Alex Melchiore

August 27, 2016

Dr. Tait Chirenje
Brazil: The Troubled Rise of a Global Power Reflection
Chapter 1: Brazils Troubled Rise
Brazil, ever since its inception, has been a country of great economic, manufacturing,
exporting potential which has yet to be fully tapped. With over 200 million citizens within its
borders, it is ranked number fourth in population for a democracy. At this time, it the third largest
food exporter in the world and some experts believe that by the year 2025 it could jump to
number one. With a GDP of US$2.4 trillion in 2012 it was ranked as the seventh largest economy
in the world. Brazil, as of 2010, is the worlds sixth largest manufacturing power. Brazil has also
established itself as a growing oil exporter having already struck some of the biggest oil strikes
in this century. Oil has not been the only fuel source that Brazil has made a name for itself in, it
is currently the worlds leader in plant- based fuels such as ethanol and sugar cane with over half
of the cars on the road running on them. Brazil has also a key voice in how to slow the effects
climate change and lessen the use of carbon based fuels in order to reduce carbon emissions due
the fact that over 70 percent of the Amazonian rainforests lie within its borders. It is clear that
with all of these high ranks in recent years that Brazil is making huge strides in its quest to
become one of the worlds strongest powers (Reid 1-2).
Brazils long journey to get this far in the global ranks has been one of plenty of ups as
well as plenty of downs. Between the years 1930 and 1980, Brazil was looked at as a land of the
future with so many previously unused resources within it is 8.5 million square kilometer land
mass. It was not until the year of 2003 under the leadership of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva that
Brazil started making these huge leaps. Lula himself has had a long struggle in the world of

politics. His multiple runs for President from 1989 thru the 1990s all were cut halted, losing by
more and more votes each year. To Fernando Henrique Cardoso. In the 2002 election Lula ceased
all of his radical left-wing ideals and started adopting Cardosos financial and monetary ideals
such as more beneficial market reforms which halted inflation. Having won the 2002 election,
Lula could finally raise Brazils self-esteem by not only continuing Cardosos policies but
through the use of aspiring social policies and considerable raises in the minimum wage. These
two factors allowed Lula to combine rapid growth with the redistribution of income which
helped Brazils economy and middle-class skyrocket to potential fulfilling heights as more
citizens began buying many consumer goods whether it be a new car or a new wardrobe, it was
even enough to bounce back very quickly from the worldwide financial crash that lasted between
2008 and 2009. In the time span between 2002 and 2009, over 30 million citizens had climbed
out of poverty, the Olympics committee made the determination that the 2016 Summer Olympics
would take place in Rio, and Brazil was finally looked at as a first-class country thanks to
Lulas leadership (Reid 3-6).
Even during Lulas term, Brazil was far from perfect. These problems did not become
widely apparent until after he stepped down in 2010. Even with the financial improvements,
there was still a vast gap between the upper class and lower class. Violent crime was still
widespread in all major cities as well as over-crowding of the poor and migrants in the run down
favelas especially in the capital Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and surrounding areas. During all of
these social disasters, the country struggled to enforce the laws and regulations as corruption
became more and more widespread after the huge oil booms which many believe to be a
hindrance as well as an asset to an economy such as Brazils. Under Dilma Rousseffs presidency
the struggle to maintain this growth as well as avoid inflation and other financial issues became

more and more difficult as inflation grew to over 6 percent a year and incomes ceased to climb
higher. Brazil was headed for another drop in its rollercoaster of a journey to global dominance.
The economy came to a halt during 2011 and remained that way for over a year and a half before
recovery was possible. Many Brazilian economists had predicted this due to the unstable growth
rate of the economy. Rousseff quickly came under fire during the 2014 election year from public
outcries by angry citizens over the corrupt politicians and nonrepresentation of the lower classes
in government planning and decisions not to mention the decreasing quality of services provided
such as education, health care, and public transportation. The damage had been done and Brazil
is still on this roller coaster ride to global power (Reid 8-12).
This introductory chapter has definitely given the reader some insight into the struggles
and the triumphs that got it to where it is on the global power rankings. I was really excited to
read about the leaps and bounds that Brazil made under Lulas leadership. Clearly he was a
financial and economic guru that helped spring Brazil forward but unfortunately this could not
continue once he had stepped down. It seemed the rise in oil mining is correlated with the rise in
corruption in politicians; granted oil is not the sole reason for the huge gap in the upper and
lower class or the corruption in politics. Brazils rapid growth in economics and financial status
throughout the years is also to blame, this vast and temporary wealth gave Brazil a false sense of
security so much so it overlooked the needs of the lower classes and the citizens who could not
pull themselves out of poverty. Despite all of these issues and growing pains, Brazil has still
ranked very highly among the world leaders and continues to thrive. I look forward to reading
more background on Brazils history in the coming chapters.

Source
Reid, M. (2014). Brazil: The troubled rise of a global power.