Brazil Diplomacy Needed Closer to Home
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's self-proclaimed diplomatic victory in Iran led pundits to speculate that the South American country has become a major new player in world affairs. But they were most likely wrong, or at the very least spoke to soon.

Farideh Farhi on Shifts in Iran on Nuclear Policy
Bernard Gwertzman

The agreement reached in which Iran would send about half of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be enriched signaled a new unity in the leadership in Tehran, says analyst Farideh Farhi. She says that while the regime continues to worry about its perceived legitimacy domestically, the agreement with Brazil and Turkey has strong public support

Brazilian President for U.N. Chief? Hopefully Not
Andres Oppenheimer

A short news item in Brazil's news magazine Veja suggests that President Luiz In‡cio Lula da Silva is considering running for United Nations Secretary General after he leaves office at the end of this year. If true, that would explain a lot of things.

Hubris Behind Brazil's Ties With Iran
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's key diplomatic support of Iran's increasingly isolated regime is baffling the international community. There are several theories about Brazil's behavior, some of them quite troubling.

Brazil Election to Offer Definite Contrast
Andres Oppenheimer

With Brazil's government-backed presidential hopeful Dilma Roussef rising in the polls, some of her most prominent critics are raising the specter that South America's biggest country will move closer to the radical left if she wins the October elections

Latin America's Honeymoon With Obama May Be Over
Andres Oppenheimer

Only a few months ago, Latin American leaders hailed the Obama administration as a new beginning in hemispheric relations. But now, the honeymoon is over as Brazil is leading criticism of U.S. foreign policy

Brazil, United States, OAS Flunked Honduras Test
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, the United States and the Organization of American States deserve a gold medal each for their awful handling of recent presidential elections in Honduras. Let's examine how the main international players behaved ...

Latin American Economy Will Do Well, but Not Great
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

The news that Brazil and Mexico have come out of the recession and are poised for solid growth in 2010 should be celebrated, and both countries' leaders should be given credit for their sound economic management. But in the global economic context, the two Latin American giants' recovery will be modest.

Brazil a Nuclear Power? Probably Not
Latin American Current Events, News & Affairs - Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil's Vice President Jose Alencar made big headlines recently when he stated that Brazil should have the right to have nuclear weapons, which he said would give his country a greater 'dissuasive' power and more 'respectability' in world affairs.

Working Together, Brazil, Russia, China and India Increase Leverage
Ian Bremmer

In 2003, a report authored by Goldman Sachs economists popularized the term BRICs -- Brazil, Russia, India and China -- to describe a whole new category of emerging-market powerhouse. The report argued that with sound political leadership and relative international stability, the BRIC economies would together outpace the original G6 industrialized nations in dollar terms by 2040 -- a fundamental shift in the global balance of power. Since then, these four countries have assumed ever-greater importance in the international investment community's collective imagination.

Growth With Equity: Brazil's Path to Economic Recovery
by Patrus Ananias

The financial crisis has left few corners of the global economy unscathed, but many of the loudest cries reflecting the deepest pain are largely ignored. These are the cries of the world's poorest citizens whose suffering is not measured in battered portfolios and retirement plans but in their daily survival

Brazil Deserves Criticism for Awful Foreign Policy
by Andres Oppenheimer

Brazil, Latin America's biggest country, has received well-deserved praise in recent years for its responsible economic policies. There is hardly a dictator -- or repressive government -- that Brazil doesn't like, human rights groups say.

Brazil Stretching Clout to Central America
Andres Oppenheimer

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's largely unnoticed trip to Central America last week underscored an interesting phenomenon: Brazil is making big inroads into a region that was traditionally seen as Mexico's backyard

Brazil, China & India Can Mitigate Global Crisis
Global Economic Viewpoint

Brazil, India and even China will not be able, by themselves, to correct the dysfunctions that produced the global crisis. But it is true that the economic power of these three countries can mitigate its negative consequences. ...

Latin America Foreign Investment Outlook Grim
Andres Oppenheimer

A new United Nations report predicts a 40 percent drop in foreign investments in Latin America this year. I hope I'm wrong about this, but the fall in foreign funds may be even steeper.

Paulo Coelho: 'Today we are proud of being Brazilians'
One of the most widely read authors of recent times, Brazilian-born novelist Paulo Coelho talks exclusively to CNN about what Brazil means to him.

2010 FIBA Worlds: USA-Brazil Live Blog
FINAL -- U.S. 70, Brazil 68 It promised to be the U.S.' toughest test yet --- and it was exactly that. Team USA held on for a two-point victory over Brazil after Leandro Barbosa's desperation attempt under the hoop clanked off the rim at the buzzer.

In Brazil, 1 dead in hotel shootout
One person was killed and four police officers were wounded Saturday when police in Brazil traded fire with gunmen who fled into a luxury hotel and took people hostage, police said.

Brazilian law way too serious, comics say
Comedy is being taken too seriously in Brazil, humorists there are saying, in response to a Brazilian law that forbids television and radio broadcasters from making fun of presidential, gubernatorial or congressional candidates in the three months before the election.

Is the party about to end in Brazil?
Marcelo do Rio stands outside his new Brazilian pizzeria, grinning. The sale of his brewpub chain financed the launch of his new business -- and the purchase of his swank Rio home.

Brazil's president offers asylum to imprisoned Iranian woman
Brazil's president has offered asylum to an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning, state-run media reported Saturday.

Tim Vickery: Brazil hopes to find itself in Europe
Less than a month after the disappointment that accompanies any World Cup not won, Brazil has already put South Africa behind it with the hiring of coach Mano Menezes and the naming of a renewed squad for next month's meeting with the U.S.

Brazil enacts racial discrimination law, but some say it's not needed
With a few quick strokes of a pen this week, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed into law a widely debated measure that aims to end hundreds of years of racial disparity.

Steve Davis: Ten MLS players to watch for 2014
Nobody needs a crystal ball to pick out the favorite for World Cup 2014. The tournament is in Brazil ... so need we say more?

World Cup (Related Stories)
World Cup stories from the SI Vault

Plane makes emergency landing in Brazil after bomb threat
Authorities continued their investigation early Sunday after a flight with more than 400 onboard made an emergency landing in Brazil following a bomb threat.

Brazil's national coach fired upon arrival
Brazil's official football federation, CBF, fired its national team's coach and his technical commission just hours after the arrival of the team's flight at the Rio de Janeiro Airport on Sunday.

Death toll in Brazilian flooding rises to 57
The death toll from flooding in northeastern Brazil rose to 57, civil defense officials said Tuesday.

The one oil stock that may be worth buying
Brazil is one of the favorites to win the World Cup. It may also be an investor favorite in the hard hit oil sector.

SI's World Cup Coverage (since 1958)
SI looks back at 48 years of World Cup coverage:

Analysis: Turkey, Brazil eager to pitch in on world stage
The efforts by leaders of Turkey and Brazil to broker a nuclear deal with Iran reflects growing dissatisfaction with the traditional world order in which the United States is the only superpower, which they view as outdated and unjust.

Tim Vickery: Unlike Europe, Brazilian league preserves its competitive balance
In England, Chelsea and Manchester United are fighting for the domestic title. In Spain, it's Real Madrid and Barcelona. Inter Milan is out front in Italy, as are Bayern Munich in Germany.

Tim Vickery: Media glare suffocates Brazil's stars
In the 1974 World Cup Brazil took such a beating from Holland that four years later it was obsessed with imitating the "total football" of the Dutch, with their constant positional changes and intense pressure on the ball. It didn't work. As one Brazilian journalist commented, "in a team game like soccer you need to have the right cultural base to introduce modifications."

Brazilian priest allegedly taped having sex with teen
A police investigation continued Thursday into a Catholic abuse scandal in Brazil, which erupted last week when a network aired a video that it said showed a priest having sex with a 19-year-old altar boy.

Bruce Martin: IndyCar racing rules the roost in Brazil
SAO PAULO, Brazil -- If the IZOD IndyCar Series' first trip to Brazil was meant to be an adventure, it certainly exceeded those expectations.

Brazil announces near-record harvest
Brazil will have its second-best harvest in the nation's history this year, the government said.

Oil-rich countries demand a bigger cut of profits
Two of the world's oil-rich countries may make it harder for oil companies to do business with them.

Tim Vickery: Brazil hurt by its power structure
We don't yet know where the World Cups of 2018 and 2022 will be played. But some of the bidding countries have already worked out which cities they will use to stage matches if the circus does come to town.

Gregory Sica: Luís Fabiano talks about World Cup pressures on Brazil
When people name their favorites for the World Cup, Brazil comes up every time. The Seleção conjures up images of excitement and artful soccer. With a record five World Cup titles, it's the most successful team as well, and is the favorite to add a sixth crown in South Africa in July.

Death toll in Brazil rains hits 60
The death toll on Brazil's southeast coast rose to 60 on Saturday as rescuers combed through mounds of debris after three days of pounding rain unleashed deadly mudslides, state officials said.

Mountain falls onto Brazil resort; 22 killed
A stationary front continued for a third day Friday to pound Brazil's southeast coast with rain, turning Rio de Janeiro's picturesque hills into nightmarish scenes and raising the death toll to 45, state officials said.

Brazil flooding leaves 19 dead, government says
At least 19 people have died in Brazil after flooding caused by heavy rain, the government-run news agency Agencia Brasil reported Thursday.

Brazil high court lifts stay, allowing boy to return to U.S.
The chief justice of the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled Tuesday in favor of an American father in an international custody battle.

Tim Vickery: Brazil looks to England to clean up soccer fan culture
The most exciting climax the Brazilian Championship has seen in years was marred by two incidents of crowd trouble. One was in the line to buy tickets for Flamengo's crunch game against Grêmio earlier this month, where the police used tear gas, batons and rubber bullets to maintain order. The other came after Coritiba had been relegated to the second division, and some of its fans staged a full-scale riot on the pitch.

Air France crash report set for release
Investigators probing the June crash of an Air France flight off Brazil will release their second interim report Thursday with a press briefing, officials said.

Search for Flight 447 data recorders to resume
Air accident investigators are to resume the search for the flight data recorders from an Air France airliner that mysteriously crashed off Brazil six months ago, according to media reports Sunday.

Power restored in Brazil after blackouts
Electricity returned early Wednesday to a large swath of central and southern Brazil that was plunged into darkness when power from a major hydroelectric dam was lost.

Dam failure triggers huge blackout in Brazil
An important hydroelectric dam shared by Brazil and Paraguay failed Tuesday night, pushing a large swath of central and southern Brazil into darkness, said the country's minister of mines and energy, Edison Lobao.

Brazil's soap operas linked to dramatic drop in birth rates
The love-triangles, family feuds and paternity mysteries of Brazil's telenovelas have commandeered the nation's airwaves for decades and generated a fortune for Globo -- the powerful TV network that produces many of the genre's most popular shows.

Brazil says it has most swine flu deaths in world
Brazil has confirmed 657 fatalities caused by the H1N1 flu, the highest number of deaths in the world, the nation's Health Ministry said.

Brazil tops worldwide H1N1 deaths, officials say
Brazil has confirmed 557 deaths caused by H1N1 flu, the highest total in the world, the nation's Health Ministry says.

Unraveling the mystery of Brazil's 'twin town'
For generations the residents of Sao Pedro, Brazil and neighboring Candido Godoi have known their isolated hamlet in southern Brazil was special.

Brazil faces fresh HIV/AIDS fight
Sonia, a single mother with HIV in Brazil, travels four hours to reach a government-run health facility that provides her with free drug treatment.

Tim Vickery: Brazilian clubs' failings can be traced back to maturity
I'm never a big fan of sports being reduced to soap opera. There's much more going on than the emotional drama and the athlete's state of mind. We can talk about "focus" and "concentration'' all we want -- at times they're used like magic words that explain everything about the outcome.

Tim Vickery: Much of Brazil still cannot adopt the Copa Libertadores
So it's Argentina against Brazil in the finals of the 50th Copa Libertadores. Estudiantes de La Plata and Cruzeiro meet each other over two legs to decide the destiny of South America's premier club title.

Gabriele Marcotti: Brazil shows why it's Brazil
JOHANNESBURG -- Pedigree matters. If it didn't, we might not have witnessed what happened at Ellis Park on Sunday, an unstoppable rally that gave Brazil the Confederations Cup title in a 3-2 win over the U.S. (RECAP). Heck, when was the last time you saw a team come back from two goals down at halftime in a major final? (Apart from the 2005 Champions League final, that is.)

Tim Vickery: Blue-collar Brazil is efficient, but it's still Kaká's team
Like many fans, my editor used the word "impressive" when he asked me to write about Brazil at the Confederations Cup. And it's hard to argue with the results. The Seleção won their three group-stage games by a combined 10-3.

Soccer America: The weak links who doomed the U.S. against Brazil
He went with his veterans against two of the best teams in the world and they let him, and the country, down with a crashing thud.

12 similar flights deepen Air France 447 mystery
At least 12 airplanes shared the trans-Atlantic sky with doomed Air France Flight 447, but none reported any problems, deepening the mystery surrounding the cause of the plane's disappearance.

U.S. dad's custody case returns to Brazilian appeals court
Brazil's highest court said Wednesday it does not have jurisdiction over who should have custody of a U.S.-born 9-year-old boy -- his Brazilian stepfather or his father in the United States.

Tim Vickery: Brazil chases off the ghosts of 1982 with efficient soccer
They say people only ever remember the winners. They can say it all they like -- it doesn't make it true, especially when it comes to soccer.

American father still hopes for custody of son in Brazil
A New Jersey man whose son is at the center of a five-year international custody fight that has attracted attention from high-level U.S. and Brazilian authorities expressed hope Wednesday that he will get his boy back.

American couple on Flight 447 loved life, relatives say
Anne and Michael Harris were an "extraordinary" couple with a zest for life, their niece said.

No survivors found in wreckage of Air France jet, official says
Debris located early Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean off the northeast coast of Brazil is wreckage from the Air France jet that disappeared Monday, Brazil's Defense Minister Nelson Jobim said.

Former royal, Riverdance star among plane's missing
Friends and relatives of the 216 passengers and 12 crew members on Air France Flight 447 are coming to terms with the news that wreckage from the flight was found in the Atlantic Ocean.

Air France: Missing plane probably crashed into Atlantic
The jet carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, that disappeared overnight as it entered an area of strong turbulence probably crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, the CEO of Air France said Monday.

Dam bursts after more rain in northern Brazil
A dam burst in the northeastern village of Cocal left a 12-year-old girl dead and three people missing, fire department officials said Thursday, according to Brazil's state news agency.

Plane crash in Brazil kills 15
A prominent businessman and his family were among the 15 people killed when a plane crashed on Friday in a northeastern resort area of Brazil, CNN affiliate Rede Globo and other Brazilian media reported Saturday.

As deaths mount in Brazil flooding, more rain is forecast
The death toll from flooding that has covered large parts of Brazil continued to rise Friday, with the government reporting seven new fatalities, bringing the total to 38.

At least 31 dead, 50,000 homeless in Brazil flooding
Rain-induced flooding over large parts of Brazil have killed at least 31 people and left another 500,000 homeless, the government's civil defense agency said Thursday.

Deadly floods strike northern Brazil
At least 18 people have died in heavy flooding across 11 states in northern and northeastern Brazil, according to a statement Tuesday from Brazil's national civil defense service.

Brazil's high-tech hub grows in Sao Paulo's Brooklin
As the "B" in BRIC (one of the world's fastest-growing economies alongside Russia, India and China), Brazil may very well owe its force to an emerging business and technology district in the heart of Sao Paulo, centered around an upscale avenue called Luis Carlos Berrini in the neighborhood of Brooklin.

Josh Gross: MMA's musical chairs: who sits where in the latest rankings?
Ranking mixed martial artists is, to be fair, an inexact science. Rules across the sport are dissimilar, weight classes don't always conform and fighters have been known to jump from division to division. And all such factors played into SI.com's latest MMA rankings.

World Soccer: State tourneys are hindering growth of Brazilian game
For the big clubs in São Paulo, Brazil, Christmas shopping and the January sales mean cherry-picking time in Rio de Janeiro. In the biggest coup of the festive period, Corinthians took Ronaldo from under the nose of Flamengo while also snapping up midfielder Túlio and striker Jorge Henrique from Botafogo, which also lost playmaker Lúcio Flávio and left back Triguinho to Santos.

Ex-presidents of Latin America urge legal marijuana
Former presidents of Mexico, Colombia and Brazil called Wednesday for the decriminalization of marijuana for personal use and a change in tactics on the war on drugs, a Spanish news agency said.

Survivors recall escape from Brazil plane crash
A woman who survived a weekend plane crash in Brazil that killed 24 told Monday of struggling to reach a square of light in the submerged plane, while another said she had no doubt she owed her survival to God.

24 dead in Brazil plane crash, officials say
Twenty-four people died in a plane crash in Brazil's Amazon basin, civil defense authorities in western Brazil said Sunday.

Josh Gross: Who's No. 1, who's closing in? Here are your updated rankings
One month down, 11 more to go. If they're all as busy as January, we're in trouble. Of course, an active schedule means plenty of fights between ranked competitors, and as we pause to see how the world's best mixed martial artists stack up, a sense of stability seems to be setting in.

Tim Vickery: Brazil finally has made the Libertadores a national priority
The 50th version of South America's premier club competition is getting underway, and there's little doubt that it has been Argentina's show so far. Of the 49 versions of the Copa Libertadores, Uruguayan clubs have won eight (though none since 1988), Brazil has 13 and Argentina 21. Indeed, between '63 and '79, there was always an Argentine club in the final.

Brazil president defends decision to grant asylum to fugitive
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defended his country's decision to free an Italian fugitive condemned to life in prison for murders he denies committing in the 1970s while a member of an extremist left-wing group.

Government fights slave labor in Brazil
Slavery may seem like a quaint notion in a 21st century world, but that distinction is lost on up to 40,000 Brazilians who find themselves toiling for no real wages and can't leave the distant work camps where they live.

Tim Vickery: Isolated Brazil is finally starting to let down its borders
It's just a few hours until the decisive match in the Argentine championship playoffs. Will Boca Juniors add to their 22 titles? Or will Tigre win its first?

Brazil flooding subsides after stranding motorists
Traffic returned to normal Tuesday in the industrial city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a day after flooding from a strong rainstorm stranded hundreds of motorists.

Brazil to get nuclear sub technology from France
The presidents of France and Brazil are set to sign several bilateral agreements, including a defense accord that would make Brazil the first Latin American nation to possess a nuclear-powered submarine.

Gregory Sica: Inter deserved Sudamericana, but tourney needs help
After 210 minutes of nail-biting action, Sport Clube Internacional lifted the Copa Sudamericana for the first time on Wednesday, an achievement that cements its status as one of the leading clubs in South American soccer history.

Brazil officials track disease from flood-tainted water
The death toll in flood-ravaged southern Brazil has reached 116 and the first cases of a water-borne, potentially fatal disease are being investigated, the nation's Civil Defense agency reported.

Brazil flooding death toll rises
The death toll from historic floods in southern Brazil continued to creep upward Monday, with 112 reported dead, the state news agency said.

More flood victims found in Brazil
Search and rescue officials found nine bodies Saturday, bringing the death toll from flooding in southern Brazil to 109, the state news agency said.

Death toll climbs in Brazil flooding
The death toll from flooding in southern Brazil on Thursday climbed to 97, the state news agency said.

Brazil flooding leaves at least 86 dead
The death toll from flooding in southern Brazil continued to climb Wednesday, with officials reporting at least 86 dead, the state news agency said.

Brazil flooding blamed for 84 deaths
The number of deaths attributed to floods in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina rose Tuesday to 84, the state news agency reported.

At least 50 dead in Brazil flooding
Flooding in Brazil's Santa Catarina state has left at least 50 dead and more than 20,000 homeless, the state news agency reported Monday.

Penguins Ride Air Force Jet to South Atlantic
More than 370 penguins that mysteriously washed up on Brazil's equatorial beaches were flown south on a huge air force cargo plane and released closer to the frigid waters they call home

Lula, In His Own Words
Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva discusses his country's achievements and challenges with TIME's Tim Padgett and Andrew Downie

Gregory Sica: Five things we've learned from South America qualifying
We're nearly halfway through the marathon campaign of South American qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, and the past week of action has been one of the more wild and unpredictable so far. Here are five things we've learned after seeing all 10 countries in action:

Amazon Deforestation on the Rise
Amazon deforestation jumped 69% in the past 12 months -- the first such increase in three years -- as rising demand for soy and cattle pushes farmers and ranchers to raze trees

US Beats Brazil 1-0 for Gold Medal
The defending champion United States has won the gold medal in women's soccer for the third time in four Olympics, beating Brazil 1-0 in overtime Thursday

Grant Wahl: The greatest on-field feat?
BEIJING -- If the U.S. women's soccer team can upset Brazil in Thursday's gold-medal game (USA, 9 a.m. ET), would it be the greatest on-field accomplishment in the history of the storied U.S. program?

Oil Exploration Threatens Amazon
Oil exploration in the Amazon rain forest represents the latest, perhaps greatest, threat to preserving what remains of the world's largest remaining tropical wilderness, scientists said Wednesday

Brazil revives nuclear power plant
A government-controlled firm is forging ahead with plans to resume expansion of Brazil's nuclear power program.

Tim Vickery: Proposal to call in home-based Brazilians is lunacy
The Brazilian national team has gone three games without a goal and is currently in fifth place in South America's World Cup campaign -- outside the automatic qualification slots. The country's well-respected sports daily Lance! believes that the time has come to take a stand.

Dead Penguins Washing up in Brazil
More than 400 dead penguins, most of them young, have been washing up on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches

Baby Penguins Showing Up Dead in Brazil
Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday

Gregory Sica: Flamengo tries to ditch label as perennial underachievers
"Underachievers" is a label many clubs get saddled with these days as they spend millions in fruitless attempts to chase trophies. But there aren't many clubs who deserve the tag more than Brazilian giants Flamengo.

Brazil Wants its Soccer Team Back
They may be perennial World Cup favorites, but the fact that Brazil's national soccer team is dominated by players based in Europe has created an identity crisis for the country's fans

Making contact: Indigenous tribes' fight to survive
Last month photographs of the discovery of one of the world's last "uncontacted" tribes on the Brazil/Peru border made front covers across the world, vividly illustrating a way of life that is mostly unknown and ignored in the industrialized world.

Tim Vickery: Brazil has no time to dwell on poor U.S. tour results
Before last Friday's meeting in Foxborough, Mass., Brazil's all-time record against Venezuela read as follows: 17 games, 17 wins, 78 goals scored and four conceded.

Leaders clash on biofuels at food summit
Leaders gathered at a summit on the world's food crisis quickly laid out their disagreements on a key issue: how much the rush for environmentally friendly biofuels is contributing to soaring prices that are causing hunger and unrest worldwide.

'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in Amazon
Researchers have produced aerial photos of jungle dwellers who they say are among the few remaining peoples on Earth who have had no contact with the outside world.

Behind the Scenes: Powering the planet
This was, to be honest, simply a different kind of journalism. I've never done anything quite like it.

Plane with 6 aboard missing off northeast Brazil
A small plane carrying four British businessmen and two Brazilian pilots has disappeared off the northeastern Brazil coast, officials said.

Brazil's Counterattack on Biofuels
As food prices soar, the world is looking askance at biofuels. Brazil's President Lula wants to change that

Developers, ranchers encroaching on many of world's forests
The Amazon rainforest is so vast and full of life that even its defenders don't know exactly what it is they are protecting.

Hedging their bets
By its very nature, jatropha is divisive. The poisonous, deep-rooted shrub is traditionally used as hedging to protect food crops from hungry animals.

Brazilian military joins battle against dengue epidemic
Soldiers and firefighters have joined the fight against dengue, a sometimes deadly mosquito-borne disease that has infected at least 55,000 people in Brazil this year.

Brazil: News & Videos about Brazil - CNN.com
Find stories, videos, and photos about Brazil from CNN.com.

 

Germany Surprises Serbia in Double Overtime
Jan-Hendrik Jagla made a desperation 3-pointer to beat the shot clock with 1:03 left in the second overtime and Germany held on.

Hostages Released After Gunmen Invade Rio Hotel
Guests and staff members were held hostage, then freed after a brief standoff with the police.

Bypassing Resistance, Brazil Prepares to Build a Dam
Despite persistent opposition by environmental and indigenous groups, initial construction on the Belo Monte dam, which will be the third-largest in the world, is slated to begin next month.

The Soccer World Moves on After Cup
Spain is back in action, Brazil has introduced new talent and Fabio Capello abruptly ended David Beckham’s international career.

Brazil’s Youngsters Lead Way Past U.S.
Neymar, an 18-year-old forward, sparkled for the visitors before a crowd of 77,223 at New Meadowlands Stadium.

Soccer Stars Pay a Price in March to Glory
The World Cup ended a month ago, but Kaká and Arjen Robben still bear the pain.

Iranian Lawyer in Stoning Case Fled to Turkey
A leading lawyer who fled Iran after taking on the case of a woman sentenced to death by stoning has made it to Turkey and is seeking asylum, the Turkish police said on Friday.

Brazil’s Plea on Iranian Convicted of Adultery Seems to Fail
Iran appears to have reacted coldly to an entreaty by Brazil’s president to allow an Iranian woman convicted of adultery to take asylum in Brazil.

Brazil’s President Offers Asylum to Woman Facing Stoning in Iran
In an about-face, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called on President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to send the woman convicted of adultery to Brazil.

Brazilian Goalie Is Charged in Ex-Lover’s Killing
Bruno Fernandes das Dores de Souza is accused of murder in a gruesome case that has fascinated much of Brazil.

Telefónica Wins Full Control of Brazil Phone Venture
The $9.75 billion deal should end a dispute between Telefónica and Portugal Telecom over their joint cellphone operation in Brazil.

Brazil’s President Works to Lend Popularity to a Protégée
As President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva pushes to help his chief of staff get elected, whether he can transfer his immense popularity is unclear.

Facebook Makes Headway Around the World
In country after country, Facebook is cementing itself as the social networking leader.

Signs That Blackstone Stock May Be Undervalued
Blackstone may finally be worth a look from bargain-hunting investors.

Just When World Cup Had a Theme, the Story Line Takes a Turn
Before Friday, the power in this tournament belonged to South American favorites. But they found out how quickly it can all go wrong.

NYT > Brazil
World news about Brazil, including breaking news and archival articles published in The New York Times.

 

80% of tropical agricultural expansion between 1980-2000 came at expense of forests

More than 80 percent of agricultural expansion in the tropics between 1980 and 2000 came at the expense of forests, reports research published last week in the early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study, based on analysis satellite images collected by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and led by Holly Gibbs of Stanford University, found that 55 percent of new agricultural land came at the expense of intact forests, while 28 percent came from disturbed forests. Another six percent came from shrub lands.

NASA: surge in Amazon fires
The number of fire hotspots has surged in the Bolivian and Brazilian parts of the Amazon, reveals data and imagery from NASA.

Amazon deforestation falls significantly in 2010, according to preliminary data

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is down significantly since last year, according to preliminary estimates released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and Imazon, a Brazil-based NGO that tracks forest loss and degradation across the Amazon. Analysis of NASA MODIS data by Imazon found some 1,488 square kilometers of forest were cleared during the 12 months ended July 31, 2010, down 16 percent from the same period last year, when 1,766 square kilometers were deforested. Meanwhile analysis by INPE shows an even steeper drop from 4,375 square kilometers in August 2008 through July 2009 to 2,296 square kilometers in the current period, a decline of 48 percent. The discrepancy between INPE's and Imazon's estimates results from differences in how deforestation is tracked.

Google Earth animation shows Brazilian plans to turn Amazon into 'series of stagnant reservoirs'

The decision last week by the Brazilian government to move forward on the $17 billion Belo Monte Dam on the Xingu river will set in motion a plan to build more than 100 dams across the Amazon basin, potentially turning tributaries of the world's largest river into 'an endless series of stagnant reservoirs', says a new short film released by Amazon Watch and International Rivers.

Jump in fires in Brazil becomes Twitter sensation
The number of fires burning in Brazil more than doubled since last year, sparking a Twitter sensation, with more than 120,000 users tweeting messages with the hashtag '#chegadequeimadas' about the fires in a 48 hour window.

146 dams threaten Amazon basin
Although developers and government often tout dams as environmentally-friendly energy sources, this is not always the case. Dams impact river flows, changing ecosystems indefinitely; they may flood large areas forcing people and wildlife to move; and in the tropics they can also become massive source of greenhouse gases due to emissions of methane. Despite these concerns, the Amazon basin—the world's largest tropical rainforest—is being seen as prime development for hydropower projects. Currently five nations—Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru—are planning over 146 big dams in the Amazon Basin. Some of these dams would flood pristine rainforests, others threaten indigenous people, and all would change the Amazonian ecosystem. Now a new website, Dams in Amazonia, outlines the sites and impacts of these dams with an interactive map.

U.S. signs debt-for-nature swap with Brazil to protect forests
The United States will cut Brazil's debt payments by $21 million under a debt-for-nature that will protect the Latin American country's endangered Atlantic Rainforest (Mata Atlantica), Caatinga and Cerrado ecosystems.

Stunning monkey discovered in the Colombian Amazon

While the Amazon is being whittled away on all sides by logging, agriculture, roads, cattle ranching, mining, oil and gas exploration, today's announcement of a new monkey species proves that the world's greatest tropical rainforest still has many surprises to reveal. Scientists with the National University of Colombia and support from Conservation International (CI) have announced the discovery of a new monkey in the journal Primate Conservation on the Colombian border with Peru and Ecuador. The new species is a titi monkey, dubbed the Caquetá titi ( Callicebus caquetensis). However, the announcement comes with deep concern as researchers say it is likely the new species is already Critically Endangered due to a small population living in an area undergoing rapid deforestation for agriculture.

Nation's wealth does not guarantee green practices

Developing countries are not the only ones that could benefit from a little environmental support. Wealthier countries may need to 'know themselves' and address these issues at home too. According to a recent study in the open access journal PLoS ONE, wealth may be the most important factor determining a country’s environmental impact. The team had originally planned to study "country-level environmental performance and human health issues," lead author Corey Bradshaw, Director of Ecological Modeling and professor at the University of Adelaide, told mongabay.com. Once they began looking at the available indexes, however, they saw the need for a purely environmental analysis.

Amazon deforestation remains low in Brazil
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has fallen since last year, say Brazilian officials.

Indigenous tribes occupy dam in Brazil, demand reparations
An indigenous group in Brazil has taken over a hydroelectric dam, which they state has polluted vital fishing grounds and destroyed sacred burial ground. They are demanding reparations for the damage done and that no more dams are built in the region without their prior consent.

Scientists sound warning on forest carbon payment scheme

Scientists convening in Bali expressed a range of concerns over a proposed mechanism for mitigating climate change through forest conservation, but some remained hopeful the idea could deliver long-term protection to forests, ease the transition to a low-carbon economy, and generate benefits to forest-dependent people.

Illegal logging declining worldwide, but still 'major problem'

A new report by the Chatham House finds that illegal logging in tropical forest nation is primarily on the decline, providing evidence that new laws and international efforts on the issue are having a positive impact. According to the report, the total global production of illegal timber has fallen by 22 percent since 2002. Yet the report also finds that nations—both producers and consumers—have a long way to go before illegal logging is an issue of the past.

Paying for nature: putting a price on 'ecosystem services'
Ever since humans entered the stage, nature has been providing us with a wide-variety of essential and 'free' services: food production, pollination, soil health, water filtration, and carbon sequestration to name a few. Experts have come to call these 'ecosystem services'. Such services, although vital for an inhabitable planet, have largely gone undervalued in the industrial age, at least officially. Yet as environmental crises pile one on another across the world, a growing number of scientists, economists, environmentalists, and policy-makers are beginning to consider putting a monetary value on 'ecosystem services'.

Controversial changes to Brazilian forest law passes first barrier
An amendment to undermine protections in Brazil's 1965 forestry code has passed it first legislative barrier, reports the World Wide Fund for Nature-Brasil (WWF). Yesterday the amendment passed a special vote in the Congress's Special Committee on Forest Law Changes.

With 'psychological cunning' wild cat lures monkeys by mimicking their babies' calls

It sounds like something out of a fairy-tale: the big bad predator lures its gullible prey by mimicking a loved one: 'why grandma, what big teeth you have!' But in this case it's the shocking strategy of one little-known jungle feline. In 2005 researchers with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) were watching a group of eight pied tamarins ( Saguinus bicolor), squirrel-sized monkeys, feeding on a ficus tree in the Reserva Florestal Adolpho Ducke in Brazil. They then heard the sound of tamarin babies, but were surprised to see that the sound was not coming from young tamarins, but a hungry margay (Leopardus wiedii), a small cat native to Central and South America, which was hidden from the tamarins.

Top officials busted in Amazon logging raids, but political patronage may set them free

After two years of investigations, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested some of the most important politicians and authorities for illegal logging in the Amazon. Code-named Operation Jurupari, the Brazilian Federal Police uncovered a massive illegal logging scheme that resulted in the arrests of over 90 people and caused an estimated $500 million in damage to the Amazon rainforest. Over 496 square kilometers (192 square miles), an area the size of California or Spain, were affected and an estimated 1.5 million cubic meters (642 million board feet) of timber was illegally extracted. While the investigation focused on activities in the state of Mato Grosso, which is located in the southern Amazon and is one of the most deforested regions largely due to clearing land for expanding soya farms, it touched numerous others, including São Paulo, Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul, Espirito Santo, Minas Gerais and Distrito Federal.

The changing nature of illegal logging - and illegal logging investigations - in Brazil's Amazon

Operation Jurupari followed on several previous Brazilian Federal Police investigations into SEMA, including: Operation Curupira I (June 2005); Curupira II (August 2005); Mapinguari (2007), Arc of Fire (2008), Termes (April 2008); and Caipora (2008). It was led by Franco Perazzoni, Brazilian Federal Police "Delegado" (or chief), who, since 2006, has headed the environmental crimes unit in Mato Grosso and been responsible for about 300 investigations on environmental crimes, of which about 75% were on illegal deforestation in federal areas. The nature of the illegal deforestation has changed over the years.

Amazon soy moratorium extended
Brazilian soy farmers have extended their moratorium on Amazon deforestation for another year, reports Greenpeace.

Amazon and Atlantic Forest under threat: politicians press to dilute Brazil's forestry law

A group of Brazilian legislatures, known as the 'ruralistas', are working to change important aspects of the Brazil's landmark 1965 forestry code, undermining forest protection in the Amazon and the Mata Atlantica (also known as the Atlantic Forest) and perhaps heralding a new era of booming deforestation. The ruralistas, linked to big agribusiness and landowners, are taking aim at the part of the forestry code that requires landowners in the Amazon to retain 80 percent of their land area as legal reserves, arguing that the law threatens agricultural development.

Invertebrates in Brazilian traditional medicines
According to a new study in Tropical Conservation Science a surprising number of invertebrates are used in Brazilian traditional medicines, which are popular both in rural and urban areas. Researcher discovered that at least 81 species from five taxonomic groups are being used to treat a variety of illnesses in Brazil.

Ending deforestation could boost Brazilian agriculture

Ending Amazon deforestation could boost the fortunes of the Brazilian agricultural sector by $145-306 billion, estimates a new analysis issued by Avoided Deforestation Partners, a group pushing for U.S. climate legislation that includes a strong role for forest conservation. The analysis, which follows on the heels of a report that forecast large gains for U.S. farmers from progress in gradually stopping overseas deforestation by 2030, estimates that existing Brazilian farmers could see around $100 billion from higher commodity prices and improved access to markets. Meanwhile landholders in the Brazilian Amazon—including ranchers and farmers—could see $50-202 billion from carbon payments for forest protection.

U.S. farms and forests report draws ire in Brazil; cutting down the Amazon does not mean lower food prices

Not surprisingly, a US report released last week which argued that saving forests abroad will help US agricultural producers by reducing international competition has raised hackles in tropical forest counties. The report, commissioned by Avoided Deforestation Partners, a US group pushing for including tropical forest conservation in US climate policy, and the National Farmers Union, a lobbying firm, has threatened to erode support for stopping deforestation in places like Brazil. However, two rebuttals have been issued, one from international environmental organizations and the other from Brazilian NGOs, that counter findings in the US report and urge unity in stopping deforestation, not for the economic betterment of US producers, but for everyone.

Environmentalists and indigenous groups condemn plan for six dams in Peruvian Amazon
Environmentalists and indigenous groups have come together to condemn a 15 million US dollar plan for six hydroelectric dams in the Peruvian Amazon, signed last week by Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Peruvian President, Alan Garcia. While the six dams would produce over 6,000 megawatts, mostly for Brazil, critics say the dams will flood tens of thousands of hectares of rainforest, devastate the lifestyles of a number of indigenous groups, and only serve big Brazilian corporations.

New protected areas established in Brazil's fragmented Atlantic Forest
Brazil has designated an additional 65,070 hectare (161,000 acres) of land to be protected in the Mata Atlantica, or Atlantic Forest. The land is split between four new protected areas and an expansion of a national park.

Amazon logging industry declines
The global economic crisis and increased environmental law enforcement have taken a toll on the Amazon logging industry in Brazil, reports a major new assessment conducted by Imazon and the Brazilian Forest Service.

Malaria increases 50 percent following deforestation in the Amazon
A new study shows that deforestation in the Amazon helps spread disease by creating an optimal environment for malaria-carrying mosquitoes. The study, published in the online issue of the CDC journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, found that clearing forests in the Brazilian Amazon raised incidences of malaria by almost 50 percent.

Deforestation on the rise again in Brazil
Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon may be on the rise again after reaching record-low levels last year, reports Brazil's National Space Research Institute, INPE.

As Amazon deforestation rates fall, fires increase

While rates of forest loss in the Brazilian Amazon have been on the decline since 2004, the incidence of fire is increasing in the region, undermining some of the carbon emissions savings of reduced deforestation rates, report researchers writing in the journal Science. The paper argues that REDD, a global plan to reduce deforestation and forest degradation, must include measures to eliminate the use of fire from land management in the Amazon.

New protected areas in Brazil contribute to major drop in Amazon deforestation rate

Protected areas in the Brazilian Amazon are proving highly effective in reducing forest loss in Earth's largest rainforest, reports a new study based on analysis of deforestation trends in and around indigenous territories, parks, military holdings, and sustainable use reserves. The research, published in the early edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that 37 percent of the recent decline in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon can be attributed to newly established protected areas. Brazil designated some 709,000 square kilometers (274,000 sq mi) of Amazon forest — an area larger than the state of Texas — between 2002 and 2009 under its Amazon Protected Areas Program (ARPA). Meanwhile deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon fell by nearly three-quarters between 2004 and 2009.

'Prepare for war': tensions rising over Brazil's controversial Belo Monte dam
Tensions are flaring after Brazil's approval of the Belo Monte dam project last month to divert the flow of the Xingu River. The dam, which will be the world's third larges, will flood 500 square miles of rainforest, lead to the removal of at least 12,000 people in the region, and upturn the lives of 45,000 indigenous people who depend on the Xingu. After fighting the construction of the dam for nearly thirty years, indigenous groups are beginning to talk of a last stand.

Brazil launches major push for sustainable palm oil in the Amazon

Brazilian President Lula da Silva on Thursday laid out plans to expand palm oil production in the Amazon while minimizing risk to Earth's largest rainforest. The plan, called the Program for Sustainable Production of Palm Oil (O Programa de Produção Sustentável de Óleo de Palma), will provide $60 million to promote cultivation of oil palm in abandoned and degraded agricultural areas, including long-ago deforested lands used for sugar cane and pasture. Brazilian officials claim up to 50 million hectares of such land exist in the country.

Can markets protect nature?

Over the past 30 years billions of dollars has been committed to global conservation efforts, yet forests continue to fall, largely a consequence of economic drivers, including surging global demand for food and fuel. With consumption expected to far outstrip population growth due to rising affluence in developing countries, there would seem to be little hope of slowing tropical forest loss. But some observers see new reason for optimism—chiefly a new push to make forests more valuable as living entities than chopped down for the production of timber, animal feed, biofuels, and meat. While are innumerable reasons for protecting forests—including aesthetic, cultural, spiritual, and moral—most land use decisions boil down to economics. Therefore creating economic incentives to maintaining forests is key to saving them. Leading the effort to develop markets ecosystem services is Forest Trends, a Washington D.C.-based NGO that also organizes the Katoomba group, a forum that brings together a wide variety of forest stakeholders, including the private sector, local communities, indigenous people, policymakers, international development institutions, funders, conservationists, and activists.

Deforestation-free leather comes closer to reality in the Brazilian Amazon
Prominent leather buyers have developed a new traceability system to ensure that leather products from Brazil don't result in deforestation, reports the National Wildlife Federation, an NGO working to improve the environmental performance of the cattle industry in the Amazon.

Second rancher sentenced for contract killing of American nun in the Brazilian Amazon
A second rancher has been sentenced for his role in the murder of Dorothy Stang, an American nun who was gunned down in 2005 for her efforts on behalf of poor farmers in the Amazon rainforest, reports Reuters.

Large-scale soy farming in Brazil pushes ranchers into the Amazon rainforest
Industrial soy expansion in the Brazilian Amazon has contributed to deforestation by pushing cattle ranchers further north into rainforest zones, reports a new study published the journal Environmental Research Letters.

United States has higher percentage of forest loss than Brazil

Forests continue to decline worldwide, according to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS). Employing satellite imagery researchers found that over a million square kilometers of forest were lost around the world between 2000 and 2005. This represents a 3.1 percent loss of total forest as estimated from 2000. Yet the study reveals some surprises: including the fact that from 2000 to 2005 both the United States and Canada had higher percentages of forest loss than even Brazil.

World failing on every environmental issue: an op-ed for Earth Day

The biodiversity crisis, the climate crisis, the deforestation crisis: we are living in an age when environmental issues have moved from regional problems to global ones. A generation or two before ours and one might speak of saving the beauty of Northern California; conserving a single species—say the white rhino—from extinction; or preserving an ecological region like the Amazon. That was a different age. Today we speak of preserving world biodiversity, of saving the 'lungs of the planet', of mitigating global climate change. No longer are humans over-reaching in just one region, but we are overreaching the whole planet, stretching ecological systems to a breaking point. While we are aware of the issues that threaten the well-being of life on this planet, including our own, how are we progressing on solutions?

Off and on again: Belo Monte dam goes forward, protests planned
An auction to build the Belo Monte dam, a massive hydroelectric project in Brazil, is going ahead despite two court-ordered suspensions, both of which have been overturned. The dam, which would be the world's third-largest, has been criticized by indigenous groups, environmental organizations, and most recently filmmaker James Cameron who created the wildly popular Avatar.

Is deforestation rising or falling in the Amazon?
Last week Brazil's National Space Agency INPE reported a 51 percent drop in Amazon deforestation in the six months ended February 2010 compared with the year earlier period. But the seemingly happy news for environmentalists may be premature.

Brazil suspends Amazon dam project targeted by Avatar director
A Brazilian judge on Wednesday suspended the preliminary license for the Belo Monte hydroelectric dam, a controversial project in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, citing "danger of irreparable harm," reports the Amazon Watch, an NGO that has been campaigning on the issue. The move comes just days after a high-profile visit by James Cameron, director of the box office hit Avatar, and Sigourney Weaver, one of the stars of Avatar, to indigenous communities potentially affected by the dam.

Amazon nun-killer found guilty in Brazil
The Brazilian rancher accused of ordering the murder of an American missionary has been sentenced to 30 years in prison, reports the Associated Press (AP).

Brazilian cattle giants move toward zero deforestation in the Amazon
Brazilian cattle companies are making progress in their effort to map their supply-chains in the Amazon but are still falling short of their commitment to zero deforestation in the region, reports Greenpeace after a meeting at the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters (ABIEC) in Sao Paulo.

Film Director James Cameron's Next Film on the Amazon
Fresh off his huge blockbuster success with Avatar, James Cameron is taking a commendable stand on indigenous issues in the rainforest. Flying down to Brazil’s Amazonian city of Manaus recently, the film director criticized the Belo Monte hydro electric dam project. "For people living along the river, as they have for millennia," he said, "the dam will end their way of life. I implore the Brazilian government, and President Lula, to reconsider this project."

James Cameron, in real life, fights to save indigenous groups from massive dam construction in Brazil
After creating a hugely successful science-fiction film about a mega-corporation destroying the indigenous culture of another planet, James Cameron has become a surprisingly noteworthy voice on environmental issues, especially those dealing with the very non-fantastical situation of indigenous cultures fighting exploitation. This week Cameron traveled to Brazil for a three-day visit to the Big Bend (Volta Grande) region of the Xingu River to see the people and rainforests that would be affected by the construction of the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Dam. Long-condemned by environmentalists and indigenous-rights groups, the dam would destroy 500 square kilometers of pristine rainforest and force the relocation of some 12,000 people.

Depopulation may be harming the Amazon rainforest

Urbanization may be having unexpected impacts in the Amazon rainforest by leaving forest areas vulnerable to exploitation by outsiders, report researchers writing in Conservation Letters. Conducting field surveys during the course of 10,000-kilometers of travel along remote Amazon rivers, Luke Parry of Lancaster University found that a sharp decrease in rural habitation has not been accompanied by a decline in harvesting of wildlife and forest resources, indicating that urban populations exact a heavy toll on distant forests through hunting, fishing, logging, and harvesting of non-timber forest products.

When it comes to Yellow Fever, conserving howler monkeys saves lives

Abundant and diverse wildlife help people in many ways: for example bees pollinate plants, birds and mammals disperse seeds, bats control pest populations, and both plants and animals have produced life-saving medicines and technological advances. But how could howler monkeys save people from a Yellow Fever outbreak? A new study in the open-access journal Tropical Conservation Science explores the link between howler monkeys, mosquitoes, and humans during a recent yellow fever outbreak in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Finding forest for the endangered golden-headed lion tamarin

Brazil's golden-headed lion tamarin is a small primate with a black body and a bright mane of gold and orange. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List, the golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas) survives in only a single protected reserve in the largely degraded Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Otherwise its habitat lies in unprotected patches and fragments threatened by urbanization and agricultural expansion. Currently, a natural gas pipeline is being built through prime tamarin habitat.

Just how bad is meat-eating for the environment?

Meat is booming. In the past thirty years, livestock production has increased threefold. In many parts of the world where incomes are expanding, meat, once a delicacy, is now eaten regularly and voraciously. But what are the environmental impacts of this 'livestock revolution'? Two recent studies look at the global impact of the livestock industry, one alleges that its environmental impacts in relation to greenhouse gas emissions has been overestimated, while the other takes a holistic view of the industry's environmental impact.

Global deforestation slows

Global forest loss has diminished since the 1990s but still remains "alarmingly high", according to a preliminary version of a new assessment from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The report, Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 (FRA 2010), shows that global forest loss slowed to around 13 million hectares per year during the 2000s, down from about 16 million hectares per year in the 1990s. It finds that net deforestation declined from about 8.3 million hectares per year in the 1990s to about 5.2 million hectares per year in the 2000s, a result of large-scale reforestation and afforestation projects, as well as natural forest recovery in some countries and slowing deforestation in the Amazon.

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Brazilian News in Portuguese

 

República Federativa do Brasil (Portuguese) / Federative Republic of Brazil

Ordem e Progresso (Portuguese) / "Order and Progress"

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil or República Federativa do Brasil is a country in South America. It is the fifth-largest country by geographical area, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. The official language is Portuguese. Catholicism is the predominant religion.

Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of over 7,367 kilometres. Brazil borders every nation on the South American continent except Ecuador and Chile: Venezuela, Suriname, Guyana and the department of French Guiana are to the north, Colombia to the northwest, Bolivia and Peru to the west, Argentina and Paraguay to the southwest, and Uruguay to the south. Numerous archipelagos are part of the Brazilian territory, such as Penedos de São Pedro e São Paulo, Fernando de Noronha, Trindade and Martim Vaz and Atol das Rocas.

Brazil is crossed by both the Equator and Tropic of Capricorn, and as such is home to a vast array fauna and flora, natural environments, as well as extensive natural resources. The Brazilian population is concentrated along the coastline and in a few large urban centers in the interior. While Brazil is one of the most populous nations in the world, population density drops dramatically as one moves inland.

Brazil was a colony of Portugal from its discovery by Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1822. Initially independent as the Brazilian Empire, the country has been a republic since 1889, although the bicameral legislature (now called Congress) dates back to 1824, when the first constitution was ratified. Its current Constitution defines Brazil as a Federative Republic. The Federation is formed by the indissoluble association of the States, the Federal District, and the Municipalities. There are currently 26 States and 5,564 Municipalities.

Brazil is the world's 8th largest economy in terms of purchasing power and the 10th largest economy at market exchange rates. The country has a diversified middle-income economy with wide variations in development levels and mature manufacturing, mining and agriculture sectors. Technology and services also play an important role and are growing rapidly. Brazil is a net exporter, having gone through free trade and privatization reforms in the 1990s. In spite of important economical achievements, many social issues still hamper development.

 

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil