Brazil: National Context

Geography Brazil occupies almost one-half of the entire South America continent, and is the fifth largest country in the world. It borders all Latin American countries except Chile and Ecuador. The 9,170km coastline and the 50,000km navigable inland waterways provide great potentials for water transportation which has not been well developed.

Brazil is topographically relatively flat. 40% of the land is under the Amazon Rain Forest. Most of the arable land is found in the South, but the process of land development for agriculture is pushing into the Central-West and the North as well. The climate is mainly tropical and sub-tropical, and is particularly humid and rainy in the Amazon region and along the coast. Temperate climate is found in the south and on the higher lands. The nation is free from earthquakes, hurricanes and cyclones, but rainstorms, drought and frost occasionally cause considerable damage.

Demography and Social Patterns Population is around 155 million and growing at about 2% per year. It is concentrated in the southern states of Minas Gerais, Sao Paulo, and Parana. Almost 60% of the total population live on 20% of the land.(See Table 1) 80% of the population is urban and 20% are rural dwellers. 55% is under 20 years of age and less than 10% is over 60. The average life expectancy is 63 years old.

The majority of Brazilians are of European or African descent. Besides the original Portuguese settlers, other significant ethnic groups include Africans, Germans, Italians, and Japanese. The official language is Portuguese, but English is widely used in the business community. The predominant religion is Roman Catholicism. There is religious freedom, and religion is not a source of social unrest.

The general level of education requires much improvement. About 75% of children above ten years old are considered to be literate. Around 5% of enrolled students go on to higher education. As a result, most of the labor force are semiskilled or unskilled. There is a shortage of managerial, supervisory, and technical personnel.

Living Standards The gross domestic product(GDP) per capita in 1993 was about US$3,000 per annum. There exists a wide income gap, with '1% of population stinking rich, 20% stinking poor'. 10 million families are roofless, while the 12 million homeless peasants seek shelters in peasant squatters in the countryside where land is so unequally distributed. Substantial funding are needed for public housing, health care, schools, and infrastructure. Other major social problems include violent crime and corruption.

Resources Brazil is rich in natural resources. It has some of the largest iron ore deposits in the world and is now one of the biggest gold producers. Other metals and minerals are also mined on an increasing scale.(See Table 2) The extensive river system provides great hydroelectric potential, as evident in the Itaipu dam project. Since the oil crisis in the 70s, Brazil embarked upon the ProAlcohol program for alcohol fuel manufacture from sugar cane to reduce the country's reliance on foreign oil.

As for agriculture, Brazil is a major exporter of soybeans and orange juice in addition to the traditional coffee and cocoa. The fishing potential along the coastline is significant but has not been fully exploited.(See Table 3) The natural scenery and favorable climate also foster a prosperous tourist industry.

Political Climate and Forces Brazil remained a Portuguese colony for more than 300 years until it became a republic(Federative Republic of Brazil)in 1889. The latest Constitution was promulgated in 1988, and it is still under review.

Brazil is composed of 27 states and the Federal District of Brasilia, the capital city. The states are divided into municipalities, which are further divided into districts. The federal government consists of three branches: the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary.

The executive branch is headed by the President under whom are several executive departments and independent regulatory agencies. The appointed heads of the executive departments form the Cabinet. The legislative branch, the Congress is made up of the elected Senate and the House of Representatives. The judicial branch consists of a system of federal, state, and local courts throughout the country, headed by the Supreme Court.

There are many political parties, but ideologies are not well developed as a democratic system returned only in 1985. Parties normally represent specific economic groups and interests within the country.

After the industrialization resulting in fierce inflation and foreign debt, Brazil went through a period of military autocratic regime through 1964 to 1989, until the first popularly elected president since 1960, Fernado Collor de Mello. Although the chance of the military having a coup is slim, they still remain a strong political force.

President Collor had significant support and vowed on reform on the much needed economic policy. He planned to lower tariffs, control inflation, promote free trade, and reduce the over bloated public sector. However, he resigned in 1992 for charges of corruption. His successor, former vice-president Itamar Franco was seen as indecisive in economic matters. He chose to make increasing growth as his first priority instead of reducing inflation. Despite of a already huge deficit, he tried to stimulate growth by increasing government spending.

The current president, Fernardo Henrique Cardoso was Franco's finance minister. He pushed through a stabilization program which included significant economic liberalization and income tax increase. He managed to lower inflation and federal deficit by introducing the Real Plan. Now, he is pushing the Constitution review which vows to privatize state-run monopolies and redistribute tax revenues.

Luis Inacio Da Silva(Lula), leader of the Workers Party(PT) was the second runner-up in the two most recent presidential elections. His socialist philosophy stresses social justice, restraints on market capitalism, limits to integration with the world economy, debt relief, and a larger state role. He represents the left wing of the Brazilian politics which is growing in importance. Meanwhile, pressed by the public outcry for better public services, President Cardoso announced that of his $500 billion planned spending for 1996-99, two-thirds would be embarked for social services such as education and housing. However, Mr. Cardoso disappointed western observers by allocating two-thirds of the social spending to welfare payments.

Since 71% of the population is Roman Catholic, the Brazilian Church has traditionally had great influence in the political scene. In recent years, Vatican has strengthened controls over the Church, making it more conservative. However, the Church still remains a left-of-center social action wing which excises influence on voting results. The Brazilian Church is closely related to the poorer and express sympathies for the PT.

With the return of democratic election, the recent political turmoil seems to be ended. However, President Cardoso would still have to face an over represented Congress from the poorer northern regions, and one who greatly hinders the progress of the Constitution Amendments on behalf of their protйgйs-local business and powerful. However, given the first-year success of the real, President Cardoso should have more power in advancing his economic reform.

Economic Growth Brazil is the tenth largest economy in the world. Its economy grew considerably from the mid-1960s to the end of the 1970s. However, during the 1980s, economic performance faltered; macro-economic instability, high inflation, and increased indebtedness characterized the decade.(See Table 4) Under the recent economic reform, growth has been restored and inflation has been reduced.(See Table 5) The major challenges facing Brazil now is to maintain growth and control inflation, .

People Brazil is a very mixed and culturally diverse country. Brazilians are viewed as passionate, open, and patriotic especially when it comes to soccer in the eyes of the western world. Throughout various stages of the history, such as the struggle for independence, for the Republic, and the recent parade against violence in Rio de Janeiro, , the ideas of liberation and optimism are always there in the background. However, they are also conservative especially when related to religion.

Like other cultures in the tropical, Brazilians are leisure oriented. The working day is normally eight hours, Monday to Friday. Besides statutory holidays, the annual Carnival causes a standstill to all businesses Monday through Wednesday. Recreation activities are mainly outdoors, taking advantage of the tropical climate.

Society Though under a democratic system, the society is still highly stratified with a small group of business elite and landowners controlling the direction of major policies. The Congress is dominated by whites. A century after the abolition of slavery, blacks lack adequate political representation, education, and housing.

The basic unit of society differs among different regions. Individualism dominates in the highly industrialized South where people enjoy a greater social mobility. In the rural northern regions, however, fazenda-traditional large agricultural producing unit is the basic social system. It is characterized by the dualistic system, with the landlords at the top and everyone else at the bottom. In the traditional agriculture based society, powerful fazendeiro tended to extend their power into the political system in order to control government policies. This is why the present government is facing large resistance on land reform from the North. The hierarchical relationship is also closely linked to clientelism in which superiors grant certain favors to inferiors, thereby creating indebtedness and moral obligations while securing a steady supply of labor or scarce skills. While in urban contexts with high rates of unemployment, job opportunities are provided in exchange for loyalty and backing in elections. Such concept of 'extended family' is the foundation of human relationship in Brazil.

Institutional Framework The Executive holds much of the responsibility for formulating and implementing trade and industrial policies. The present government has eliminated and simplified many regulations dealing with specific trade and tax concessions that used to be complicated. The complex investment code has also been simplified and liberalized, though a few constraints still remain.

The main economy agency is the Ministry of Economy, Finance, and Planning(MEFP) headed by Pedro Malan. Under it the principal business regulatory agencies include: BACEN-Central Bank(monetary policy, foreign exchange controls, control of foreign capitals and profit remittances, regulation of banks and financial institutions), CVM-Securities Commission(securities markets and listed companies), CADE-Administrative Council for Economic Defense(monopoly, cartel, antitrust monitoring), INPI-National Institute of Industrial Property(technological development), CDI-Industrial Development Council(industrial development, granting of fiscal incentives), and DECEX-Foreign Trade Department(foreign trade, control of export and import licenses).

In the formulation of economic policies, the government maintains contacts with the private sector which may contribute in the process through participating in sectoral chambers and special committees. Also, reviews of policies are sometimes provided by research institute.

Economic Policy and Challenges Until the recent reforms, the economy was subject to extensive regulation which inhibited the operations of a competitive market economy. Since 1990, Brazil has undertaken a major liberalization effort concentrating on trade liberalization, deregulation, and privatization. The current economy is basically one of free enterprise, but there is still considerable state and semi-state participation in various strategic sectors. The National Privatization Program was enacted a few years ago to privatize many formerly state-run enterprises, most notably the steel and petro-chemical industries. In July 1995, the lower house of Congress has accepted the Constitutional Amendments that will open oil, mining, electric power, and telecoms to private and foreign investment.

One of the largest successes of the recent reform is the real, Brazil's latest currency. Introduced to deindex prices and to lower inflation, the real and accompanying measures have brought fierce growth and a flood of new investment: 12 multinationals alone are planning to spend $8 billion by 2000. Most significantly, inflation has fallen, from 3000% in 1989 to 30% in 95. However, the strength of the currency encouraged imports and Brazil is facing a trade deficit: $3.2 billion in 1995. The government responded by devaluation, import curbs, tariffs, and quotas on car imports.

Another problem is the coming back of inflation. However, inflation seems to be built in the system characterized by private greed, lack and mismanagement of public finance and enterprise. Urgent reforms are needed in the following: