Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/34.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 13.2 KB | 429 lines

@node Geography (Brazil)
@section Geography (Brazil)

@display

Location:
  Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean
Map references:
  South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
 total area:
  8,511,965 km2
 land area:
  8,456,510 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly smaller than the US
 note:
  includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da
  Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo
Land boundaries:
  total 14,691 km, Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km,
  French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km,
  Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km
Coastline:   7,491 km
Maritime claims:
 contiguous zone:
  24 nm
 continental shelf:
  200 m depth or to depth of exploitation
 exclusive economic zone:
  200 nm
 territorial sea:
  12 nm
International 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 - Arrio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio
  Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai
  (Rio Cuareim) and the Uruguay
Climate:
  mostly tropical, but temperate in south
Terrain:
  mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and
  narrow coastal belt
Natural resources:
  iron ore, manganese, bauxite, nickel, uranium, phosphates, tin, hydropower,
  gold, platinum, petroleum, timber
Land use:
 arable land:
  7%
 permanent crops:
  1%
 meadows and pastures:
  19%
 forest and woodland:
  67%
 other:
  6%
Irrigated land:
  27,000 km2 (1989 est.)



@end display

@node Geography (Brazil 2. usage)
@section Geography (Brazil 2. usage)

@display

Environment:
  recurrent droughts in northeast; floods and frost in south; deforestation in
  Amazon basin; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and
  several other large cities
Note:
  largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South
  American country except Chile and Ecuador



@end display

@node People (Brazil)
@section People (Brazil)

@display

Population:
  156,664,223 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  1.35% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  21.77 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  8.3 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  61.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  62.7 years
 male:
  58.28 years
 female:
  67.33 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  2.49 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Brazilian(s)
 adjective:
  Brazilian
Ethnic divisions:
  Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, Amerindian, black 6%, white 55%,
  mixed 38%, other 1%
Religions:
  Roman Catholic (nominal) 90%
Languages:
  Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
 total population:
  81%
 male:
  82%
 female:
  80%
Labor force:
  57 million (1989 est.)
 by occupation:
  services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%



@end display

@node Government (Brazil)
@section Government (Brazil)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Federative Republic of Brazil
 conventional short form:
  Brazil
 local long form:
  Republica Federativa do Brasil
 local short form:   Brasil
Digraph:
  BR
Type:
  federal republic
Capital:
  Brasilia
Administrative divisions:
  26 states (estados, singular - estado) 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
Independence:
  7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Constitution:
  5 October 1988
Legal system:
  based on Roman codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
Political parties and leaders:
  National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian
  Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Roberto ROLLEMBERG, president; Liberal
  Front Party (PFL), Jose Mucio MONTEIRO, president; Workers' Party (PT), Luis
  Ignacio (Lula) da SILVA, president; Brazilian Labor Party (PTB), Luiz
  GONZAGA de Paiva Muniz, president; Democratic Labor Party (PDT), Leonel
  BRIZOLA, president; Democratic Social Party (PPS), Paulo MALUF, president;
  Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Tasso JEREISSATI, president;
  Popular Socialist Party (PPS), Roberto FREIRE, president; Communist Party of
  Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, secretary general; Christian Democratic Party
  (PDC), Siqueira CAMPOS, president
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 between 16 and 18 years of age and over 70; compulsory over 18 and
  under 70 years of age
Elections:
 Chamber of Deputies:
  last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - PMDB
  21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%; seats -
  (503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40,
  PTB 35, PT 35, other 109
 Federal Senate:
  last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results - percent
  of vote by party NA; seats - (81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL
  15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16



@end display

@node Government (Brazil 2. usage)
@section Government (Brazil 2. usage)

@display

 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%; note - first free, direct presidential election since 1960
Executive branch:
  president, vice president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of an upper
  chamber or Federal Senate (Senado Federal) and a lower chamber or Chamber of
  Deputies (Camara dos Deputados)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Federal Tribunal
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  President Itamar FRANCO (since 29 December 1992)
Member of:
  AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-15, G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT,
  IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
  INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS,
  MERCOSUR, NAM (observer), OAS, ONUSAL, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM II,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UPU, WCL, WHO, WFTU, WIPO,
  WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Rubens RICUPERO
 chancery:
  3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  [phone]
 consulates general:
  Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York
 consulates:
  Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Richard MELTON
 embassy:
  Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal
 mailing address:
  APO AA 34030
 telephone:
  [55] (61) 321-7272
 FAX:
  [55] (61) 225-9136
 consulates general:
  Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo
 consulates:
  Porto Alegre, Recife
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)



@end display

@node Economy (Brazil)
@section Economy (Brazil)

@display

Overview:
  The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered
  the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable
  foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition,
  the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by
  substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and
  mining facilities is divided among private interests - including several
  multinationals - and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are
  private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts
  between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent
  violence. The COLLOR government, which assumed office in March 1990,
  launched an ambitious reform program that sought to modernize and
  reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy,
  and opening it to increased foreign competition. The government also
  obtained an IMF standby loan in January 1992 and reached agreements with
  commercial bankers on the repayment of interest arrears and on the reduction
  of debt and debt service payments. Galloping inflation - the rate doubled in
  1992 - continues to undermine economic stability. Itamar FRANCO, who assumed
  the presidency following President COLLOR'S resignation in December 1992,
  has promised to support the basic premises of COLLOR'S reform program but
  has yet to define clearly his economic policies. Brazil's natural resources
  remain a major, long-term economic strength.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $369 billion (1992)
National product real growth rate:
  -0.2% (1992)
National product per capita:
  $2,350 (1992)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  1,174% (1992)
Unemployment rate:
  5.9% (1992)
Budget:
  revenues $164.3 billion; expenditures $170.6 billion, including capital
  expenditures of $32.9 billion (1990)
Exports:
  $35.0 billion (1992)
 commodities:
  iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee, motor vehicle parts
 partners:
  EC 32.3%, US 20.3%, Latin America 11.6%, Japan 9% (1991)
Imports:
  $20.0 billion (1992)
 commodities:
  crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal
 partners:
  Middle East 12.4%, US 23.5%, EC 21.8%, Latin America 18.8%, Japan 6% (1991)
External debt:
  $123.3 billion (December 1992)
Industrial production:
  growth rate -3.8% (1992); accounts for 39% of GDP
Electricity:
  63,765,000 kW capacity; 242,184 million kWh produced, 1,531 kWh per capita
  (1992)
Industries:
  textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron
  ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin



@end display

@node Economy (Brazil 2. usage)
@section Economy (Brazil 2. usage)

@display

Agriculture:
  accounts for 11% 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
Illicit drugs:
  illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption;
  government has a modest eradication program to control cannabis and coca
  cultivation; important transshipment country for Bolivian and Colombian
  cocaine headed for the US and Europe
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $10.2 million; OPEC
  bilateral aid (1979-89), $284 million; former Communist countries (1970-89),
  $1.3 billion
Currency:
  1 cruzeiro (Cr$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
  cruzeiros (Cr$) per US$1 - 13,827.06 (January 1993), 4,506.45 (1992), 406.61
  (1991), 68.300 (1990), 2.834 (1989), 0.26238 (1988)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year



@end display

@node Communications (Brazil)
@section Communications (Brazil)

@display

Railroads:
  28,828 km total; 24,864 km 1.000-meter gauge, 3,877 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74
  km mixed 1.600-1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,360 km
  electrified
Highways:
  1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth
Inland waterways:
  50,000 km navigable
Pipelines:
  crude oil 2,000 km; petroleum products 3,804 km; natural gas 1,095 km
Ports:
  Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de
  Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos
Merchant marine:
  232 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,335,234 GRT/8,986,734 DWT; includes
  5 passenger-cargo, 42 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 10 container, 11
  roll-on/roll-off, 58 oil tanker, 15 chemical tanker, 12 combination ore/oil,
  65 bulk, 2 combination bulk, 11 vehicle carrier; in addition, 1 naval tanker
  is sometimes used commercially
Airports:
 total:
  3,613
 usable:   3,031
 with permanent-surface runways:
  431
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  2
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  22
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  584
Telecommunications:
  good system; extensive microwave radio relay facilities; 9.86 million
  telephones; broadcast stations - 1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave; 3
  coaxial submarine cables, 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations and 64
  domestic satellite earth stations



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Brazil)
@section Defense Forces (Brazil)

@display

Branches:
  Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil (including Marines), Brazilian Air Force,
  Military Police (paramilitary)
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 42,623,934; fit for military service 28,721,849; reach
  military age (18) annually 1,655,918 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $1.1 billion, 3% of GDP (1990)



@end display