Largest and most populous country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country

except Chile and Ecuador Brasilia is capital Portuguese is the official language Majority of Brazilians are Christian Worlds largest Roman Catholic majority Large gap between rich and poor

 Believed to have been inhabited for 10,000 years before Portuguese explorers arrived in 1500 Colony of Portugal Royal family moves to Brazil Brazilian War of Independence Don Pedro establishes independent Empire of Brazil Eventual democracy with the help of the U.S.

Influenced greatly by Portuguese culture Soccer is the favorite sport (record 5 time World Cup champions) Religion plays a lead role in everyday life Brazilian carnival: takes place in Rio de Janeiro marks the beginning of Lent Farewell to pleasures Parades, elaborate costumes Rei Momo: king of the carnival

39th and current president of Brazil Elected October 27, 2002 left leaning (dedicated to social justice, secularism, and personal liberty) Liberal Brought economic stability to Brazil Loved by Brazilian people Working president Focused on feeding the hungry in Brazil

 Significant Laws: -Social Security Reform of Civil Service -Bio-Security Law -Disarmament Law Main Project: -Fome Zero Currently up for re-election Voting is mandatory

October 1, 2006 Doing well in polls, believed that he would win easily against Alckmin Weeks before election, a wave of scandals surfaced: It centers on allegations that party officials tried to buy a mysterious dossier that apparently contained incriminating information about a key political opponent. Newspapers in Brazil displayed pictures of piles of money thought to be used to buy information 6 members of Lulas party are currently facing arrest warrants Lula fired campaign manager only days before the election Denies that he had any knowledge of these on goings

 Results of first election: Lula: 48.6% Alckmin 41.6% 50% needed to win Run off will take place on October 29

 Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC)-large crime organization Wave of crime took place in May 2006 in So Paulo Public Security became a big issue in the election Murder is the leading cause of death among people ages 15-24 42% of the murders take place in So Paulo or Rio de Janeiro

 September 29, 2006 Boeing 737-800 and smaller jet plane clipped each other Landed deep in the Amazon No survivors-155 killed worst air disaster in nations history 3 mourning days declared by Lula Da Silva

Gallardo, Eduardo. Brazils President Silva May Face Runoff. The Associated Press. 1 Oct 2006. 1 Oct. 2006. <http:// www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?file=/n/10/01/international/i125459D95.DTL&type=tech.> Ituassu, Arthur. Violence in Brazil: all are targets, all are guilty. OpenDeomcracy.net 5 May 2006. 14 Sept. 2006. http://www.opendemocracy.net/democracy-protest/brazil_violence_3555.jsp Olmos, Harold Brazil Leader Falling Short of Victory. The Associated Press. 2 Oct. 2006. 2 Oct. 2006. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6118878,00.html Brazil. The World Factbook. 19 Sept. 2006. 28 Sept. 2006. https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/br.html Brazil. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 2 Oct. 2006. 2 Oct. 2006. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 11 July 2006. 14 2006. Sept. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luiz_Incio_Lula_da_Silva No Survivors in Brazil Plane Crash. Associated Press. 1 Oct 2006. 2 Oct 2006. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15067143