Brazil

Brazil, tropical country with its vivid colors, fertile soil, splendid scenery and joyful people. The land of carnival, samba and soccer. A democracy burdened by a legacy of exploitation, lengthy colonization, dictatorships and famous celebrities such as Lula and Pelé.

Our country takes up almost half of South America and has a population of more than 184 million people, spread out over 26 States and a Federal District.

Our geography harbors an enormous variety of flora and fauna, accounting for 20% of all biodiversity in the world. We are endowed with dense, impenetrable forests, numerous mountain ranges, vast floodplains and swamps, extensive rivers and endless beaches.

Beyond its natural beauty, Brazil’s culture will also captivate you. The Brazilian people are uniquely diverse, descendents of different races and ethnicities, including Indians, Europeans and Africans. We speak in various accents, have different skin tones and live in a variety of climates. We are a warm and welcoming people, who love to laugh, sing and dance. Our cultural identity is based on values of tolerance, solidarity and joie de vivre.

But we are also a country of great inequality. We have one of the highest rates of inequitable income distribution, where 1% of the population possesses more than 42% of the wealth. We suffer from corruption and a lack of opportunities for the lower income classes. Nevertheless, we are currently the eight largest economy in the world.

We are a developing country, a country of the future that is carving out its place in the world. We are able to respect our differences and unite ourselves, forming a truly unique nation, our beloved Brazil. We need to seize upcoming opportunities; the 2014 Soccer World Cup and 2016 Olympics will give us the strength and visibility to grow. We have to transform this beautiful scenic country into a country of equality and innovation, a country of the present, rather than the future.