style="font-size:15px;"> noun - Brazilian(s); adjective - BrazilianEthnic divisions:
Portuguese, Italian, German, Japanese, black, Amerindian; white 55%, mixed
38%, black 6%, other 1%
Religions:
Roman Catholic (nominal) 90%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), Spanish, English, French
Literacy:
81% (male 82%, female 80%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
Labor force:
57,000,000 (1989 est.); services 42%, agriculture 31%, industry 27%
Organized labor:
13,000,000 dues paying members (1989 est.)
:Brazil Government
Long-form name:
Federative Republic of Brazil
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; note - the former territories of Amapa and Roraima
became states in January 1991
Independence:
7 September 1822 (from Portugal)
Constitution:
5 October 1988
Legal system:
based on Latin codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Independence Day, 7 September (1822)
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 Fernando Affonso COLLOR de Mello (since 15 March 1990); Vice
President Itamar FRANCO (since 15 March 1990)
Political parties and leaders:
National Reconstruction Party (PRN), Daniel TOURINHO, president; Brazilian
Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), Orestes QUERCIA, president; Liberal Front
Party (PFL), Hugo NAPOLEAO, 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
Suffrage:
voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70; voluntary at age 70
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
:Brazil Government
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
Communists:
less than 30,000
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
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, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
Ambassador Rubens RICUPERO; Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue
