style="font-size:15px;"> Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 745-2700; there are BrazilianConsulates General in Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New
York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco
US:
Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nacoes, Lote 3, Brasilia,
Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO AA 34030); telephone [55] (61)
321-7272; FAX [55] (61) 225-9136; there are US Consulates General in Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in PortoAlegre and 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)
:Brazil Economy
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, is
embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to modernize and
reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy,
and opening it to increased foreign competition. The government in December
1991 signed a letter of intent with the IMF for a 20-month standby loan.
Having reached an agreement on the repayment of interest arrears accumulated
during 1989 and 1990, Brazilian officials and commercial bankers are engaged
in talks on the reduction of medium- and long-term debt and debt service
payments and on the elimination of remaining interest arrears. A major
long-run strength is Brazil's vast natural resources.
GDP:
exchange rate conversion - $358 billion, per capita $2,300; real growth rate
1.2% (1991)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
478.5% (December 1991, annual rate)
Unemployment rate:
4.3% (1991)
Budget:
revenues $164.3 billion; expenditures $170.6 billion, including capital
expenditures of $32.9 billion (1990)
Exports:
$31.6 billion (1991)
commodities:
iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee
partners:
EC 31%, US 24%, Latin America 11%, Japan 8% (1990)
Imports:
$21.0 billion (1991)
commodities:
crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal
partners:
Middle East and Africa 22%, US 21%, EC 21%, Latin America 18%, Japan 6%
(1990)
External debt:
$118 billion (December 1991)
Industrial production:
growth rate—0.5% (1991); accounts for 39% of GDP
Electricity:
58,500,000 kW capacity; 229,824 million kWh produced, 1,479 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron
ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin
Agriculture:
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
:Brazil Economy
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),
$1.3 billion
Currency:
cruzeiro (plural - cruzeiros); 1 cruzeiro (Cr$) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
cruzeiros (Cr$) per US$1 - 1,197.38 (January 1992), 406.61 (1991), 68.300
