1989 Edition

Administrative divisions

24 states (estados, singular — estado), 2 territories* (territories, singular — territorio), and 1 federal district** (distrito federal); Acre, Alagoas, Amapa*, Amazonas, Bahia, Ceara, Distrito Federal**, Espirito Santo, Goias, Maranhao, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Minas Gerais, Para, Paraiba, Parana, Pernambuco, Piaui, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Norte, Rio Grande do Sul, Rondonia, Roraima*, Santa Catarina, Sao Paulo, Sergipe, Tocantins; note — the territories of Amapa and Roraima will become states on 1 5 March 1991

Capital

Brasilia

Climate

antarctic

mostly tropical, but temperate in south

Coastline

29.6 km

7,491 km

Communists

about 30,000

Comparative area

about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC

slightly smaller than the US

Constitution

5 October 1988

Contiguous zone

10 nm

Continental shelf

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

200 meters or to depth of exploitation

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Marcilio Marques MOREIRA; Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-2700; there are Brazilian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco; US — Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nocoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO Miami 34030); telephone [55] (6) 321-7272; there are US Consulates General in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in Porto Alegre and Recife

Disputes

short section of the boundary with Paraguay (just west of Guaira Falls on the Rio Parana) is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute (Arroyo de la Invernada area of the Rio Quarai and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay); claims a Zone of Interest in Antarctica

Elections

President — last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held November 1994); results — Fernando Collor de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio da Silva 47%; first free, direct presidential election since 1960; Senate— last held 15 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990); results — PMDB 60%, PFL 21%, PDS 8%, PDT 3%, others 8%; seats— (66 total) PMDB 43, PFL 15, PDS 6, PDT 2, others 6; note — as of 1990 Senate has 75 seats; Chamber of Deputies — last held 1 5 November 1986 (next to be held 3 October 1990); results— PMDB 53%, PFL 23%, PDS 7%, PDT 5%, other 12%; seats— (495 total) PMDB 258, PFL 114, PDS 33, PDT 24, others 58; note— as of 1990 Chamber of Deputies has 570 seats

Environment

covered by glacial ice

recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south; deforestation in Amazon basin; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo

Exclusive fishing zone

200 nm

Executive branch

president, vice president, Cabinet

Extended economic zone

200 nm

Flag

green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each state) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)

Independence

7 September 1822 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch

Supreme Federal Tribunal

Land boundaries

none

14,691 km total; Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,1 19 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km

Land use

0% arable land; 0% permanent crops; 0% meadows and pastures; 0% forest and woodland; 100% other

7% arable land; 1 % permanent crops; 19% meadows and pastures; 67% forest and woodland; 6% other; includes NEGL% irrigated

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government— President Fernando Affonso COLLOR de Mello (since 15 March 1990); Vice President Itamar FRANCO (since 15 March 1990) Political parties and leaders: National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel Tourinho, president; Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Ulysses Guimaraes, president; Liberal Front Party (PFL), Hugo Napoleao, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis Ignacio (Lula) da Silva, president; Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Luiz Gonzaga de Paiva Muniz, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Doutel de Andrade, president; Democratic Social Party (PDS), Jarbas Passarinho, president; Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Mario Covas, president; Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), Salomao Malina, secretary general; Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao Amazonas, president

Legal system

based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of an upper chamber or Senate (Senado) and a lower chamber or Chamber of Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)

Member of

CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT, Group of Eight, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB— InterAmerican Development Bank, I FAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITU, IWC— International Wheat Council, OAS, PAHO, SELA, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

National holiday

Independence Day, 7 September (1822)

Natural resources

none

iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower, gold, platinum, crude oil, timber

Note

located in the South Atlantic Ocean 2,575 km south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa

largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and

Other political or pressure groups

left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party are critical of government's social and economic policies

Suffrage

voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 1 8 and 70; voluntary at age

Terrain

volcanic; maximum elevation about 800 meters; coast is mostly inacessible

mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt

Territorial sea

4 nm

200 nm

Total area

58 km2; land area: 58 km2

8,51 1,965 km2; land area: 8,456,510 km2; includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de S3o Pedro e Sao Paulo

Total area

2 km South Atlantic Ocean S« retion>l mip XII

Type

federal republic

Population

uninhabited

Long-form name

none

Type

territory of Norway

Agriculture

accounts for 12% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products — rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-88), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $9.5 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $1.3 billion

Budget

revenues $27.8 billion; expenditures $40. 1 billion, including capital expenditures of $8.8 billion (1986)

Currency

novo cruzado (plural — novos cruzados); 1 novo cruzado (NCr$) = 100 centavos

Electricity

52,865,000 kW capacity; 202,280 million kWh produced, 1,340 kWh per capita (1989)

Exchange rates

novos cruzados (NCr$) per US$1— 2.83392 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985); note— 25 tourist/parallel rate (December 1989)

Exports

$34.2 billion (1989 est.); commodities— coffee, metallurgical products, chemical products, foodstuffs, iron ore, automobiles and parts; partners — US 28%, EC 26%, Latin America 1 1%, Japan 6% (1987)

External debt

$109 billion (December 1989)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

$377 billion, per capita $2,500; real growth rate 3% (1989 est.)

Illicit drugs

illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has an active eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation

Imports

$18.0 billion (1989 est.); commodities—crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal; partners — Middle East and Africa 24%, EC 22%, US 21%, Latin America 12%, Japan 6% (1987)

Industrial production

growth rate 3.2% (1989 est.)

Industries

textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

1 ,765% (1989)

Overview

no economic activity

The economy, a mixture of private enterprises of all sizes and extensive government intervention, experienced enormous difficulties in the late 1980s, notably declining real growth, runaway inflation, foreign debt obligations of more than $100 billion, and uncertain economic policy. Government intervention includes trade and investment restrictions, wage/ price controls, interest and exchange rate controls, and extensive tariff barriers. Ownership of major industrial facilities is divided among private interests, the government, and multinational companies. Ownership in agriculture likewise is varied, with the government intervening in the politically sensitive issues involving large landowners and the masses of poor peasants. In consultation with the IMF, the Brazilian Government has initiated several programs over the last few years to ameliorate the stagnation and foreign debt problems. None of these has given more than temporary relief. The strategy of the new Collor government is to increase the pace of privatization, encourage foreign trade and investment, and establish a more realistic exchange rate. One long-run strength is the existence of vast natural resources.

Unemployment rate

2.5% (December 1989) Brazil (continued)

Highways

1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth

Inland waterways

50,000 km navigable

Note

defense is the responsibility of Norway North Atlantic Ocean Sao Luis de Janeiro 'Sio Paulo South Atlantic Ocean Porto Aleqre S« rtfional map IV

Ports

none; offshore anchorage only

Railroads

29,694 km total; 25,268 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,339 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,308 km electrified

Telecommunications

automatic meteorological station Defense Forces