National name: República Federativa do Brasil Capital Brasilia President: Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995) Area: 3,286,470 sq. mi. (8,511,965 sq. km) Population: 172,860,370 Monetary unit: real Language: Portuguese Religion: Roman Catholic Largest cities: São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Recife, Salvador, Belo Horizonte

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BRAZIL

Brazil is the only Latin American nation that derives its language and culture from Portugal. The native inhabitants mostly consisted of the nomadic Tupí-Guaraní Indians. Adm. Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed the territory for Portugal in 1500. The early explorers brought back a wood that produced a red dye, pau-brasil, from which the land received its name. Portugal began colonization in 1532 and made the area a royal colony in 1549.

During the Napoleonic Wars, King João VI, fearing the advancing French armies, fled the country in 1808 and set up his court in Rio de Janeiro. João was drawn home in 1820 by a revolution, leaving his son as regent. When Portugal sought to reduce Brazil again to colonial status, the prince declared Brazil's independence on Sept. 7, 1822, and became Pedro I, emperor of Brazil. Harassed by his Parliament, Pedro I abdicated in 1831 in favor of his five-year-old son, who became emperor in 1840 (Pedro II). The son was a popular monarch, but discontent built up and, in 1889, following a military revolt, he had to abdicate. Although a republic was proclaimed, Brazil was ruled by military dictatorships until a revolt permitted a gradual return to stability under civilian presidents.

President Wenceslau Braz cooperated with the Allies and declared war on Germany during World War I. In World War II, Brazil again cooperated with the Allies, welcoming Allied air bases, patrolling the South Atlantic, and joining the invasion of Italy after declaring war on the Axis powers.

In the last of a long series of military coups, Gen. João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo became president in 1979 and pledged a return to democracy in 1985. The election of Tancredo Neves on Jan. 15, 1985, the first civilian president since 1964, brought a nationwide wave of optimism, but when Neves died on April 21, Vice President Sarney became president. Sarney was widely distrusted because he had previously been a member of the military regime's political party. Collor de Mello won the election of late 1989, pledging to lower the chronic hyperinflation by following the path of free-market economics. When Collor faced impeachment by Congress because of a corruption scandal in Dec. 1992 and resigned, Vice President Itamar Franco assumed the presidency.

A former finance minister, Fernando Cardoso won the presidency in the Oct. 1994 election with 54% of the vote. Cardoso has engineered the disposal of inefficient government-owned monopolies in the telecommunication, electrical power, port, mining, railway, and banking industries. In his short time in office Cardoso's economic acumen has made a measurable dent in Brazil's poverty level.

In Jan. 1999, the Asian economic crisis spread to Brazil. Rather than prop up the currency through financial markets, Brazil opted to let the currency float, which sent the real plummeting—at one time as much as 40%. Cardoso has been highly praised by the international community for quickly turning around his country's economic crisis. He has shown strong political courage in forcing belt tightening measures on the economy, causing short-term misery and discontent in an effort to reap long-term stability and growth.