Written by Wendy Maxwell Brazil is the largest and most populous nation in Latin America, and has the ninth-largest economy in the world. It is South America’s most influential country, despite a continued wide gap between the rich and the poor, and has one of the world’s biggest democracies. Despite this powerful ranking, the coronavirus pandemic has led to an increase in dependence on China. Brazil is facing climate change issues, continued economic and political woes, and a population decline that could worsen before it gets better. The Federative Republic of Brazil is a South American country that “contains half of the continent’s landmass,”1 is the fifth largest country in the world, and has more than 4,600 miles of coastline facing the Atlantic Ocean. Brazil shares more than 9,700 miles of inland borders with every country in South America, excluding Chile and Ecuador. It stretches approximately 2,700 miles north to south, and includes a variety of tropical and subtropical landscapes. The majority of the Amazon river basin lies within Brazil’s borders, along with the most extensive virgin rainforest in the world. There are no deserts, high-peak mountains, or arctic environments.2 The past few years have seen Brazil suffer an increasing number of wildfires in its savannas and riparian forests. The threat posed by these wildfires to the local ecosystem is harsher than that posed to the tropical Amazon rainforest, as the affected region is larger, according to Dr. Anna Abrahão of the University of Hohenheim. The savannas are extremely biodiverse habitats, with evergreen forests, damp streams and river banks, and grasslands and shrublands. There are over 12,000 native plant and animal species, including jaguars. October 2017 saw one of the most devastating wildfires for the region hit the savanna territory of Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park. The fire burned more than 86,000 hectares (more than 80 percent of the park), which caused a 70 percent decrease in treetop canopy. In 2003, more than 90 percent of the riparian forest region was covered by the tree canopy, but by 2017 this decreased to approximately 20 percent. Investigators also found that forest fires killed approximately 50 percent of adult trees, and 88 percent of tree shoots. The savannas are generally tolerant of naturally-caused fires, like those caused by lightning, but agricultural land, farming, and climate change have led to a loss of natural habitat and the invasion of local plant species by alien plant species.2 Brazil claims to have a new plan to tackle climate change, but critics suggest that it lacks credibility as its forests continue to shrink. Countries that signed on to the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change must submit their updated plans to tackle climate change by the end of 2020. Brazil’s revised plan does not have any updated goals to cut emissions by 2030, which suggests that it will not be carbon neutral by 2060. The Climate Observatory, which boasts a network of 60 civil groups, says that in order to meet the 2060 goal, Brazil must maintain an 81 percent net reduction in emissions by 2030, in comparison with Brazil’s plan for a 43 percent reduction by 2030, which is the same level it promised in the 2015 Paris pact launch. Group on Earth Observations Secretariat Director Gilberto Camera, who is also the former director of Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and member of the original 2015 planning team, warns that this lack of updated planning on Brazil’s part shows that the Brazilian government has no credibility in the international community. Brazil is the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases.4 One-third of Latin America’s population lives in Brazil, making it the fifth most-populous country in the world, and many of its inhabitants live on Brazil’s eastern seaboard. An increasing number of migrants are moving into Brazil’s capital, Brasilia, which is located inland.5 Brazil is more than 15 times the size of France, and is slightly larger than the United States. In 2017, Brazil’s population was 207 million people,6 and by 2019 it was more than 209 million. It is projected to be over 224 million by 2030,7 although the coronavirus pandemic may have an impact on this. A study published in Science estimates that 76 percent of Brazilian city Manaus--the first city in Brazil to feel the impact of COVID19--has been infected with the virus, based on the antibodies found to be present in blood bank samples. Brazil’s largest city, São Paulo, is estimated to have a much lower infection rate total of 29 percent.8 Brazil recorded 690 COVID-19 deaths in just 24 hours on Saturday December 12, with a total of 181,143 fatalities since the start of the pandemic. The average number of fatalities in Brazil over the past week were 643, with an increasing trend in the number of deaths.9 Brazil has the world’s third-highest coronavirus case count, leading its state health authorities to take an “aggressive stance” in securing vaccines for its population. In November, Brazil was slated to receive China’s Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine, while also considering seeking Pfizer’s vaccine. Brazil stated it was cautious regarding the safety of Pfizer’s vaccine but that if it was approved, they would seek that vaccine as well.10 Brazil has since voiced concerns about the Chinese vaccine, citing the idea that they are not being transparent in how they authorized the vaccine’s use. São Paulo’s authorities are planning on starting the Sinovac vaccination in January, but its use will not be permitted until it has been approved by Anvisa, Brazil’s health regulator.11 A delay in vaccination could lead to a lower population than previously projected for 2030. Brazil has 26 states--only nine of which are landlocked--and one Federal District. Brazil gained its independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822, and has had several constitutions, the most recent of which was ratified on October 5, 1988. Brazil’s people can obtain citizenship by birth, descent, or residency (with a naturalization requirement of four years). Dual citizenship is also recognized by the government. Brazil has an executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch, and more than 20 political parties. Portuguese continues to be the dominant language in Brazil, although the native tribes rely on a variety of other languages. Brazilian industries include textiles, shoes, chemicals, lumber, cement, ore, iron, tin, aircraft, steel, motor vehicles, and other machinery and equipment.12 Brazil exports more than 239.8 million dollars and imports approximately 181,000 dollars worth of products and services. Brazil’s top five import and export partners are China, the United States, Argentina, the Netherlands, and Chile. Raw materials, intermediate goods, consumer goods, and capital goods make up the top import/export product groups.13 In 2019, Brazil’s GDP was estimated to be approximately $1.8 trillion, with a population of 210 million people. Goods and service trade between the US and Brazil reached an estimated total of $105.1 billion, and the trade surplus between the two nations was $29.8 billion in 2019.14 Brazil’s top trading partner is China, and in 2019, Brazil exported approximately $63.36 billion (whereas the US exported approximately $29.8 billion), and imported approximately $35.27 billion worth of goods.15 The coronavirus pandemic has created an increased dependence on China by Brazil. The first half of 2020 saw a 7 percent drop in exports from Brazil, and the median forecast for Brazil's economy shows a 5.28 percent contraction by the end of 2020. During the first six months of 2020, Brazilian exports to China totaled approximately $34 billion (33.7 percent)--a slight increase from 2019--but sales to the United States dropped 32 percent in 2020 from 2019. Brazilian sectors that felt the most impact by the virus included the foreign trade sector and aircraft.16 In 2017, approximately 9.4 percent of the labor force worked in agriculture, 32.1 percent in industry, and 58.5 percent in service-based labor. More than 28.3 million people in Brazil are unemployed or working less than they are capable of working, and wages are barely keeping up with inflation. Prices have risen 25 percent since Brazil’s recession more than four years ago, and Brazil’s economy has been dealing with a severe fiscal deficit, which raised the debt level to 77.1 percent. The Brazilian government has warned that if nothing is done, the debt will be the same size as its economy by 2023.17 Brazil has one of the world’s biggest economies, with hydroelectric and industrial complexes, rapidly-growing cities, mines and fertile farmlands, but continues to struggle with extreme social inequalities, declining environments, and financial crises, as well as political instabilities.18 Brazil’s economy recorded a record growth of 7.7 percent in the third quarter of 2020, but still below government and market projections. It remains 4.1 percent below 2019’s fourth quarter and 7.3 percent below the 2014 peak. There has been a 3.9 percent decrease from 2019’s third quarter, and the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) decreased by 5 percent in 2020. This is comparable to that of the level of the beginning of 2017, when the 2014-2016 recession began.19 Brazil is one of the largest nations in the world, capable of wielding significant power on a global scale, but a number of factors could cause it to slip down in rankings over the next ten years, including lasting effects of the pandemic, climate change that Brazil continues to struggle to get a handle on, and economic and socio-economic challenges. It is worth continuing to keep a close eye on these issues, as well as how it interacts with China and the United States in 2021, as the US faces a transition in leadership and a potential change in relationship with Brazil’s biggest economic ally, China. Citations
0 Comments
|
AuthorEach author's name will appear on the post which they wrote. For more detailed information, please see our About page! ArchivesCategories |