HISTORY
From
1875 until 1960, about 5 million Europeans emigrated to Brazil,
settling mainly in the four southern states of Sao Paulo, Parana,
Santa Catarina, and Rio Grande do Sul. Immigrants have come mainly
from Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, Poland, and the Middle East.
The largest Japanese community outside Japan is in Sao Paulo.
Despite class distinctions, national identity is strong, and racial
friction is a relatively new phenomenon. Indigenous full-blooded
Indians, located mainly in the northern and western border regions
and in the upper Amazon Basin, constitute less than 1% of the
population. Their numbers are declining as contact with the outside
world and commercial expansion into the interior increase. Brazilian
Government programs to establish reservations and to provide other
forms of assistance have existed for years but are controversial
and often ineffective.
Brazil
is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas. About
80% of all Brazilians belong to the Roman Catholic Church; most
others are Protestant or follow practices derived from African
religions.
Brazil
was claimed for Portugal in 1500 by Pedro Alvares Cabral. It was
ruled from Lisbon as a colony until 1808, when the royal family,
having fled from Napoleon's army, established the seat of Portuguese
Government in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil became a kingdom under Dom
Joao VI, who returned to Portugal in 1821. His son declared Brazil's
independence on September 7, 1822, and became emperor with the
title of Dom Pedro I. His son, Dom Pedro II, ruled from 1831 to
1889, when a federal republic was established in a coup by Deodoro
da Fonseca, Marshal of the army. Slavery had been abolished a
year earlier by the Regent Princess Isabel while Dom Pedro II
was in Europe.
From
1889 to 1930, the government was a constitutional democracy, with
the presidency alternating between the dominant states of Sao
Paulo and Minas Gerais. This period ended with a military coup
that placed Getulio Vargas, a civilian, in the presidency; Vargas
remained as dictator until 1945. From 1945 to 1961, Eurico Dutra,
Vargas, Juscelino Kubitschek, and Janio Quadros were elected presidents.
When Quadros resigned in 1961, he was succeeded by Vice President
Joao Goulart.
Goulart's
years in office were marked by high inflation, economic stagnation,
and the increasing influence of radical political elements. The
armed forces, alarmed by these developments, staged a coup on
March 31, 1964. The coup leaders chose as president Humberto Castello
Branco, followed by Arthur da Costa e Silva (1967-69), Emilio
Garrastazu Medici (1968-74), and Ernesto Geisel (1974-79) all
of whom were senior army officers. Geisel began a democratic opening
that was continued by his successor, Gen. Joao Baptista de Oliveira
Figueiredo (1979-85). Figueiredo not only permitted the return
of politicians exiled or banned from political activity during
the 1960s and 1970s, but also allowed them to run for state and
federal offices in 1982.
At the same time, an electoral college consisting of all members of congress and six delegates chosen from each state continued to choose the president. In January 1985, the electoral college voted Tancredo Neves from the opposition Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB) into office as President. However, Neves became ill in March and died a month later. His Vice President, former Senator Jose Sarney, became President upon Neves' death. Brazil completed its transition to a popularly elected government in 1989, when Fernando Collor de Mello won 53% of the vote in the first direct presidential election in 29 years. In 1992, a major corruption scandal led to his impeachment and ultimate resignation. Vice President Itamar Franco took his place and governed for the remainder of Collor's term culminating in the October 3, 1994 presidential elections, when Fernando Henrique Cardoso was elected President with 54% of the vote. Cardoso took office January 1, 1995, and pursued a program of ambitious economic reform. He was re-elected in October 1998 for a second four-year term. Luiz Inacio da Silva, commonly known as Lula, was elected president in 2002, after his fourth campaign for the office.
President Lula, a former union leader, is Brazil's first working-class president. Since taking office he has taken a prudent fiscal path, warning that social reforms would take years and that Brazil had no alternative but to maintain tight fiscal austerity policies. Economic growth in 2004 and the first half of 2005 was strong with increases in employment and real wages. Growth slowed somewhat in the second half of 2005, but rebounded modestly in 2006. In 2007, Brazil’s economy continued its upward trajectory and experienced 4.5% growth.
