Geographic and Trade Patterns Analysis paper of the Continent South America, in the Country of Brazil

I. Introduction

II. Continent of South America/Brazil • Population • Culture • Demographics • Economy

III. Country located in South America: Brazil • Population • Culture • Demographics

IV. Regions of Brazil • North • Northeast • Center-West • South • Southeast

V. Political Culture • Traditional Rural Society during the colonial and independence periods • Rural Urban Migration • Political Culture in different Regions • Public health & Security • Quality Control

VI. Economic Growth • Retesting • Treatment • Gross Domestic Product • Monetary Policy • Financial System • Employment

VII. Trade Patterns • Trade Regulations • Imports • Exports • Labor

VIII. VII. Conclusion

Introduction
South America was named in 1580 by cartographers Martin Waldseemüller and Matthias Ringmann after Amerigo Vespucci, who was the first European to suggest that the Americas were not the East Indies, but a New World unknown to Europeans.

Continent of South America/Brazil South America is the 4th largest continent. It connects to North America by the Isthmus[1] of Panama. The country of Brazil accounts for more almost half of the continent and contains about half of the people. The countries that make up this continent include Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
The northern section near Suriname, the continent also contains French Guiana which is a French dependency. The largest metropolitan areas on the continent are Sao Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina. The population of South America as a whole is roughly about 382,000,000, and Brazil’s population is 186,432,000, the main language the speak is Portuguese .

Population Chart

South American countries by population density > Population (most recent) by country

|[pic] | |
| |Brazil |
| |50.1% |
| | |
| | |
| |Colombia |
| |11.6% |
| | |
| | |
| |Argentina |
| |10.6% |
| | |
| | |
| |Peru |
| |7.5% |
| | |
| | |
| |Venezuela |
| |6.8% |
| | |
| | |
| |Chile |
| |4.3% |
| | |
| | |
| |Ecuador |
| |3.6% |
| | |
| | |
| |Bolivia |
| |2.4% |
| | |
| | |
| |Paraguay |
| |1.7% |
| | |
| | |
| |Uruguay |
| |0.9% |
| | |
| | |
| |Guyana |
| |0.2% |
| | |
| | |
| |Suriname |
| |0.1% |
| | |
| | |
| |French Guiana |
| |0.1% |
| | |
| | |
| |Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) |
| |0% |
| | |

|Rank |Countries [pic] |Amount [pic] |
|# 1 |Brazil: |186,112,794 | |
|# 2 |Colombia: |42,954,279 | |
|# 3 |Argentina: |39,537,943 | |
|# 4 |Peru: |27,925,628 | |
|# 5 |Venezuela: |25,375,281 | |
|# 6 |Chile: |16,136,137 | |
|# 7 |Ecuador: |13,363,593 | |
|# 8 |Bolivia: |8,857,870 | |
|# 9 |Paraguay: |6,347,884 | |
|# 10 |Uruguay: |3,415,920 | |
|# 11 |Guyana: |765,283 | |
|# 12 |Suriname: |438,144 | |
|# 13 |French Guiana: |195,506 | |
|# 14 |Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas): |2,967 | |
| |Total population: |371,429,229 | |
| |Weighted average: |26,530,659.2[2] | |

Economy
Beginning in the 17th century, the exploitation of the continent's resources and the development of its industries were the result of foreign investment and initiative, especially that of Spain, Great Britain, and the United States, but since World War II the nations of South America have sought greater economic independence. An increasing number of South American industrial centers have developed heavy industries to supplement the light industries on which they had previously concentrated.
An early obstacle to industrial growth in South America was the scarcity of coal. The continent has therefore relied on its petroleum reserves, most notably in Venezuela and also in Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, as a source of fuel. South Americans also have gradually developed their natural-gas reserves; hydroelectric plants produce most of the continent's electricity. Iron-ore deposits are plentiful in the Guiana and Brazilian highlands, and copper is abundant in the central Andes mountain region of Chile and Peru. Other important mineral resources include tin in Bolivia, manganese and gold in Brazil, and bauxite in Guyana and Suriname.
Subsistence farming is widespread, with about 30% of the people working about 15% of the land. Dense forests, steep slopes, and unfavorable climatic conditions, along with crude agricultural methods, limit the amount of cultivable land. Commercial agriculture, especially of the plantation type, fares better in terms of production because of the large scale and the opportunity to use modern, mechanized methods. Among the agricultural exports are coffee, bananas, sugarcane, tobacco, and grains. Meat is also an important export. In the interior, hunting and gathering of forest products are the chief economic activities of the indigenous peoples. Fishing is also a central industry. In the more accessible areas, forest products are removed for export. The colonization and period of conquest bean at the end of the 15th century and lasted until the beginning of the 19th century. Aspects of Brazils political system is explained by its political culture, which was found in traditional rural societies during the colonial and independence periods through 1930. Their political culture is known in three different styles of politics. On the traditional side of politics, there is the Coronelismo, the Coronel (colonel) for the local politics and the Municipios. Local political chiefs exchange votes in turn, with politicians at state level for political appointments and public works in municipalities. After 1930, a transitional style of clientelistic politics emerged in medium-sized and large-sized cities. “Under this system, neighborhood representatives of urban politicians would help recent migrants resolve their problems in exchange for votes” as stated in Florida basil (2009). Under this system, neighborhood representatives of urban politicians would help recent migrants resolve their problems in exchange for votes. These representatives were usually from “clientele professions,” such as medical doctors, dentists, and pharmacists. Brazil carries a diverse regional political culture. The politics on the Northeast states and the North are very much dependent on the political benevolence from Brasília, than the South and Southeast states do. Due to the three civil wars and frequent involvement in political conflicts in the Rio de la Plata areas, Rio Grande do Suls population now holds very strong political loyalties. Due to that strong political loyalty, the Liberal Front Party and other parties have limited penetration into Rio Grande do Sul..

Qualities of healthcare systems in Brazil are different within each region. Smaller cities have fewer doctors. Although Brazil offers public health care system, their coverage are not extensive and the quality of work, nor the promptness of these public health care systems, are not as good as those provided by private health care system. Yellow fever and malaria are common diseases in Brazil as well as Brazil also has the third highest rate of HIV/AIDS infection in the world. Brazil’s economy, in the latest years, has had to face the problems of inflation. Of recent, World Bank approved an amount of US $ 505 million in order to help Brazil improve its economic growth. The reason for this is to reduce the poverty level by increasing employment opportunities. Microeconomic and institutional reforms are being supported by this loan approved by World Bank. The overall business environment of Brazil has improved through the infrastructure regulation. The Brazilian Government has decided to reduce the price competitiveness towards Brazil’s product, which will help reduce the cost for many other things such as road transportation fee and container handling cost.

After the strong currency crisis, in 1999, Brazil later on implemented flexible exchange rate regime in combination with inflation targeting. Emerging markets are believed, by some economist, to not allow exchange rate to float smoothly as much as they believed. From 1995 through 1998 interest rates were so high and volatile. Over the years, Brazil has come up with a financial system which consists of smaller public banks and larger participation of other foreign banks, with less directed credit, and a much capitalized banks. As the years go by, this system is known to be resilient to shocks and able to preserve the real value of savings in the system. Although all these changes are being made and efforts being put to achieve a better financial system, reducing the cost and increasing the volume of credit within the economy, still is a challenge. This advancement and growth are predicted to better the financial status of Brazil. In the past year, Brazil has faced its worst financial crisis which caused a net loss of 655,000 formal jobs. According to Carlos Lupi (April 14, 2009) “The worst impact of the global financial crisis on Brazil's labour market occurred in December, with the net loss of 655,000 formal sector jobs”. With this crisis, Brazil’s period of strong growth which began in 2004, has only seemingly collapsed. As big as Brazil is, hundreds and even thousands of worker migrate to look for jobs; agricultural jobs such as cutting sugarcane. Brazil’s employment rate has dropped, but with hope and help from the world bank, Brazilians hope to rejuvenate again.

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References:
"South America: Economy." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.
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11 May. 2009 .

Brazil: People." The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. 11 May. 2009 .

Brazil political culture-cultural information Copyright © 2003 [pic]-2009 by Florida Brasil.com http://www.floridabrasil.com/brazil/about-Brazil-Government-Politics-Political-Culture.htm

Health and Safety in Brazil Spain Exchange: Student exchange in spain and abroad © 1999-2008 http://www.spainexchange.com/guide/BR-health.htm

Brazil Economic Growth © Mapsofworld.com 2009 http://www.mapsofworld.com/brazil/economy/growth.html

Monetary Policy and External Vulnerability in Brazil lastLast updated on 2009-5-14. © 2009 http://ideas.repec.org/p/anp/en2004/071.html

BRAZIL: "Employment Crisis Is Over" http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46499 Copyright © 2009 IPS-Inter Press Service.
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[1] a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas
[2] http://www.nationmaster.com/red/pie/peo_sou_ame_cou_by_pop_den_pop-south-american-countries-population-density#definition