Brazil:

Brazil (Portuguese: Brasil), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil^[7] (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil)

listen (help·info), is the largest country and the only Portuguese-speaking country in South America.^[8]

History

Portuguese colonization and territorial expansion

The land now called Brazil (the origin of whose name is disputed), was claimed by the Portuguese in April 1500, at the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral.^[13] The Portuguese encountered its stone age inhabitants^[13] who were divided into several tribes that fought among themselves,^[14] most of which shared the same Tupi-Guarani linguistic family.^[13] Colonization was effectively started in 1534, when King Dom João III divided the territory into twelve hereditary captaincies^[15]^[16] but this proved an utter disaster, and in 1549 the king assigned a Governor-General to administer the entire colony.^[16]^[17] The Portuguese assimilated some of the native tribes^[18] while others were enslaved^[19]^[20] or mostly exterminated in long wars and mainly by European diseases to which they had no immunity.^[19]^[21] By the mid 16th century, sugar had become the most important export from Brazil.^[14]^[22] This made the Portuguese import African slaves^[23]^[24] to cope with the increasing international demand.^[19]^[25]

Through wars against the French, the Portuguese slowly expanded their territory to the southeast, taking Rio de Janeiro in 1567, and to the northwest, São Luís in 1615.^[26] They sent military expeditions to the Amazon rainforest that conquered British and Dutch strongholds, founding villages and forts from 1669.^[27] In 1680 they reached the far south and founded Sacramento on the bank of the Rio de la Plata, in the Eastern Strip region (present-day Uruguay).^[28] At the end of the 17th century sugar exports started to decline^[29] but the discovery of gold by explorers in the region that would later be called Minas Gerais (General Mines) around 1693 and in the following decades in current Mato Grosso and Goiás saved the colony from imminent collapse.^[30] From all over Brazil, as well as from Portugal, thousands of immigrants departed toward the mines.^[31]

The Spanish tried to prevent Portuguese expansion into the territory belonging to them according to the Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 and succeeded in conquering the Eastern Strip in 1777. All was in vain as the Treaty of San Ildefonso, signed in the same year, confirmed Portuguese sovereignty over all lands proceeding from its territorial expansion, thus creating most of the current Brazilian borders.^[32] In 1808, the Portuguese royal family, fleeing the troops of the French Emperor Napoleon I that were invading Portugal and most of Central Europe, established themselves in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which thus became the seat of the entire Portuguese Empire.^[33] In 1815 King Dom João VI, then regent on behalf of his incapacitated mother, elevated Brazil from colony to sovereign Kingdom united with Portugal.^[33] In 1809 the Portuguese invaded French Guiana (returned to France in 1817)^[34] and in 1816 the Eastern Strip, subsequently renamed Cisplatina.^[35]

Independence and empire

King João VI returned to Europe on 26 April, 1821, leaving his elder son Prince Pedro de Alcântara as regent to rule Brazil.^[36] The Portuguese government attempted to turn Brazil into a colony once again, thus depriving it of its achievements since 1808.^[37] The Brazilians refused to yield and Prince Pedro stood by them declaring the country's independence from Portugal on September 7, 1822.^[38] On October 12, 1822, Pedro was declared first Emperor of Brazil (as Dom Pedro I) and crowned on 1 December 1822.^[39] In 1822 almost all Brazilians were in favor of a monarchy: Republicanism was an ideal supported by few.^[40]^[41] The subsequent Brazilian War of Independence spread through almost its entire territory, with battles in the northern, northeastern, and southern regions.^[42] The last Portuguese army surrendered on March 8, 1824^[43] and independence was recognized by Portugal on August 29, 1825.^[44]

The first Brazilian constitution was promulgated on March 25, 1824, after its acceptance by the municipal councils across the country.^[46]^[47]^[48]^[49] Pedro I abdicated in 7 April 1831 and went to Europe to reclaim his daughter’s crown leaving behind his son and heir who became Dom Pedro II.^[50] As the new emperor could not exert his constitutional prerogatives until he reached maturity, a regency was created.^[51] Disputes between political factions led to rebellions and an unstable, almost anarchical, regency.^[52] The rebellious factions, however, were not in revolt against the monarchy,^[53]^[54] even though some declared the secession of the provinces as independent republics (but only so long as Pedro II was a minor).^[55]

Thus, Pedro II was prematurely declared of age and "Brazil was to enjoy nearly half a century of internal peace and rapid material progress."^[56] Brazil also won three international wars during his long reign of 58 years (Platine War, Uruguayan War and War of the Triple Alliance.^[57]) and witnessed the consolidation of representative democracy mainly due to successive elections and unrestricted freedom of the press.^[58] Most importantly, slavery was extinguished after a slow but steady process that went from the end of international traffic in 1850^[59] up to the complete abolition in 1888.^[60] It had been in decline since the country's independence: in 1823, 29% of the Brazilian population were slaves while in 1887 this had fallen to 5%.^[61]

When the monarchy was overthrown on November 15, 1889^[62] there was little desire in Brazil to change the form of government^[63] and Pedro II was at the height of his popularity among his subjects.^[64]^[65] However, he "bore prime, perhaps sole, responsibility for his own overthrow."^[66] After the death of his two male sons, he believed that "the imperial regime was destined to end with him."^[67] The emperor did not care about its fate,^[68]^[69] did nothing, and allowed no one to do anything^[70] to prevent the military coup^[71] that was backed by former slave owners who resented the abolition of slavery.^[72]

Old republic and Vargas era

The early republican government "was little more than a military dictatorship. The army dominated affairs both at Rio de Janeiro and in the states. Freedom of the press disappeared and elections were controlled by those in power."^[62] In 1894 the republican civilians rose to power, opening a "prolonged cycle of civil war, financial disaster, and government incompetence."^[73] By 1902, the government "began a return to the policies pursued during the Empire, policies that promised peace and order at home and a restoration of Brazil's prestige abroad."^[73] and was successful in negotiating several treaties that expanded (with the purchase of Acre) and secured the Brazilian boundaries.^[74] In the 1920s the country was plagued by several rebellions caused by young military officers.^[75]^[76] By 1930, the regime was weakened and demoralized, which allowed the defeated presidential candidate Getúlio Vargas to lead a coup d'état and assume the presidency.^[77] Vargas was supposed to assume the presidency temporarily, but instead closed the National Congress, extinguished the Constitution, ruled with emergency powers and replaced the states' governors with his supporters.^[78]^[79]

In 1935 the Communists rebelled all over the country and tried to take power, but were defeated.^[80] The communist threat served as an excuse for Vargas to launch another coup d'état in 1937, making Brazil a full dictatorship.^[81]^[82] The repression of the opposition was brutal, with more than 20,000 people imprisoned, internment camps for political prisoners created in distant regions of the country, censorship of the press, and widespread torture by the government's agents of repression.^[83]^[84]

Brazil remained neutral at the early years of World War II until the government declared war against the Axis powers in 1942.^[85] After that Vargas forced Germans, Japanese and Italians immigrants into concentration camps,^[86] and sent troops to the battlefields in Italy in 1944.^[87]^[88] With the end of the Nazi-fascist regimes in Europe after the allied victory in 1945, Vargas's position became unsustainable and he was swiftly overthrown by a military coup.^[89] Democracy was reinstated and General Eurico Gaspar Dutra was elected president and took office in 1946.^[90] Vargas returned to power in 1951, this time democratically elected, but he was incapable of both governing under a democracy and of dealing with an active opposition and committed suicide in 1953.^[91]^[92]

Military regime and contemporary era

Several brief interim governments succeeded after Vargas's suicide.^[93] Juscelino Kubitscheck became president in 1956 and assumed a conciliatory posture^[vague] that allowed him to govern without major crises.^[94] The economy and industrial sector grew remarkably.^[95] But his greatest achievement was the construction of Brasília, the new Brazilian capital inaugurated in 1960.^[96] His successor was Jânio Quadros, who resigned in 1961, less than a year after taking office.^[97] His vice-president, João Goulart, assumed the presidency, but aroused strong opposition^[98] and was deposed in April 1964 by a coup that resulted in a military regime^[99] intended to be transitory,^[100] but that gradually closed itself until it became a full dictatorship with the promulgation of the Fifth Institutional Act in 1968.^[101] The repression of the dictatorship's opponents and also of the communist terrorists^[102] was harsh but not nearly as brutal as in other Latin American countries.^[103] Due to the extraordinary economic growth, known as an "economic miracle", the regime reached its highest level of popularity in those years of repression.^[104]

General Ernesto Geisel became president in 1974 and began his project of re-democratization through a process that Geisel said would be "slow, gradual and safe."^[105]^[106] Geisel ended the military indiscipline that had plagued the country since 1889,^[107] as well as the torture of political prisoners and censorship of the press,^[108] and finally, the dictatorship itself after he extinguished the Fifth Institutional Act.^[101] However, the military regime continued under his chosen successor to accomplish the transition to full democracy, General João Figueiredo.^[109]

The civilians fully returned to power in 1985 when José Sarney assumed the presidency^[110] but he ended his term extremely unpopular due to the uncontrollable economic crisis and unusually high inflation.^[111] That allowed the election in 1989 of the almost unknown Fernando Collor, who was impeached by the National Congress in 1992.^[112] He was succeeded by his Vice-President Itamar Franco, who called Fernando Henrique Cardoso to become Minister of Finance. Cardoso was highly successful with his Plano Real (Royal Plan)^[113] that granted stability to the Brazilian economy^[114] and his efforts were recognized by the Brazilians who elected him president in 1994 and again in 1998.^[115] The peaceful transition of power to Luís Inácio Lula da Silva, elected in 2002 (and re-elected in 2006), revealed that Brazil had finally succeeded in achieving its long-sought political stability.^[116]

Government and politics

The Brazilian Federation is based on the association of three autonomous political entities: the States, the Municipalities and the Federal District.^[10] A fourth entity originated in this association: the Union.^[10] There is no hierarchy among these four. The Federation is set on six fundamental principles:^[10] sovereignty, citizenship, dignity of the people, social value of labor, freedom of enterprise, and political pluralism. The classic tripartite branches of government (executive, legislative, and judicial under the checks and balances system), is formally established by the Constitution.^[10] The executive and legislative are organized independently in all four political entities, while the judiciary is organized only at the federal and state levels.

All members of the executive and legislative branches are directly elected.^[117]^[118]^[119] Judges and other judicial officials are appointed after passing entry exams.^[117] Voting is compulsory for those between 18 and 65 years old.^[10] Together with several smaller parties, four political parties stand out: Workers' Party (PT), Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and Democrats (formerly Liberal Front Party – PFL). Almost all governmental and administrative functions are exercised by authorities and agencies affiliated to the Executive.

The form of government is that of a democratic republic, with a presidential system.^[10] The president is both head of state and head of government of the Union and is elected for a four-year term,^[10] with the possibility of re-election for a second successive term. The current president is Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was elected on October 27, 2002,^[120] and re-elected on October 29, 2006.^[121] The President appoints the Ministers of State, who assist in governing.^[10] Legislative houses in each political entity are the main source of laws in Brazil. The National Congress is the Federation's bicameral legislature, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Judiciary authorities exercise jurisdictional duties almost exclusively.

Law

Brazilian law is based on Roman-Germanic traditions.^[122] Thus civil law concepts prevail over common law practice. Most of Brazilian law is codified, although non-codified statutes also represent a substantial part, playing a complementary role. Court decisions set out interpretive guidelines; however, they are seldom binding on other specific cases. Doctrinal works and the works of academic jurists have strong influence in law creation and in law cases.

The legal system is based on the Federal Constitution, which was promulgated on 5 October 1988, and is the fundamental law of Brazil. All other legislation and court decisions must conform to its rules.^[123] As of April 2007, there have been 53 amendments. States have their own constitutions, which must not contradict the Federal Constitution.^[124] Municipalities and the Federal District have "organic laws" (leis orgânicas) which act similar to constitutions.^[10]^[125] Legislative entities are the main source of statutes, although in certain matters judiciary and executive bodies may enact legal norms.^[10] Jurisdiction is administered by the judiciary entities, although in rare situations the Federal Constitution allows the Federal Senate to pass on legal judgments.^[10] There are also specialized military, labor, and electoral courts.^[10] The highest court is the Supreme Federal Tribunal. This system has been criticised over the last decades for the slow pace at which final decisions are issued. Lawsuits on appeal may take several years to resolve, and in some cases more than a decade elapses before definitive rulings are made.^[126]

Nevertheless, the Supreme Federal Tribunal is the first court in the world to transmit its sessions on television, and more recently also via Youtube.^[127]^[128] More recently, in December 2009, the Supreme Court adopted Twitter to display items on the day planner of the ministers, to inform the actions that arrive daily to the Court, and the most important decisions made by them.^[129]

Foreign relations and military

Brazil is a political and economic leader in Latin America.^[130]^[131] However, social and economic problems prevent it from becoming an effective global power.^[132] Between World War II and 1990, both democratic and military governments sought to expand Brazil's influence in the world by pursuing a state-led industrial policy and an independent foreign policy. More recently, the country has aimed to strengthen ties with other South American countries, and engage in multilateral diplomacy through the United Nations and the Organization of American States.^[133]

The armed forces of Brazil consist of the Brazilian Army, the Brazilian Navy, and the Brazilian Air Force with 371,199 active personnel.^[139] The Military Police (States' Military Police) is described as an ancillary force of the Army by the constitution, but is under the control of each state's governor.^[10] The armed forces are the largest in Latin America. The Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Brazilian armed forces, and the largest air force in Latin America, with about 700 manned aircraft in service.^[140] The Navy is responsible for naval operations and for guarding Brazilian territorial waters. It is the oldest of the Brazilian armed forces and the only navy in Latin America to operate an aircraft carrier, the NAe São Paulo (formerly FS Foch of the French Navy).^[141] The Army is responsible for land-based military operations and has 235,978 active personnel.^[142]

States and municipalities

Brazil is a federation composed of twenty-six States, one federal district (which contains the capital city, Brasília) and municipalities.^[10] States have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the Federal government. They have a governor and a unicameral legislative body elected directly by their voters. They also have independent Courts of Law for common justice. Despite that, states have much less autonomy to create their own laws than in the United States. For example, criminal and civil laws can only be voted by the federal bicameral Congress and are uniform throughout the country.^[10]

In turn, the states and the federal district may be grouped into regions: Northern, Northeast, Central-West, Southeast and Southern. The Brazilian regions are merely geographical, not political or administrative divisions, and do not have any specific form of government. Although defined by law, Brazilian regions are useful mainly for statistical purposes, and sometimes to define the application of federal funds in development projects.

Municipalities, as the states, have autonomous administrations, collect their own taxes and receive a share of taxes collected by the Union and state government.^[10] Each has a mayor and an elected legislative body, but no separate Court of Law. Indeed, a Court of Law organized by the state can encompass many municipalities in a single justice administrative division called comarca (county).

Geography

Brazilian topography is also diverse, including hills, mountains, plains, highlands, and scrublands. Much of Brazil lies between 200 metres (660 ft) and 800 metres (2,600 ft) in elevation.^[144] The main upland area occupies most of the southern half of the country.^[144] The northwestern parts of the plateau consist of broad, rolling terrain broken by low, rounded hills.^[144] The southeastern section is more rugged, with a complex mass of ridges and mountain ranges reaching elevations of up to 1,200 metres (3,900 ft).^[144] These ranges include the Mantiqueira and Espinhaço mountains and the Serra do Mar.^[144] In the north, the Guiana Highlands form a major drainage divide, separating rivers that flow south into the Amazon Basin from rivers that empty into the Orinoco River system, in Venezuela, to the north. The highest point in Brazil is the Pico da Neblina at 3,014 metres (9,890 ft), and the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean.^[8] Brazil has a dense and complex system of rivers, one of the world's most extensive, with eight major drainage basins, all of which drain into the Atlantic.^[145] Major rivers include the Amazon, the largest river in terms of volume of water and the second-longest in the world; the Paraná and its major tributary, the Iguaçu River, where the Iguazu Falls are located; the Negro, São Francisco, Xingu, Madeira and the Tapajós rivers.^[145]

Climate

The climate of Brazil comprises a wide range of weather conditions across a large area and varied topography, but the largest part of the country is tropical.^[8] According to the Köppen system, Brazil hosts five major climatic subtypes: equatorial, tropical, semiarid, highland tropical, and temperate; ranging from equatorial rainforests in the north and semiarid deserts in the northeast, to temperate coniferous forests in the south and tropical savannas in central Brazil.^[146] Many regions have starkly different microclimates.^[147]^[148]

An equatorial climate characterizes much of northern Brazil. There is no real dry season, but there are some variations in the period of the year when most rain falls.^[146] Temperatures average 25 °C (77 °F),^[148] with more significant temperature variations between night and day than between seasons.^[147] Over central Brazil rainfall is more seasonal, characteristic of a savanna climate.^[147] This region is as large and extensive as the Amazon basin but, lying farther south and being at a moderate altitude, it has a very different climate.^[146] In the interior northeast, seasonal rainfall is even more extreme. The semiarid climate region generally receives less than 800 millimetres (31 in) of rain,^[149] most of which falls in a period of three to five months^[150] and occasionally even more insufficiently, creating long periods of drought.^[147] South of Bahia, near São Paulo, the distribution of rainfall changes, with rainfall in all months.^[146] The south has temperate conditions, with average temperatures below 18 °C (64 °F) and cool winters;^[148] frosts are quite common, with occasional snowfall in the higher areas.^[146]^[147]

Flora and fauna

Brazil's large territory comprises different ecosystems, such as the Amazon Rainforest, recognized as having the greatest biological diversity in the world;^[151] the Atlantic Forest and the Cerrado, which together sustain some of the world's greatest biodiversity.^[152] In the south, the Araucaria pine forest grows under temperate conditions.^[152] The rich wildlife of Brazil reflects the variety of natural habitats. Much of it, however, remains largely unknown, and new species are found on nearly a daily basis.^{[citation needed]}

The natural heritage of Brazil is severely threatened by cattle ranching and agriculture, logging, mining, resettlement, oil and gas extraction, over-fishing, expansion of urban centres, wildlife trade, fire, climate change, dams and infrastructure, water contamination, and invasive species.^[151] In many areas of the country, the natural environment is threatened by development.^[155] Construction of highways has opened up previously remote areas for agriculture and settlement; dams have flooded valleys and inundated wildlife habitats; and mines have scarred and polluted the landscape.^[154]^[156]

Economy

Brazil pegged its currency, the real, to the U.S. dollar in 1994. However, after the East Asian financial crisis, the Russian default in 1998^[163] and the series of adverse financial events that followed it, the Brazilian central bank temporarily changed its monetary policy to a managed-float scheme while undergoing a currency crisis, until definitively changing the exchange regime to free-float in January 1999.^[164] Brazil received an International Monetary Fund rescue package in mid-2002 of $30.4 billion,^[165] then a record sum. Due in 2006, the IMF loan was paid off early by Brazil's central bank in 2005.^[166] One of the issues the Brazilian central bank recently dealt with was an excess of speculative short-term capital inflows to the country, which might explain in part a fall of the U.S. dollar against the real during that period.^[167] Nonetheless, foreign direct investment (FDI), related to long-term, less speculative investment in production, is estimated to be $193.8 billion for 2007.^[168] Inflation monitoring and control currently plays a major role in Brazil's Central Bank activity in setting out short-term interest rates as a monetary policy measure.^[169]

Components and energy

Science and technology

Uranium is enriched at the Resende Nuclear Fuel Factory to fuel the country's energy demands. Plans are on the way to build the country's first nuclear submarine.^[187]^[188] Brazil is one of the three countries in Latin America^[189] with an operational Synchrotron Laboratory, a research facility on physics, chemistry, material science and life sciences.

Transport

Brazil has a large and diverse transport network. Roads are the primary carriers of freight and passenger traffic. The road system totaled 1.98 million km (1.23 million mi) in 2002. The total of paved roads increased from 35,496 km (22,056 mi) in 1967 to 184,140 km (114,425 mi) in 2002.^[190]

Brazil's railway system has been declining since 1945, when emphasis shifted to highway construction. The total length of railway track was 30,875 km (19,186 mi) in 2002, as compared with 31,848 km (19,789 mi) in 1970. Most of the railway system belongs to the Federal Railroad Corp., with a majority government interest; there are also seven lines which the government privatized in 1997.^[191] The São Paulo Metro was the first underground transit system in Brazil. The other metro systems are in Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre, Recife, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Teresina, Fortaleza, and Salvador.

There are about 2,500 airports in Brazil, including landing fields: the second largest number in the world, after the United States.^[192] São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, near São Paulo, is the largest and busiest airport, handling the vast majority of popular and commercial traffic of the country and connecting the city with virtually all major cities across the world.^[193]

Coastal shipping links widely separated parts of the country. Bolivia and Paraguay have been given free ports at Santos. Of the 36 deep-water ports, Santos, Itajaí, Rio Grande, Paranaguá, Rio de Janeiro, Sepetiba, Vitória, Suape, Manaus and São Francisco do Sul.^[vague]^[194]

Demographics

The population of Brazil as recorded by the 2000 Census was of 169,872,856 people (19.95 inhabitants per square kilometer), with a ratio of 0.97 men per woman. 81.55% of the population is urban^[195]. The population is heavily concentrated in the Southeastern (72,430,193 inhabitants) and Northeastern (47,782,487 inhabitants) regions, while the two most extense^[vague] regions, the Center-West and the North, which together make 64.12% of the Brazilian territory, have together only 24,549,828 inhabitants.

According to the National Research by Household Sample (PNAD) of 2008, 48.43% of the population (about 92 million) described themselves as White; 43.80% (about 83 million) as Brown (Multiracial) (about 80 million); 6.84% (about 13 million) as Black; 0.58% (about 1.1 million) as Yellow; and 0.28% (about 536 thousand) as Amerindian, while 0.07% (about 130 thousand) did not declare their race.^[196]

In 2007, the National Indian Foundation reported the presence of 67 different uncontacted tribes, up from 40 in 2005. With this figure, Brazil has the largest number of uncontacted peoples in the world.^[197]

Most Brazilians descend from the country's indigenous peoples, Portuguese settlers, and African slaves.^[198] Since 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, miscegenation between these three groups took place. The brown population (as multiracial Brazilians are officially called)^[199]^[200] is a broader category that includes Caboclos (descendants of Whites and Indians), Mulattoes (those of Whites and Blacks) and Cafuzos (those of Blacks and Indians).^[198]^[199]^[200]^[201]^[202]^[203] The Caboclos form the majority of the population in the Northern, Northeastern and Central-Western regions.^[204] A large Mulatto population can be found in the eastern coast of the northeastern region from Bahia to Paraíba^[203]^[205] and also in northern Maranhão,^[206]^[207] southern Minas Gerais^[208] and in eastern Rio de Janeiro.^[203]^[208] Beginning in the 19th century, Brazil opened its borders to immigration. About five million people from over 60 countries migrated to Brazil between 1808 and 1972, most of them from Portugal, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan and the Middle-East^[209].

In 2000, the literacy rate was 84.30% of the population^[210] and the youth literacy rate (ages 15–19) was 95.74%^[211]. Illiteracy is highest (around 27%) in the Northeast, which has a high proportion of rural poor.

Catholicism is dominant, making Brazil the largest Catholic nation in the world.^[212] According to the 2000 Demographic Census, 73.89% of the population follow Roman Catholicism, 15.41% - Protestantism, 1.33% - Kardecist spiritism, 0.91% - other Christian denominations, 0.31% - Afro-Brazilian religions; 0.13% - Buddhism; 0.05% - Judaism; 0.02% - Islam; 0.01% - Amerindian religions; 0.6% - other religions, while 7.35% have no religion.^[213]

Culture

Brazilian cuisine varies greatly by region. This diversity reflects the country's mix of native and immigrants. This has created a national cooking style marked by the preservation of regional differences.^[220] Examples are the Feijoada considered the country's national dish^[221]^[222] and regional foods such as vatapá, moqueca, polenta and acarajé. Brazil has a variety of candies like brigadeiros ("brigadiers") and beijinhos ("kissies"). Nationwide beverages are the coffe and the cachaça, Brazil's native liquor, distilled from sugar cane, which is the main ingredient in the national drink, the Caipirinha.

The Cinema has a long tradition in Brazil, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century, and gained a new level of international acclaim in recent years.^[225]

Language

Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.^[240] It is spoken by almost all of the population and is virtually the only language used in newspapers, radio, television, and for business and administrative purposes, with the exception of Nheengatu, an indigenous language of South America granted co-official status alongside Portuguese in the municipality of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.^[241] Moreover, Brazil is the only Portuguese-speaking nation in the Americas, making the language an important part of Brazilian national identity and giving it a national culture distinct from those of its Spanish-speaking neighbors.^{[citation needed]}

Brazilian Portuguese has had its own development, influenced by the Amerindian and African languages.^[242] As a result, the language is somewhat different, mostly in phonology and orthography, from that in Portugal and other Portuguese-speaking countries. These differences are somewhat greater than those between American and British English.^[242] In 2008, the CPLP (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) reached an agreement in the reform of Portuguese as one international language, as opposed to two diverged dialects of the same language, in which all countries with Portuguese as the official language participated. All CPLP countries were given from 2009 until 2014 to adjust to the necessary changes.^[243]

Minority languages are spoken throughout the nation. One hundred and eighty Amerindian languages are spoken in remote areas. Other languages are spoken by immigrants and their descendants.^[242] There are important communities of speakers of German (mostly the Hunsrückisch, part of the High German languages) and Italian (mostly the Talian dialect, of Venetian origin) in the south of the country, both largely influenced by the Portuguese language.^{[citation needed]}