9.2.4

Emerging Powers - Brazil

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Brazil - Economic, Political and Military

Brazil has a large volume of natural resources, but it has not been particularly stable politically since 2010.

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Economic characteristics

  • Brazil is a regional power in South America and produces half of the region’s GDP.
  • Its economy is growing and is predicted to grow by 2.3% in 2018.
  • However, it relies on primary products for export and this is considered less stable than manufacturing.
    • It has huge natural resource reserves.
    • It is self-sufficient in food and energy and has been a net exporter of oil since 2011.
    • It has a large oil and gas sector and is the world’s 10th largest oil producer.
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Political characteristics

  • Brazil has been politically less stable in recent years. It has had protests every year since 2013.
  • Recently a 10-day strike of Brazil’s truckers saw the country grind to a halt as nothing was transported around the country.
  • There is growing unrest because of government spending cuts and accusations of government corruption.
    • Dilma Rousseff, the 36th President of Brazil, found herself impeached in a growing corruption scandal involving the Brazilian upper classes.
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Military characteristics

  • Brazil makes up 60% of South America’s total military budget.
  • But Brazil’s military spending is significantly lower than that of the other BRIC nations.
  • As a percentage of GDP, the total military expenditure has been falling since 1985.
  • In 2017 Brazil spent 2.166% of its GDP on its military according to the World Bank.

Brazil - Cultural, Demographic and Environmental

Brazil has a global cultural influence and has favourable demographics over the next few years.

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Cultural characteristics

  • Brazil has global cultural influence through its world-famous Rio carnival and through sports.
  • Hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic games in 2016 has helped increase Brazil’s global influence.
  • However, its national language, Portuguese, is unlikely to be used globally, so it is hard to exert its power and culture through multimedia TNCs like the USA.
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Demographic characteristics

  • Brazil is arguably in a better demographic position than many of the other BRIC nations.
  • It has a young population with a median age of 31.3 in 2015.
  • However, the fertility rate is falling and fell from 6 in 1960 to 1.8 in 2015. If this decline continues, an ageing population could result.
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Environmental characteristics

  • Brazil faces major environmental issues- namely deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
    • The Amazon rainforest is home to 13% of the world’s biodiversity.
  • Brazil does support global initiatives, such as the UN Global Climate Change Conference however it needs to deal with its own environmental issues too.
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The Amazon rainforest

  • Brazil managed to see an 80% decrease in large-scale deforestation of the Amazon between 2004-2012 by increasing law enforcement, expanding protected areas and recognizing indigenous tribes and their territories.
  • They managed to achieve this whilst increasing production of cattle and soy. These were two of the main causes of deforestation.
  • However, between 2015-2017, Brazil’s deforestation rate has doubled again as the political unrest means the law enforcement efforts have relaxed.

Jump to other topics

1Tectonic Processes & Hazards

2Option 2A: Glaciated Landscapes & Change

3Option 2B: Coastal Landscapes & Change

4Globalisation

5Option 4A: Regenerating Places

6Option 4B: Diverse Places

7The Water Cycle & Water Insecurity (A2 only)

8The Carbon Cycle & Energy Security (A2 only)

9Superpowers (A2 only)

10Option 8A: Health & Human Rights (A2 only)

11Option 8B: Migration & Identity (A2 only)

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