Brazil

G

4

Music

Heitor Villa-Lobos is considered perhaps the most gifted Brazilian composer. His works are based largely on Brazilian folk themes. The Brazilian soprano Bidú Sayão has been a major interpreter of his music. Brazil has a rich folk music tradition that synthesizes elements of African and Portuguese traditional music. A Brazilian ballroom dance, the samba, was introduced to the United States in 1938. Its music, based on that of African-derived folk dances, became popular and eventually developed into the even more popular bossa nova. The infectious melodies and rhythms of the bossa nova have been performed by such entertainers as the guitarist and singer João Gilberto. Among contemporary composers are Luis Bonfa and Antonio Carlos Jobim, who created the score for the film Black Orpheus.

IV

Economy

Once a predominantly agricultural nation, Brazil experienced rapid industrial growth in the 1960s and 1970s, so that by the 1990s it had a diversified modern economy. Great quantities of iron ore and coal were mined, and the output of steel, chemicals, and motor vehicles increased substantially. However, between 1985 and 1994, chronic inflation and a foreign debt of more than US$100 billion—the highest of any developing nation—created severe economic problems. The country’s debt was restructured and reduced in April 1994 in an agreement with debtor banks. A new currency named the “real” was introduced in July 1994 as part of a planned strategy to eliminate inflation, which was increasing by approximately 50 per cent per month, and by the end of the year the rate of inflation had indeed fallen to about 1.5 per cent per month. The Brazilian government also reduced its subsidies to a number of state monopolies and re-introduced its privatization programme; a variety of industries, including the oil, telecommunications, electricity, gas, and shipping industries, were opened to private investors. In 1996 the government pledged to continue its tight fiscal policy to keep inflation down, but it also planned to introduce welfare reforms and some fiscal reforms that would help public and private sector borrowing. Brazil’s foreign debt in 1995 was estimated at US$94 billion.

In 2004 the gross national product was US$551,650 million, giving a per capita figure of about US$4,710 (World Bank figures).

A

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing

About one quarter of the world’s coffee is grown on the plantations of São Paulo, Paraná, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais. Annual coffee production in 2006 was about 2.59 million tonnes, much of which was exported. Brazil ranks among world leaders in the production of sugar cane (which is used to produce not only refined sugar but also alcohol for fuel), castor beans, cocoa, maize, and oranges. Other important crops are soya 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, where there are vast numbers of cattle, pigs, poultry, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys, mules, and oxen.

The valuable products of the Brazilian forests include tung, rubber, carnauba wax, caroa fibre, 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 timber production industry developed rapidly during the 1970s and 1980s as much of the forestland was cleared for settlement.

The fishing industry, although hampered at first by lack of capital, storage facilities, and canneries, grew considerably in the 1970s. In 2005 the catch was about 1,008,066 tonnes annually, including shrimp, lobsters, and sardines.

In all, agriculture contributed 5.1 per cent of Brazil’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2006.

B

Mining

Mineral resources in Brazil are extensive. 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 Carajás, are among the world’s richest. Iron-ore output was about 169 million tonnes in 2004. Rich tin deposits have made Brazil a leading producer of the metal. Quartz crystals, monazite, and beryllium are also major exports. Manganese, industrial diamonds, chromium, zirconium, crude oil, natural gas, silver, bauxite, and mica are produced in considerable quantities. Brazil’s valuable deposits of titanium, copper, zinc, mercury, and platinum are not exploited on a large scale. Attempts to exploit the mineral deposits of the Yanomami land have been resisted by the local tribes.

C

Manufacturing

Brazil’s manufacturing industries produce a vast array of products and contributed almost 25 per cent of GDP in 1995. Large amounts of such goods as processed food (particularly orange juice), iron and steel, cement, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, chemicals, and machinery. 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 centres.