To what extent is Brazil and its development typical of a nation of the South?

Résumé du document

Etude sur le Brésil, exemple d'un pays du Sud, Document an anglais (4 pages)





The term « South » which today designates the southern developing countries as opposed to the northern, more industrialized nations, finds its origins in the phrase « Third World » first used in 1952 by the demographer Alfred Sauvy in an article entitled « Three Worlds, One Planet ». The term « Third World » used to designate the poor, newly decolonized countries or those about to become independent, which, in the midst of the Cold War, struggled to define their own identity in a rigorous bipolar globe, where both the United States and the USSR sought to extend their spheres of influence. The « Third World » therefore found its unity in « Non-Alignement », which it proclaimed in April 1955 at the Bandung Conference (Indonesia). At the time, all third-world countries shared the same characteristics: a booming and mainly rural population, widespread poverty and hunger as well as an underdeveloped and undiversified economy. Today, the notion of the « South » is becoming more and more complex, due to the unequal development of its members. The East Asian Dragons, which were once members of the « South », have become leading players on the international scene, thanks to an impressive economic development. Similarly the petrol-producing countries have entered an era of prosperity thanks to the increasing demand for oil. Meanwhile, South America has had to struggle to enter the globalization process, and Sub-Saharan Africa has been sinking into a series of crises it has still not overcome today. The diversity of the South thus makes it more difficult to define a typical southern profile, yet we will analyze to what extent Brazil and its development are typical of a country of the South.

Extraits

[...] Whereas these first figures show Brazil's considerable development over the last few decades, the widespread poverty and the unequal distribution of income remind us that Brazil still belongs to the developing world. First of all Brazil is affected by unequal regional development. The considerable differences in terms of social and economic conditions within the Brazilian territory enables us to distinguish three main areas of development. First the Brazil” from the Nordeste to Rio de Janeiro, is still very rural and its population is often very poor. Secondly the Brazil” of the south and south-east produces 76% of the countries GNP, with 57% of the population on only 18% of the land. [...]

[...] The diversity of the South thus makes it more difficult to define a typical southern profile, yet we will analyze to what extent Brazil and its development are typical of a country of the South. First of all, Brazil is a strong international player, with a relatively developed and diversified economy. Fifth in the world for its land area of over 8.5 million square kilometers and for its population of over 188 million in 2006, it is by far the largest and most populous nation of South America. [...]

[...] Benjamin Maurice® 25/02/08 Geography Research Paper To what extent is Brazil and its development typical of a nation of the South? The term South which today designates the southern developing countries as opposed to the northern, more industrialized nations, finds its origins in the phrase Third World first used in 1952 by the demographer Alfred Sauvy in an article entitled Three Worlds, One Planet The term Third World used to designate the poor, newly decolonized countries or those about to become independent, which, in the midst of the Cold War, struggled to define their own identity in a rigorous bipolar globe, where both the United States and the USSR sought to extend their spheres of influence. [...]

[...] These improvements are also reflected in Brazil's Human Development Index (HDI) as evaluated by the UNDP. The latter has been constantly shooting upwards over the last 30 years. Indeed in 1975 Brazil's HDI was of 0.645 only, in 1985 it flirted with the seven ( 0.698 ) and in 1995 it had gone up to Today, Brazil's HDI has increased by a point and a half a tremendous achievement finally reaching 0.800 in 2006 (the threshold beyond which it is considered high), ranking Brazil 70th out of 177 nations. [...]

[...] Thus Brazil's economy would make one think that Brazil is a developed and more “northern-style” country. However it has not always been so. Brazil, once a Portuguese colony (it became independent in 1825) used to organize its economy in favor of its colonist country, so that is was based on the primary sector and the exploitation of its many natural resources (wood, coffee, sugar, gold, etc Brazil therefore centered its economic development around foreign trade. However the 1929 financial crisis which brought galloping reductions in the European and American consumer demand forced it to reconsider its economic orientations. [...]