost of imported oil in 1970s) – By 2000, about 1/3 of Brazil’s workers were in construction, mining, or manufacturing. ½ work in service industries. • Failures – Increased poverty in the cities – Destruction of the Amazon Rain forest (deforestation) • Flora/fauna