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Revision as of 23:21, 21 January 2003 by Pedreco (talk | contribs) (Corrected city spelling; corrected Historical mistake (25 years of military, not 50))(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)This article is about the country. For other uses see Brazil (disambiguation).
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The Federative Republic of Brazil (Brasil) is a Portuguese speaking country in South America with Brasília as its capital. The major cities are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Other important cities are Belém, Fortaleza, Manaus Goiânia, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Salvador, Curitiba, Recife, Blumenau, Manaus, and Anápolis. Brazil is almost the size of the U.S. and is rich in natural resources; however there are major disparities in the distribution of wealth. Brazil has a small (10%) middle class.
Following three centuries under the rule of Portugal, Brazil became an independent nation in 1822. By far the largest and most populous country in South America, Brazil has overcome a quarter of century of military intervention in the governance of the country to pursue industrial and agricultural growth and development of the interior. Exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool, Brazil became Latin America's leading economic power by the 1970s. Highly unequal income distribution remains a pressing problem.
Brazil's Iguaçu Falls, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "makes Niagara Falls look like a leaky faucet".
From the CIA World Factbook 2000. Not Wikified.