For many in the Western world, Brazil is a place of constant wonder and fascination. This immense country contains beautiful coastlines, a large portion of the Amazon rainforest, and one of the world’s most racially diverse and colorful populations. To an outsider this country might seem overwhelming to absorb and comprehend. In Brazil On the Rise, the author Larry Rohter spends 40 years attempting to do just this, presenting his findings in a way that gives the reader a in depth look into this country’s vast historical, political and economical development, and cultural side. Rohter takes the reader on a tour of Brazil at lightening speed, which although at times a bit exhausting, leaves the reader with a sense of having visited Brazil from the comfort of their own homes.
The book begins with a short excerpt on how Rohter came to be involved with Brazil in the late 1970’s and how “over the past four decades, I have watched a very different Brazil come into being” (pg.19). Then he touches on brief facts about Brazil, intending to expanded later on in the book, such as it’s booming economy, which is now the 6th largest in the world and it’s classification with other BRIC economies such as Russia and China. The first chapter recounts the historical heritage Brazil has from the colonization of Portugal, Spanish, and other Western European countries. This colonization along with the importation of slavery from Africa set the foundation for economic, political, and social strife that has come to haunt it even today.
The first few chapters give a glimpse into Brazilian society and culture. Rohter describes the Brazilian people as having “a warmth and friendliness in personal relationships, even casual ones, that newcomers find en...
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...inuously uses a comparison between the United States and Brazil to give Western readers a foothold in comprehension. While the overall book read easily, at times the author became a bit too tedious in his details, overwhelming the readers. It could also be said that the author tends to use too much bias when describing his interpretation of various political leaders and situations. This leaves the reader to wonder why this country is still dealing with serious problems such as racism and poverty if the leaders are as competent as he describes. The book must be commended however on the merit that is a rare kind for such in depth and inclusive documentation. Overall, Brazil on the Rise is a great read for anyone who is interested in taking a closer look at this country
Works Cited
Brazil On the Rise. Larry Rohter. New York, NY:
Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. 304 pgs.
The purpose of this paper is to recognize, study and analyze the race relations in Brazil. Race relations are relations between two groups of different races; it is how these two different races connect to each other in their environment. Since Brazil is racially diverse, this study is focused on how Brazilians relate to each other. Throughout the essay, it will become clear that there exists a conflict between two race groups. Afro-Brazilians and White-Brazilians are not connected and though these two groups converse with each other, discrimination still lies within the society. This discrimination has created inequality within the society for Afro-Brazilians. Thus, this paper will not only focus on racism and discrimination that Afro-Brazilians experience because of White-Brazilian, but also on the history of Brazil, the types if discrimination that Afro-Brazilian must endure today and how the media creates discrimination.
The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how Brazil, a country with an extremely high rate of inflation and low growth, positioned itself as the 7th largest economy of the world and what are the challenges that the country is facing. First of all, the Real Plan of Fernando Henrique Cardoso and how it helped the country to stabilize its economy and drop down the inflation rate will be discussed. Secondly, how his successor’s policies, Luis Inácio Lula da Silva, improved country’s economy. At the end the challenges that Dilma Vana Rousseff, the current president, is facing will be discussed.
The discourse of self-definition in Brazil is based on perceptions of economic success, material value and social prestige. Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, there was a general scramble to reconstruct individual identity in social success and achievement. “Assertions of moral and cultural (class and racial) superiority” make up the discourses of national and regional identity, while simultaneously setting up the social building blocks of discrimination and stratification (25). Through the strange consumption of not only goods, but the commodification of experiences, the Brazilian middle class sought to redefine their lives and social status, and ultimately create a world that thrives on social division and prejudice.
Watkins, Thayer. "The Economic History of Brazil." The Economic History of Brazil. San Jose State University. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. .
Brazil, the largest country on the continent of South America, has historically been seen as the underdog socially, politically, and especially economically. Referred to as “the country of the future… and always will be” by many Brazilians and those who know the country best, the country has not always been a beacon of hope for Latin America as it is today (Weyland, pg 64). Brazil has many unique qualities when compared to many of its Latin American counterparts. While much of Latin America has wrestled with its Spanish colonial past, Brazil has been much more diplomatic and tolerant of its Portuguese colonial past. With such a vast amount of natural resources and territory, Brazil has had the advantage of being relatively self-sufficient when it needed to, but also being able to develop into one of the busiest and prosperous trading nations in Latin America. With frequent political transitions throughout its 500 year history, and experiencing periods of oppression and totalitarianism, Brazil has managed to overcome and move past the scars of its dictatorial past. This is in part due to its fortunate avoidance of ruthless and violent dictators in the style of Pinochet in Chile, Peron in Argentina, Castro in Cuba, and Fujimori in Peru, just to name a few. In this research paper, I will briefly describe an overview of Brazil’s present political circumstances while also touching on a few key factors that have aided its development, in addition to in-depth analyses of the country’s history through three main phases. I will also make philosophical connections to explain and put into proper perspective the events that have shaped Brazil into the country it is today.
This concept of racial democracy would significantly impact how Brazil addressed inequalities between White and Black Brazilians. On the one hand, Brazil’s effort in exhibiting a strong sense of pride among its nationals by adopting the customs and traditions of Africans, promotes this notion of racial democracy as the endorsed philosophy. As a result, all Brazilians were thought to be considered equal no one group was of better quality then...
The Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral arrived at present day Pôrto Seguro (Safe Harbor) in the state of Bahia on the Brazilian coast in April 1500 and named the new territory Ilha de Vera Cruz, Island of the True Cross, thinking he was on an island. A year later, Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci sailed to Brazil on a voyage commissioned by the Portuguese crown and returned home with a cargo of hard, reddish wood. The wood was similar to an East Indian variety called pau brasil, which was then popular in Europe for making cabinets and violin bows. Pau brasil (brazilwood), the first product to be exploited by the Portuguese in this new territory, is the origin of the country's name, Brazil (Ramaworldtours.com, 2014). Brazil is characterized by a diverse culture and geography, and historically it has been the source of important natural resources in its 510 years of history. It is the largest country in South America in both population (approximately199.321 million- “World Population Statistics”) and area (8.5 million square kilometers) and 5th largest country in the world. Brazil has several regional variations, and in spite of being mostly unified by a single language, some regions are so different from each other that they could have become different countries altogether. Brazil is composed by multicultural mixture: Africans, Europeans and Native Americans formed the bulk of Brazilian culture. This fact influences arts, literature, music or gastronomy, creating a heterogeneous mix of habits and patterns in society. (Noble J., Chandler G., & Clark G., 2008) Bossa Nova, Carnival and samba are some of the most popular exponents of this heterogeneous and rich culture. Brazil was colonized by the Por...
Larry Rohter was a journalist in Brazil for 14 years and from his experiences he offers in this book some unique insights into Brazilian history, politics, culture and more. In 10 topical chapters Rohter’s easy-to-read book provides a look at Brazilian history and the extraordinary changes the country has undergone -- and is still undergoing. Rother covers many significant issues, but several stand out more than others. Namely: the country’s history, culture, politics, and finally its economy/natural wealth.
Globalisation has been crucial to the economic and social development of Brazil. In the late twentieth century Brazil face years of economic, political and social instability experiencing high inflation, high income inequality and rapidly growing poverty. However after a change of government in the 1990s and large structural changes in both the economic and social landscapes, the brazilian economy has been experiencing a growing middle class and reduced income gap. Since the start of the 21st century, brazil has benefitted from the move to a more global economy.
Racial identity is a complicated thing to examine when looking at the social politics of Brazil. The film Brazil in Black and White and Benedita da Silva’s book both tackle the issues of racial identity in similar manners. Brazil has the second highest black population in the world, following only Nigeria, yet Afro-Brazilians are heavily unrepresented in Brazilian education, government, and media. Benedita da Silva, being an Afro-Brazilian congresswoman faced these issues on a personal level and her criticisms are integral in understanding the marginalization of blacks in Brazil.
In the past years, Brazil has celebrated itself as a great economic performer with emerging markets and increasing influence on the international stage. However, in 2013, Brazil was paralyzed by huge demonstrations expressing deep discontent with their governments’ performance. In this paper, I look at the sudden onset of the protest and the absence of it in the previous years. I will argue that despite these protests, the government of Brazil maintains a hegemonic culture that propagates its own values and practices. Brazil experiences the process of modernization from the above, which does not quite reflect the demands of the lower class. Using Brazil as an example, I will expand on how the political leadership establishes and maintains its control.
In 1822, Brazil became a nation independent from Portugal. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome more than half a century of military government to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development. With an abundance of natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became Latin America's leading economic power by the 1970’s.
2. Burns, Bradford E. . A History of Brazil: Second Edition. New York: Cornell University Press, 1980.
In the current economic times the development and growth of any economy has come to a near stop or at least to a drastic slow down. The face of the global economic environment has changed and many new countries are starting to change the way their country and the rest of the world does business. One such nation is Brazil, who has turned around their own economic troubles and is becoming one of the fastest growing economies in the world (World Factbook). Brazil has started developing its economy and using the opportunity to achieve a level of respect in the world.
Brazil is a diverse and enormous country. There are large, medium and small sized aities that stretch from coast. From Brazilian cit...