Module 4: The Brazillian Geo-Cultural Formation Flashcards
1
Q
Colonial Brazil (1500-1822)
A
- Portuguese Colonizer and Voyager: Pedro Alvares Cabral (1500)
- The wealthiest colony of the Portuguese Crown (wood, sugar, gold, and coffee)
- Crucial for the global slave trade economy: Portuguese Crown owned the seaports
- 5 mil slaves in Brazil (50% of the world)
- 80% of Brazil’s population was Black - Brazil’s Independence (1822) by Portuguese Prince Dom Pedro I
2
Q
Modern Brazil (19th and 20th Centuries)
A
- Whitening (Branqueamento) Ideology/Policy
- European countries subsidized European immigration
- São Paulo: Black residents (54% in the 19th century to 5% in the first half of the 20th century). White residents (88% in the first half of the 20th century) - Foundation of Brazilian National Identity: the myth of racial democracy
- Three pillars of Brazilian identity: European, Africans, and Indigenous
-Gilberto Freyre: all of the three are “equally” important
3
Q
Samba
A
- Modern and Urban Brazilian Music
- Samba roots: Afro-Brazilian Rural Music - Jungo
- From criminalization of samba to national music genre
- Samba was a resistance place for low-class and Black Brazilians
- Mixing culture: European melodic instruments + African drums
4
Q
Brazilian Carnival
A
- Catholic Festive season (February- March)
- Originally European, carnival in Brazil became the national event well-known globally
- There are hierarchies’ changes for a few days (or weeks)
- People occupy the streets celebrating through music and dance
5
Q
Amefrica Ladina — Lelia Gonzalez
A
“Beyond its purely geographically character [Amefricanity] designates a historical process of intense cultural dynamics (resistance, accommodation, reinterpretation, creation of new forms) referenced in African models but referring to the construction of a whole ethnic idetity
6
Q
History of Dependence in Latin America
A
- History of colonialism and neocolonialism
- Colonialism: direct domination by metropolitan countries
- Neocolonialism: indirect domination, political and economic influence - Central Countries (Europe and USA)
- Peripheral Countries (Latin America + Africa + Asia)
- Economic and Political Elite — inclined towards Central Countries power dynamic
- Average Population — double-exploitation by domestic elite and foreigner powers
7
Q
Economy based on monoculture: mono crop economies (colonial legacy)
A
Exportation of raw materials and commodities vs. Importation of manufactured products
8
Q
Latin American countries export earnings in the 20th century
A
Columbia (coffee): 50% in 1985
El Salvador (coffee): 67% in 1980s
Mexico (petroleum): 67% in 1980s
Venezuela (petroleum): 84% in 1980s
Chile (copper): 46% in 1980s
Bolivia (tin): 58% in 1958
Honduras (banana + coffee): 50% in 1950s
Cuba (sugar): 75 in 1920s, 83% in 1958
9
Q
Authoritarian Developments
A
- Brazilian Dictatorship Regime (1964-1985)
- “Brazilian Miracle” (1968-1973)
- GDP: 11%
- Centralization of power
- Investment in infrastructure: creation of essential goods public companies (petroleum, mining, water, telecommunication, etc.) and industrialization process
-274 new state companies
-Loans from foreign investors and institutions (Foreigner Economic Debt grew 30 times)
- Concentration of wealth: “Make the cake rise up first and then split it” Delfim Netto (Minister of Economy)
- Increased the Brazilian dependence with Central Countries (Europe and USA)
10
Q
Dependency Theory
A
- A theory to comprehend the economic dependence of Latin American countries with Central Countries
-Authors: Raul Prebish (Argentina), Fernando Henrique Cardoso (Brazil), Enzo Faletto (Chile) many others - Development and underdevelopment are not stages of capitalism; they are positions/functions (central vs. periphery) in a global capitalist system
- “(…) the dependentistas argued that underdevelopment in Latin America resulted from the region being brought into the capitalist system to satisfy the economic needs of the metropolitan powers”
11
Q
FHC Administration (1994-2002)
A
- Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Sociologist and former Minister of Economy (1992-1994)
- Developed the “Dependency Theory”
- Stabilized Brazilian Economy
- - Hyperinflation (72% in 1989)
- - Plano Real: the creation of a new Brazilian currency - Real
- - Privatization of State companies
- - Increased the Federal taxes
- - Real indexed by US dollar (stable currency)
12
Q
Lula’s Administration (2002-2010)
A
- Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, Union leader and founder of the Worker’s Party (1988)
- Won the presidential elections after three attempts (1989,1994, 1998)
- Social Welfare Programs
- - Bolsa Familia (2004-2021) — Monthly financial aid for the poorest ($34 a month)
- - - 4 mil people left the extreme poverty line
- - - connected with educational and healthcare systems
- - Educational Democratization
- - - Affirmative Policies
- - - 16 new federal universities
- - - 176 new nation high school institutions
13
Q
Commodity Boom in 2000s
A
- Growth of the Chinese economy increased the price of worldwide commodities
- Brazil’s national government utilized the new income to invest in the elimination of extreme poverty and education
14
Q
Dilma’s Administration (2010-2016)
A
- Dilma Rousseff, former Minister of Mines and Energy (2003-2005) and Chief of Staff of Presidency (2005-2010) in Lula’s Administration
- She was chosen as Lula’s successor
-Economic crisis: decreasing of the commodities price and increasing of public investments
- Dilma experienced an impeachment in 2016
15
Q
The Amazon Region/Forest
A
- Amazonia: Amazon rainforest
- 7 mil km^2 (5.5 mil km^2 covered by rainforest)
- 9 countries — Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, French Guiana, Guyana, and Suriname (60% of the rainforest is in Brazilian territory)
- 3,400 acknowledged indigenous territories
- The largest and the most diverse biodiverse rainforest in the world
- Home to about 2.5 mil insects, over 10 thousand plants, and some 2000 birds and mammals
