Brazil

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WELCOME TO BRAZIL! =Overview= =media type="file" key="Overview.mp3" width="240" height="20"= Brazil is the largest country in South America, the fitfth largest in the world. It is located in the Eastern part of South America. It includes a variety of people that range from tribal Indians to sophisticated city crowds. There are also many different types of activities and cultural festivities that make Brazil a very colorful and unique country.

=Government= media type="file" key="brazil government main pp.mp3" width="240" height="20" Brazil is a constitutional republic which means it is based on their constitution, created in 1988, and the power is in the hands of the citizens who vote. The Brazilian flag is green with a yellow diamond which has a blue circle carrying the words “ordem e progresso” which means order progress. The Brazilian government consists of three branches, Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. The Executive branch is the president, Luiz Inacio, and his cabinet and advisers. The Legislative branch has a National Congress which is broken up into the Federal Senate, upper house, and the Chamber of Deputies, lower house. The Judicial branch is the supreme court which is made up of 11 members. Brazil is divided into 26 states and 1 federal district which are further divided into municipalities and districts. Everyone in Brazil over 18 and under the age of 70 is obligated to vote. It is also voluntary for people 16- 18 ages or people 70 and older. Brazil has three military forces, the Army, Air Force, and Navy ( Naval Air, Marine Corps.) Men from the age of 18 through 70 must serve atleast one year in the military. The Department of Federal Police is responsible for controlling sea, air, and border traffic, stopping drug trade, and maintaining the national security. Because of poverty in Brazil, street crimes have become more frequent and the police is very important for safety. Brazilian school years last from March through December. In Brazil, it is required by law for children ages 7 through 14 to go to school. This law has been enforced, but isn’t enforced well and many poor children do not attend school. After 14, the children can keep studying, or they can quit school and start work. The literacy rate over 14 is 83%. media type="file" key="overview of geography.mp3" width="240" height="20"

=Economics= Brazil has the strongest economy in South America. Brazil’s economy is based on agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service industries. Brazil produces products like shoes, textiles, soybeans coffee and corn. They also send these things out to other countries. Brazil is a world leader when it comes to manufacturing, and is the world's top supplier in oranges and papayas. Brazil is 10th in ranking for GDP, and is 12th overall for stock of money, where Brazil has $125,000,000,000. 1/3 of the world's coffee comes from Brazil, and so does 1/4 of the world's beef. Brazil’s economy is based on agricultural, mining, manufacturing and service industries. Brazil's export partners are US 13.7%, Argentina 8.7%, China 8.1%, Netherlands 5.2%, Germany 4.4%. Brazil's import partners are US 14.9%, China 11.6%, Argentina 7.9%, Germany 7%.

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== = = The Brazilian currency is called reais. One Brazilian reais equals 0.560224 U.S. dollars. How is the [|Brazilian Economy] going? While everyone is having an economic recession, Brazil is succeeding, because of its abundant natural resources. media type="file" key="Economy Part 2.mp3" width="240" height="20"

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=History= media type="file" key="History.mp3" width="240" height="20" Brazil was first owned by Portugal. It is the only nation that got its language and culture from portugal. It was ruled by many military dictatorships until a revolt slowly returned it to be lead by civilian presidents. President Wenceslau Braz worked with Allies and declared war on Germany during World War I. In World War II, Brazil again joined up with the Allies, welcoming Allied air bases, watching the South Atlantic Ocean, and joining the invasion of Italy after declaring war with Axis powers. When Brazil sided with the allied powers during World War 1, it sent tons of raw materials to Europe and the United States. There was a lot of growth until the stock market crashed. There was a huge economic decline as the economy crumbled in 1929. When the stock market crashed in the U.S., it affected Brazil a lot. Now the Great Depression has begun.



=Culture= **Language ** : In Brazil, nearly 100 percent speaks Portuguese. There is about as much of a difference between the Portuguese spoken in Brazil and that spoken in Portugal as there is in the English spoken in the United States and spoken in the United Kingdom. Within Brazil, there are no dialects of Portuguese, but only moderate regional variation in accent, vocabulary, and use of personal nouns and pronouns.
 * Family **: Family is greatly valued in Brazil. Most families are very large, and the extended family is very close.
 * Diversity **: Brazil has a mixture of races and ethnicities. Many original Portuguese settlers married native women, which created a new race, called 'mestizos'. 'Mulattoes' are descendents of the Portuguese and African slaves. Unlike many other Latin American countries where there is a distinct Indian population, Brazilians have intermarried to the point that it sometimes seems that almost everyone has a combination of European, African and native ancestry.
 * Soccer **<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;">: Brazil Soccer is famous all over the world for its brilliant performance and unique way of playing the game. It is the most important sport that is played in Brazil. The fame and the glory achieved by the Brazil Soccer team has made a mark in itself for being the most envied teams in the game of soccer. The Brazil Soccer has produced most of the famous soccer players in the world. Besides, the players, the Brazilian Soccer fans are well known all over the world for their about the game of soccer. The largest soccer stadium is also in Brazil, Rio, complimenting the status of the event in Brazil. People say that the first thing that a child in Brazil does after learning to walk is to play soccer. Every small village to big cities in Brazil goes insane during the Soccer World Cup. The world cup has been won by Brazil the maximum number of times. The Brazilians like to boast about 'Penta' which means that they have won the Soccer World Cup for five times till date <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Verdana','sans-serif'; font-size: 8.5pt; line-height: 115%;">.

Brazilian Carnival is an annual celebration which takes place forty days before Easter marking the start of Lent. Carnival in Rio De Janero is known worldwide for the elaborate parades staged by the city’s major samba schools and is one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions.Carnival celebrations in Brazil feature locally-originating traditions and music. media type="youtube" key="y0wt-NSv2ao" width="405" height="28"<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 85%;">** Capoeira ** : Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian for of art that combines martial arts, music, and dance. It was created by slaves from Africa sometime after the sixteenth century. Capoeira had great influence on Afro-Brazilian generations, with strong presence in the states of Bahia, Pernambuco, Rio De Janerio and São Paulo. People form a circle, and take turns playing instruments, singing, or sparring in pairs in the center of the circle. The origins and purpose are a matter of debate, with theories ranging from views of Capoeira as a uniquely Brazilian folk dance with improvised fighting movements to claims that it is a battle-ready fighting form directly descended from ancient African techniques. Below is a video explaing capoeira.
 * Religion**: Brazil has the largest Catholic population in the world. Many other beliefs over time have been mixed into the Brazilian Catholic belief system such as Spiritism, Buddhism, Islam, Ayahuasca, and Judaism.
 * Music**: Music in Brazil embraces different regional music styles influenced by African, European and Amerindian forms. After 500 years of history Brazilian music has developed some unique and original styles like choro, brega, lalago, frevo, samba, maracatu, Bossa Nova, MPB, Brazilian Rock and some others. Samba is the best known type of Brazilian music worldwide. All genres of Brazilian music have formed a solid tradition. The audio below, is a traditional Brazilian samaba.

media type="youtube" key="Ct2ZoehKv4U" height="385" width="480" =Geography=

= = media type="file" key="overview of geography.mp3" width="240" height="20" Brazil is locates in Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean. lt is the fifth largest country in the world! Brazil has borders with every South American nation except Chile and Ecuador. Those countries bordering Brazil are Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay , Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.

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<span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">The Statue of Christ the Redeemer stands on the Corcovado Mountain looking over the city of Rio de Janeiro. It shows Jesus standing with his arms stretched out, welcoming all people. It was built by engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, and it is one of the tallest statues in the world.



media type="file" key="Amazon River.mp3" width="240" height="20" <span style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> The Amazon River is the world's 2nd longest river and the widest. It carries more water than any other river in the world. It lies on the equator. The Amazon River has about one-fifth of the fresh water that flows into the world's oceans. It has more than 200 tributaries Catfish in the Amazon can grow to over 200 pounds.  <span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> media type="file" key="Amazon Rainforest.mp3" width="240" height="20"

The Amazon rainforest is the biggest forest in the world and is also the last big space covered with tropical plants and animals. The largest part of is located in Brazil (60%) and covers almost half of that country. The space covered with the forest is 5.5 million square kilometers. The "Rain" forest is a nickname that describes the humidity that you find in tropical forests, but it doesn't rain all the time. Tropical rainforests are always located near the equator, and are very hot. There are 120 foot trees, thousands of different species of plants, and all sort of rainforest animals including the red eyed tree frog, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians and mammals. T he forest is not only contained by animals and plants, there are many humans there too. The Indians are part of the forest and lived there for thousands of years. Logging and forest clearing may be profitable, but it is danger to the Amazon. There are several programs where on can buy an acre to save the land from harm.




 * CLIMATE IN BRAZIL**



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Seasons in Brazil are the reverse of Europe and United States: Spring: 22nd September - 21st December Summer: 22nd December - 21st March Autumn: 22nd March - 21st June Winter: 22nd June - 21st September This four season pattern is mostly applies to southern Brazil. Most of Brazil territory shares a two-season pattern: a rainy season (the summer) and a non-rainy one (the winter).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 24pt;">WILDLIFE IN BRAZIL

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BIRDS Brazil has a colorful variety of birds. They are located in almost every region in Brazil that is why many people visit Brazil for birding trips. The biggest bird in Brazil is called the flightless rhea. It grows to 1.4m tall and weighs about 30kg. The smallest bird is the hummingbird that can be found all over Brazil. Other birds include: Parrots, Toucans, Trogons, and Waterfowl’s.

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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 132%;">Some other animals in brazil include: Anteaters, armadillos, sloths, coatis, raccoons, deer, peccaries, tapirs, dogs, foxes, wolves, felines, marmosets, and tamarins.

**Natural Resources** media type="file" key="Natural Resources.mp3" width="240" height="20" <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> Some natural resources Brazil has are bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, and timber. **



Natural Hazards media type="file" key="Natural Hazards.mp3" width="240" height="20" **

Brazil doesn't need to worry about natural disasters because very rarely will there be one. Some natural hazards you might want to be aware of are: droughts in the northeastern area. Floods and occasional frost in the South. Environmental Concerns The continuous expansion of agriculture in Brazil is seriously threatening rare habitats such as the [|Atlantic Forest], the [|Cerrado] , and the [|Amazon]. According to the UN [|Food and Agriculture Organization] (FAO), soy was Brazil’s main agricultural crop by harvested area in 2004.Another crop of concern is cocoa; it has been blamed for [|Deforestation] in Brazil.


 * The cattle problem** The Cerrado, is a woodland savanna ecosystem in Brazil, and is threatened by cattle ranching. The expansion of cattle ranching is closely related to the increasing soy. There are also concerns about the expansion of chicken and pork production moving into the Cerrado.


 * The paper pulp problem** In the Atlantic forests of Brazil, some of the world's most diverse ecosystems have been changed to fast growing plantations. Brazil has millions of [|Hectares] of different plantations, made up mainly of eucalyptus, a non-native species.

Here are some other great Brazil websites -

Worldbook - Brazil Sources: Category. "Geography and Map of Brazil." Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://geography.about.com/library/cia/blcbrazil.htm>.

D., Vinchedia. "history of brazil." Putnam County Schools. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 May 2010. <http://www.putnam.k12.ga.us/pcms/teachers/wrakosnik/studentwebsites/spring2004

"Encyclopedia of the Nations - Information about countries of the world, United Nations, and World Leaders." Encyclopedia of the Nations - Information about countries of the world, United Nations, and World Leaders. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2010. [].

" Wildlife in Brazil - Lonely Planet Travel Information ." //Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Travel Information//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/wildlife/overview#>.

"Brazil." //CIA//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html>.

"Brazilian Weather and Climate zones." //Brazil// //Travel Guide: for your Brazilian Holidays//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.brazil-travel-guide.com/Brazil-Weather.html>.

"Climate." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <www.visionofbrazil.com/images/Country-Info-Climate-Map.jpg>.

D., Vinchedia. "geography of brazil." //Putnam County Schools//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.putnam.k12.ga.us/pcms/teachers/wrakosnik/studentwebsites/spring2004

D., Vinchedia. "landmarks of brazil." //Putnam County Schools//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.putnam.k12.ga.us/pcms/teachers/wrakosnik/studentwebsites/spring2004

"Geography." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <www.wamis.org/agm/meetings/anadia06/Sentelhas_Brazil.pdf>.

"Geography." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <: [] >.

Rosenberg, Matt. "Amazon River - Overview of the Amazon River." //Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/amazonriver8.htm>.

"WWF - Environmental problems in Brazil." //WWF - WWF//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/brazil/environmental_problems_brazil

"World InfoZone - Brazil Information - Page 1 ." //World InfoZone//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://worldinfozone.com/country.php?country=Brazil>.

amendments, laws rationale savings finance proposed. "Save the Amazon Rainforest | Amazon River - Rainforest Animals." //Save the Amazon Rainforest | Amazon River - Rainforest Animals//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. []. " Wildlife in Brazil - Lonely Planet Travel Information ." //Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Travel Information//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/brazil/wildlife/overview#>.

"Brazil." //CIA//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html>.

"Brazilian Weather and Climate zones." //Brazil// //Travel Guide: for your Brazilian Holidays//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.brazil-travel-guide.com/Brazil-Weather.html>.

"Climate." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <www.visionofbrazil.com/images/Country-Info-Climate-Map.jpg>.

D., Vinchedia. "geography of brazil." //Putnam County Schools//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.putnam.k12.ga.us/pcms/teachers/wrakosnik/studentwebsites/spring2004

D., Vinchedia. "landmarks of brazil." //Putnam County Schools//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.putnam.k12.ga.us/pcms/teachers/wrakosnik/studentwebsites/spring2004

"Geography." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <www.wamis.org/agm/meetings/anadia06/Sentelhas_Brazil.pdf>.

"Geography." //Brazil//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <: [] >.

Rosenberg, Matt. "Amazon River - Overview of the Amazon River." //Geography Home Page - Geography at About.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://geography.about.com/od/specificplacesofinterest/a/amazonriver8.htm>.

"WWF - Environmental problems in Brazil." //WWF - WWF//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/brazil/environmental_problems_brazil

"World InfoZone - Brazil Information - Page 1 ." //World InfoZone//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://worldinfozone.com/country.php?country=Brazil>.

amendments, laws rationale savings finance proposed. "Save the Amazon Rainforest | Amazon River - Rainforest Animals." //Save the Amazon Rainforest | Amazon River - Rainforest Animals//. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2010. <http://www.amazon-rainforest.org/>.

"Brazil." //Central Intelligence Agency//. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 May 2010. [].


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