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Land and Resources

A vast region of highlands, known as the Brazilian highlands or Brazilian plateau, and the basin of the Amazon River are the dominant physiographic features of Brazil. The plateau is an eroded tableland occupying most of the southeastern half of the country. With a general elevation of about 300 to 900 m (about 1000 to 3000 ft), this tableland is irregularly ridged by mountain ranges and dissected by numerous river valleys. Its southeastern edge, generally parallel to the coast, rises abruptly from the ocean in various areas, particularly north of latitude 10° south and south of latitude 20° south. Among the principal ranges of the Brazilian plateau are the Serra da Mantiqueira, the Serra do Mar, and the Serra Geral. Elevations in these and the other ranges average less than about 1200 m (about 4000 ft), but several of the ranges are surmounted by lofty peaks, including Pico da Bandeira (2890 m/9482 ft), in the Serra da Mantiqueira, and Pedra Açu (2232 m/7323 ft), in the Serra do Mar. Much of the tableland terrain consists of rolling prairies (known as campos), and extensive tracts are forested. The basin of the Amazon River occupies more than one-third of the surface of the country. Lowlands predominate in the Amazon Basin; elevations rarely exceed about 150 m (about 500 ft), and swamps and floodplains occupy vast areas of the region. Large parts of the basin are covered by tropical rain forests (selvas). Because of the impenetrability of this growth, huge areas of the Brazilian lowlands have only recently been explored. On the northern edge of the Amazon Basin is another mountainous area, part of the uplift known as the Guiana Highlands; ranges include the Serra Tumucumaque, with elevations up to about 850 m (about 2800 ft), the Serra Acaraí (maximum elevation, about 600 m/about 2000 ft), and the Serra Parima (maximum elevation, about 1500 m/about 5000 ft). Pico da Neblina (3014 m/9888 ft), at the border with Venezuela, is the highest point in Brazil. The Brazilian coastline, with a total length of some 7490 km (some 4650 mi), has singularly regular contours, particularly in the north, but several deep indentations provide excellent natural harbors. Especially noteworthy are the harbors of Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, and Recife. Excluding sections in which the Brazilian Plateau projects into the Atlantic Ocean, the coast is fringed by a narrow coastal plain.

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Climate

Climatic conditions in Brazil range from tropical to subtemperate. The average temperatures range in Belém at the mouth of the Amazon River from 22° to 31° C (72° to 88° F) in both January and July. The average range in Rio de Janeiro on the tropical east coast is 23° to 29° C (73° to 84° F) in January and 17° to 24° C (63° to 75° F) in July. Average annual precipitation in Belém is 2440 mm (96 in), and in Rio de Janeiro it is 1090 mm (43 in). Tropical conditions prevail also over most of that portion of the coastal plain lying to the north of the tropic of Capricorn, but oceanic winds have a moderating effect on the high temperatures and humidity. The annual rainfall in this part of the coastal belt varies between about 1000 and 2300 mm (about 40 and 90 in). In the coastal region south of the tropic of Capricorn, climatic conditions are marked by sharp seasonal variations. Winter temperatures as low as -6° C (22° F) are occasionally recorded in the extreme south, and frosts are common throughout the region. Precipitation averages less than about 1000 mm (about 40 in) annually in the southern part of the coastal belt. In the east central Brazilian uplands the climate is subtropical but, because of the higher altitudes, sharp diurnal variations of temperature occur and the nights are cool. This region is frequently subject to severe droughts. In the highlands to the south and west, precipitation ranges from adequate to abundant. Temperatures vary between subtropical and temperate in the southeastern highlands, which is the most densely populated section of the country.

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Natural Resources

Although the area under cultivation totals only about 7 percent of the total land area, Brazil is an important agricultural country. It has immense timber resources, the forest areas covering about 5.7 million sq km (about 2.2 million sq mi). Mineral resources are extensive, including quartz crystal, industrial diamonds, chromium, iron ore, phosphates, coal, manganese, petroleum, mica, graphite, titanium, copper, gold, oil, bauxite, zinc, tin, and mercury.

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Plants and Animals

The flora of Brazil is highly diversified, particularly in the Amazon Basin. Hundreds of species of plant life, including bignonias, laurels, myrtles, and mimosas, abound in this region. Palms and hardwoods are abundant, as are plants of the Euphorbiaceae family (one of the chief sources of crude rubber). Mangroves, cacao trees, dwarf palms, and brazilwoods thrive in the coastal region. Among the indigenous and widely cultivated fruits are the pineapple, fig, custard apple, mango, banana, guava, grape, and orange. Vegetation in the river valleys of the plateau region is luxuriant, but in the highlands the forests, consisting largely of deciduous species, are far less dense. This section also has extensive tracts of bushes and open plains. Coniferous trees thrive in those areas where temperate climatic conditions prevail. In the arid sections of the plateau region, cacti and other spiny plants are common. The animal life of Brazil is also extremely varied and differs in many respects from that of North America and the eastern hemisphere. Larger animals 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 selva. Many varieties of birds are indigenous to the country. The reptilian fauna includes several species of alligator and numerous species of snake, notably the bushmaster, fer-de-lance, and boa. Fishes and turtles abound in the rivers, lakes, and coastal waters of Brazil.

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Population

Four major groups make up the Brazilian population: Native Americans, who live primarily in the northern and western border regions; the Portuguese, whose ancestors began colonizing the country in the 16th century; Africans, whose ancestors were brought to Brazil as slaves; and various European and Asian immigrant groups that came to the country beginning in the 19th century. People of European descent, primarily Portuguese, Italian, and Spanish, compose 54 percent of the population. About 39 percent are mulattoes, those with mixed African and European ancestry, or mestizos, those with mixed European and Native American heritage. About 6 percent are mixed black and Native American and 1 percent are Asian. Those with full Native American ancestry constitute about 0.2 percent of the population.

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Population Characteristics

The population of Brazil was 146,154,502 at the 1991 census. The 1995 estimate is 161,382,000, giving the country an overall population density of about 19 persons per sq km (about 49 per sq mi). About 79 percent of Brazil's people live in urban areas. About 80 percent of the population lives within about 320 km (about 200 mi) of the Atlantic coast.

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Political Divisions

Brazil is composed of 26 states and the federal district. The states, in descending order of population, are São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul, Paraná, Pernambuco, Ceará, Pará, Maranhão, Santa Catarina, Goiás, Paraíba, Espírito Santo, Piauí, Alagoas, Rio Grande do Norte, Amazonas, Mata Grosso, Mata Grosso do Sul, Sergipe, Rondônia, Tocantins, 'Akko, Amapá, and Roraima. The federal district includes Brasília, which replaced Rio de Janeiro as the national capital in 1960. The largest city is São Paulo, center of Brazilian industry, with a population (1991) of 9,480,427. Other leading cities, with their 1991 populations, include Rio de Janeiro, the former capital of the country and a commercial center (5,336,179); Salvador, a port located in a fertile agricultural region (2,056,013); Belo Horizonte, hub of a cotton-raising region (2,048,861); Brasília, the capital (1,596,274); Recife, chief commercial city of the central region (1,290,189); Curitiba (1,290,142); Porto Alegre, an Atlantic port (1,262,631); Belem, a chief port on the lower Amazon River (1,246,435); and Manaus, a port on the Negro River (1,010,558).

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Libraries and Museums

Most states maintain public libraries in their capital cities; some have suburban branches. Most cities have public library systems. In Rio de Janeiro, the National Archive (1838) contains a collection primarily concerned with Brazilian history. The National Library (1810), also in Rio de Janeiro, holds some 5.7 million books, 672,000 manuscripts, 80,000 engravings and maps, and many periodicals. The library serves as the national copyright register. In Rio de Janeiro are the Museum of Modern Art (founded in 1948), which houses collections from many countries and offers courses of study, concerts, and films; the National Museum (1818), which has about 4 million specimens on exhibit, most of which concern geology, botany, and anthropology; and the Museum of the Indian (1953). Most larger cities have municipal museums.

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Religion and Language

About 89 percent of the inhabitants of Brazil are Roman Catholic. Many Catholics combine worship of African deities with their Christian religious practices. The most prevalent of these is the Candomblé sect, whose adherents are found mostly in the state of Bahia. There are also about 9.7 million Protestants, including substantial numbers of Lutherans, Methodists, and Episcopalians, and a small community of Jews. Most Native Americans follow traditional religions. Separation of church and state is formal and complete. Portuguese is the official language of Brazil, although Brazilians have adopted many words and phrases from native and immigrant languages. German and Italian are spoken by many Brazilians, especially in the cities of the south.

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Education

Primary education in Brazil is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 7 and 14. Approximately 81 percent of the population aged 15 or more years is literate.

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Elementary and Secondary Schools

More than 28.7 million pupils attended Brazilian primary schools each year in the early 1990s, and some 3.6 million students were enrolled in secondary schools. Primary and secondary schools are maintained primarily by states and municipalities, but many Roman Catholic-run high schools are also here.

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Universities and Colleges

The central government of Brazil shares with the states and private associations the responsibility for institutions of higher learning. In the early 1990s Brazil contained more than 870 such institutions (including 73 universities), which had a combined annual enrollment of about 1.6 million students. Among the leading universities were the University of Brasília (1961); the University of São Paulo (1934); the Pontifical Catholic University of Campinas (1941); the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (1920); and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (1948), in Porto Alegre. Other institutions include schools of medicine, public health, law, social sciences, engineering, and mining.

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Culture

The culture of modern Brazil has been formed from a rich background of ethnic traditions. The early Portuguese settlers borrowed many customs and words from the original Native American population. During the colonial period millions of black African slaves who were brought into Brazil added an African element to Brazilian cultural life; their religious rites merged with Roman Catholicism to form unique Afro-Brazilian cults, notable for their exotic ceremonies. The most influential of these cults is Candomblé. Brazil, however, is a predominantly European-formed society, settled largely by the Portuguese, Italians, Germans, and Spaniards. These European origins are the bases of Brazilian family life, which is a rigid and patriarchal structure that permeates all areas of Brazilian life. Within this century, cultural ties between Brazil and the United States have significantly increased.

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Economy

Once a predominantly agricultural nation, Brazil experienced rapid industrial growth in the 1960s and 1970s, so that by the 1980s it had a diversified modern economy. Great quantities of iron ore and coal are mined, and the output of steel, chemicals, and motor vehicles has increased substantially. At the same time, however, chronic inflation and a foreign debt of about $119 billion—less than only Mexico among developing nations—pose severe economic problems. In the early 1990s the annual national budget included about $113 billion in revenues and $109 billion in expenditures. The country's debt was restructured and reduced in April 1994 in an agreement with debtor banks. With the introduction of the Southern Cone Common Market (known by its Spanish acronym, MERCOSUR) in January 1995, Brazil's economy continued to grow as a result of increased trade with other MERCOSUR members Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

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Agriculture

About one-fourth of the world's coffee is grown on the plantations of São Paulo, Paraná, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais. Annual coffee production in the early 1990s was about 1.3 million metric tons, much of which was exported. Brazil also is the leading world exporter of orange juice concentrate, produced from an annual orange crop of 19.6 million metric tons. The country is the world's second largest exporter of cacao beans (with annual production of 343,000 tons) and soybeans (19.2 million tons). An annual sugarcane harvest of 270.7 million tons is used to produce refined sugar and ethyl alcohol fuel, which powers more than half of the nation's automobiles. Other important crops are maize, castor beans, tobacco, potatoes, cotton, rice, wheat, cassava, and bananas. Livestock is raised in nearly all parts of the country, particularly in São Paulo and other southern states, and meat production is a leading component of Brazil's agricultural economy. In the early 1990s there were 153 million cattle, 34 million pigs, 20 million sheep, and 12 million goats. Horses, asses, and mules numbered nearly 10 million.

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Forestry and Fishing

The valuable products of the Brazilian forests include tung, rubber, carnauba wax, caroa fiber, medicinal leaves, vegetable oils, resins, nuts, and building and cabinet woods. Important timber resources include the paraná pine, the most important commercially, and the pepper tree. The lumbering industry developed rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s as much of the forestland was cleared for settlement. In addition, Brazilian forests are a potential source for the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. The fishing industry, although hampered at first by lack of capital, storage facilities, and canneries, grew considerably in the 1970s. In the early 1990s the catch was about 800,000 metric tons annually, including shrimp, lobsters, and sardines.

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Mining

Mineral resources in Brazil are extensive, and developed rapidly once capital and adequate transportation facilities became available in the 1970s. Coal is mined in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and elsewhere. A gold rush in the Amazon Jungle, unabated since 1979, has made Brazil one of the world's largest producers. The country's iron deposits, at Itabira and elsewhere, are among the world's richest. Iron-ore output was about 213 million metric tons in the early 1990s, making Brazil the world's second largest producer. The government is opening deposits near Carajás for extraction, with estimated reserves of 35 billion tons. Rich tin deposits have made Brazil a leading producer of the metal. Quartz crystals, of which Brazil is the only source in commercial quantities, monazite, and beryllium are also major exports. Manganese, industrial diamonds, chromium, zirconium, crude petroleum, natural gas, silver, bauxite, and mica are produced in considerable quantities. Brazil's valuable deposits of magnesite, graphite, titanium, copper, and zinc also are exploited.

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Manufacturing

Brazil's manufacturing industries produce a vast array of products. In the early 1990s leading industries in value of production were machinery and transportation equipment, food processing, textiles and clothing, and chemicals. São Paulo is the leading industrial state, with factories producing about one-third of the total amount of manufactures of Brazil; the cities of Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, and Fortaleza also are major manufacturing centers.

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Energy

In the early 1990s more than 90 percent of Brazil's annual output of electricity was generated by hydroelectric facilities. Major hydroelectric plants were situated on the Paraná and São Francisco rivers and on the Rio Grande. In 1991 the enormous Itaipu Dam, located on the Paraná, became fully operational. The country's first nuclear power plant was completed in the mid-1980s. Brazil had an installed electricity-generating capacity of about 63.8 million kilowatts in the early 1990s, and annual production totaled about 242.2 billion kilowatt-hours.

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Currency and Banking

The basic unit of currency is the real, introduced in July 1994 to replace the cruzeiro real (1.2 reals equal U.S.$1; 1995). The Central Bank of Brazil (1965), headquartered in Brasília, is the sole bank of issue. Other major banking institutions include the Bank of Brazil, a commercial bank with more than 4600 branches; and the National Bank of Economic and Social Development, headquartered in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilians are also served by many other private and state banks.

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Foreign Trade

In the early 1990s Brazil spent about $25.7 billion per year for imports of merchandise, while its exports earned about $38.8 billion annually. The principal buyers of Brazilian products in the early 1990s were the United States (about 20 percent by value of total exports), Japan, the Netherlands, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg, and Great Britain. The leading exports were iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, and motor-vehicle parts. Brazil is a member of two international trading blocs: the Southern Cone Common Market (known by its Spanish acronym, MERCOSUR), which reduces tariffs on trade among Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay; and the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA), which works to integrate the economies of LAIA members, which include most South American countries as well as Mexico. The United States replaced Germany as the main source of Brazilian imports at the start of World War II (1939-1945) and continued to maintain that position after the war. Germany, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, and Japan also were major suppliers in the early 1990s. The chief imports included crude and refined petroleum, machinery, transportation equipment, chemicals, and metals.

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Government

Brazil is a constitutional republic of 26 federated states and one federal district. The present constitution was promulgated in October 1988, replacing a 1969 document. The states of the federation have their own governments, with powers in all matters not specifically reserved for the union. The 1988 constitution abolished the National Security Law, which had been used to stifle political dissent; outlaws torture; provides for various forms of popular plebiscites, initiatives, and referendums; forbids virtually all forms of censorship; guarantees privacy rights; and extends the right to strike to all workers. The military retains the right to intervene in the political system to preserve law and order.

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History

The Native American peoples who were the original inhabitants of what is now Brazil included the Arawak and Carib groups in the north, the Tupí-Guaraní of the east coast and the Amazon River valley, the Ge of eastern and southern Brazil, and the Pano in the west. For the most part these groups were essentially seminomadic peoples, who subsisted by hunting and gathering and simple agriculture. Those groups in the more remote areas of the interior maintained their traditional way of life until the late 20th century, when their existence was threatened by the advancing frontier. See Native Americans.

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European Exploration

The Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón was the first known European in the region now constituting Brazil. Landing near the site of present-day Recife on January 26, 1500, he subsequently drifted northward as far as the mouth of the Orinoco River. The newly found territory fell within the region assigned to Portugal by the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), a Spanish-Portuguese agreement that modified the Line of Demarcation promulgated in 1493 by Pope Alexander VI. Probably for this reason, Spain made no territorial claims on the basis of Pinzón's discovery. In April 1500, the Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral also reached the coast of present-day Brazil and formally claimed the surrounding region in the name of Portugal. The territory was named Terra da Vera Cruz (Portuguese for "Land of the True Cross"). An expedition under the command of the Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci was sent to Terra da Vera Cruz by the Portuguese government in 1501. In the course of his explorations Vespucci named many capes and bays, including a bay which he called Rio de Janeiro. He returned to Portugal with a cargo of brazilwood, and from that time forward Terra da Vera Cruz bore the name of the valuable wood Brazil. In 1530 the Portuguese king John III initiated a program of systematic Brazilian colonization. As a first step the king divided Brazil into 15 districts, or captaincies, and granted each of the districts, in perpetuity, to a person prominent at the Portuguese court. The grantees, known as donatarios, were vested with extraordinary powers over their domains. Because of the dangers implicit in the French depredations along the Brazilian coast, King John revoked most of the powers held by the donatarios and placed Brazil under the rule of a governor-general. The first governor-general, Thomé de Souza, arrived in Brazil in 1549, organized a central government, with the newly founded city of Salvador, or Bahia, as his capital, instituted comprehensive administrative and judicial reforms, and established a coastal defense system. Large numbers of slaves were brought into the region from Africa to overcome the shortage of laborers. São Paulo, in the south, was founded in 1554. In 1555 the French founded a colony on the shores of Rio de Janeiro Bay. The Portuguese destroyed the French colony in 1560, and in 1567 they established on its site the city of Rio de Janeiro.

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Spanish Rule and Dutch Incursions

Philip II of Spain inherited the Portuguese crown in 1580. The period of Spanish rule was marked by frequent aggressions against Brazil by the English and Dutch, the traditional enemies of Spain. A Dutch fleet seized Bahia in 1624, but the city was recaptured by a combined force of Spaniards, Portuguese, and Native Americans the following year. The Dutch attacked again in 1630, and an expedition sponsored by the Dutch West India Company captured Pernambuco (now Recife) and Olinda. Most of the territory between Maranhão Island and the lower course of the São Francisco River fell to the Dutch in subsequent operations. Under the able governorship of Count Joan Mauritz van Nassau-Siegen, the Dutch-occupied part of Brazil prospered for several years. Nassau-Siegen resigned in 1644, however, in protest against the exploitative policies of the Dutch West India Company. Shortly after his departure the Portuguese colonists, with support from their mother country, rose in rebellion against Dutch rule. The Dutch capitulated in 1654, after nearly a decade of struggle, and in 1661 renounced by treaty their claims to Brazilian territory.

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Portuguese Restoration

With the successful revolt in Portugal against Spanish overlordship in 1640, Brazil reverted to Portuguese sovereignty and was made a viceroyalty. Generally peaceful conditions prevailed between the Spanish and Portuguese in South America until 1680. In that year the Portuguese dispatched an expedition southward to the east bank of the estuary of the Río de la Plata and founded a settlement called Colonia. This move led to a protracted period of strife over ownership of the region, which eventually emerged as the republic of Uruguay in 1828. Brazilian expansion southward had been preceded by penetration of large sections of the interior. Jesuit missionaries had begun to operate in the Amazon Valley early in the 17th century. Before the middle of the century, parties of Paulistas, the name by which residents of São Paulo were known, had reached the upper course of the Paraná River. Because these expeditions were undertaken principally for the purpose of enslaving the Native Americans, the Paulistas encountered vigorous opposition from the Jesuits. Supported by the Crown in their efforts to protect the Native Americans, the Jesuits finally triumphed. Many Paulistas thereupon became prospectors, and a feverish hunt for mineral wealth ensued. In 1693 rich gold deposits were discovered in the region of present-day Minas Gerais. The resultant gold rush brought tens of thousands of Portuguese colonists to Brazil. The economic expansion of the viceroyalty was further stimulated by the discovery of diamonds in 1721 and, later, by the development of the coffee- and sugar-growing industries. In 1750 the Treaty of Madrid between Spain and Portugal confirmed Brazilian claims to a vast region west of the limits promulgated in the Treaty of Tordesillas (see Demarcation, Line of). The Treaty of Madrid was later annulled, but its principles were embodied in the 1777 Treaty of Ildefonso. The Portuguese foreign minister and premier Marquês de Pombal instituted many reforms in Brazil during the reign of Portugal's King Joseph Emanuel. He freed the Native American slaves, encouraged immigration, reduced taxes, eased the royal monopoly in Brazilian foreign commerce, centralized the governmental apparatus, and transferred the seat of government from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro in 1763. Pombal expelled the Jesuits in 1760, because their influence among the Native Americans and growing economic power were resented by many Brazilians.

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The Empire of Brazil

An autocratic ruler, Pedro I lost much of his popular support during the first year of his reign. Because of dissension within the Constituent Assembly, he dissolved it in 1823 and promulgated a constitution in March 1824. In 1825 Brazil, provoked by Argentina's support of a rebellion in Cisplatine Province, became embroiled in war with that country. In 1827 the Brazilians were decisively defeated, and through British mediation Cisplatine Province won independence as Uruguay. Popular opposition to Pedro I mounted during the next few years. In April 1831 he abdicated in favor of Pedro II, the five-year-old heir apparent. Regencies ruled Brazil for the following decade, a period of political turbulence marked by frequent provincial revolts and uprisings. Toward the end of the decade a movement to place the young emperor at the head of the government gained popular support, and in July 1840 the Brazilian Parliament proclaimed that Pedro II had attained his majority. Pedro II proved to be one of the most able monarchs of his time. During his reign, which lasted nearly half a century, the population and economy expanded at unprecedented rates. National production increased by more than 900 percent. A network of railroads was constructed. In the realm of foreign affairs the imperial government was actively hostile to neighboring dictatorial regimes. It supported the successful revolutionary war against the Argentine dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas from 1851 to 1852 and, allied with Argentina and Uruguay, fought a victorious war against Paraguay from 1865 to 1870. The chief domestic political issue of the emperor's reign grew out of a broad movement for the abolition of slavery in Brazil. Importation of African slaves was outlawed in 1853. An organized campaign for emancipation of the 2.5 million slaves already in Brazil was launched a few years later. The abolitionists won their first victory in 1871, when the national Parliament approved legislation freeing children born of slave mothers. For various reasons, including the sacrifices entailed by the Paraguayan war, a parallel movement for a republic developed at about this time. Liberalism became widespread during the next 15 years. Slaves more than 60 years of age were liberated in 1885. In May 1888 all remaining slaves were emancipated.

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The Early Republic

Instituted without compensation for the slave owners, emancipation alienated the powerful landed interests from the government. Moreover, sections of the Roman Catholic clergy were hostile to certain of Pedro's policies, many leading army officers were secretly disloyal, and large sections of the populace favored a republic.

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Civilian Rule

Order was gradually restored in the country during the administration of President Prudente José de Moraes Barros, the nation's first civilian chief executive. Beginning in 1898, when Manuel Ferraz de Campos Salles, a former governor of São Paulo, became president, energetic measures to rehabilitate the dislocated national economy were adopted. By securing a large foreign loan, Campos Salles strengthened Brazilian finances and expanded trade and industry. Coffee and rubber production had meanwhile increased steadily in Brazil. Between 1906 and 1910 falling coffee prices on the world market severely disrupted the national economy. The price of Brazilian rubber began to drop toward the close of this period. As a result, social and political unrest was widespread during the administration of President Hermes da Fonseca, a conservative and militarist. Wenceslau Braz Pereira Gomes, an industrialist, was elected to the presidency without opposition in 1914 and held office until 1918. After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, rising demand in foreign markets for Brazilian coffee, rubber, and sugar considerably relieved the economic difficulties of the country. Brazil adopted a policy of neutrality in the early stages of the war, but as a consequence of German attacks on its shipping, the country severed diplomatic relations with Germany in August 1917. In October, Brazil entered the war on the side of the Allies. Naval units were sent to the fighting zones, and the nation's contributions of food and raw materials to the war effort were substantial. Industrial retrenchment and sharp curtailment of governmental expenditures were necessitated by the onset of an economic crisis in 1922. In July 1924 a period of unrest culminated in large-scale revolt, especially serious in São Paulo. Most of the army remained loyal to President Artur da Silva Bernardes, who had taken office in 1922, and, after more than six months of fighting, the rebels were defeated. Bernardes ruled by martial law for the remainder of his term. During the administration of his successor, President Washington Luiz Pereira de Souza, the economic crisis deepened, causing numerous strikes and an upsurge of radicalism. Strikes were outlawed by the government in August 1927, and stringent measures against communism were adopted.

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Restoration of Civil Rule

In 1985 Tancredo Neves was selected as Brazil's first civilian president in 21 years; he died before taking office, and José Sarney became president. Faced with resurgent inflation and a huge foreign debt, Sarney imposed an austerity program that included introducing a new unit of currency. A new constitution providing for direct presidential elections was enacted in October 1988, and Fernando Collor de Mello, of the conservative National Reconstruction party, was elected president in December 1989. His drastic anti-inflation program contributed to Brazil's worst recession in ten years, and allegations of financial corruption further eroded his popularity. In June 1992 Brazil was host to more than 100 world leaders for the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, also known as the Earth Summit. In September Collor was impeached by the Chamber of Deputies, and Vice President Itamar Franco became acting president. Collor resigned on December 29, just as his Senate trial was beginning, and Franco was then sworn in as his successor. A plan to restructure and reduce Brazil's foreign debt was implemented in April 1994. In May Brazil signed the Treaty of Tlateloco and joined other Latin American and Caribbean nations in declaring itself free of nuclear weapons. Fernando Henrique Cardoso, a former finance minister responsible for much of Brazil's economic recovery, won the November 1994 presidential elections, winning twice as many votes as his nearest challenger. In December 1994, former president Collor was acquitted of corruption charges but remains banned from Brazilian politics until the year 2000. On January 1, 1995, Brazil joined Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay in the formation of the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR). Also in 1995, Brazil looked towards private investors for financial and technical assistance with large infrastructure projects such as the development and maintenance of highways, telephone networks, and electricity-generating facilities.

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