Democratic Social Party (PDS), Amaral NETTO, president;
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB), Mario COVAS, president;
Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), Salomao MALINA, secretary general;
Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB), Joao AMAZONAS, president;
Christian Democratic Party (PDC), Eduardo CAMPOS, president
_#_Suffrage: voluntary at age 16; compulsory between ages 18 and 70; voluntary at age 70
_#_Elections:
President—last held 15 November 1989, with runoff on 17 December 1989 (next to be held November 1994); results—Fernando COLLOR de Mello 53%, Luis Inacio da SILVA 47%; note—first free, direct presidential election since 1960;
Senate—last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(81 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 27, PFL 15, PSDB 10, PTB 8, PDT 5, other 16;
Chamber of Deputies—last held 3 October 1990 (next to be held November 1994); results—PMDB 21%, PFL 17%, PDT 9%, PDS 8%, PRN 7.9%, PTB 7%, PT 7%, other 23.1%; seats—(503 total as of 3 February 1991) PMDB 108, PFL 87, PDT 46, PDS 43, PRN 40, PTB 35, PT 35, other 109;
_#_Communists: about 30,000
_#_Other political or pressure groups: left wing of the Catholic Church and labor unions allied to leftist Worker's Party are critical of government's social and economic policies
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-19,
G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Marcilio Marques MOREIRA; Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 745–2700; there are Brazilian Consulates General in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York, and Consulates in Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco;
US—Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nocoes,
Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO Miami 34030);
telephone [55] (6) 321–7272; there are US Consulates General in Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in Porto Alegre and Recife
_#_Flag: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a blue celestial globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each state) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO (Order and Progress)
_*Economy #_Overview: The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth, runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities is divided among private interests—including several multinationals—and the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence. The government is seeking an IMF standby loan despite several failed agreements over the past decade. Relations with foreign commercial banks remain strained because of mounting interest arrears on Brazil's long-term debt. The Collor government, which assumed office in March 1990, is embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices, deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign competition. A major long-run strength is Brazil's vast natural resources.
_#_GDP: $388 billion, per capita $2,540; real growth rate - 4.6% (1990)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1,795% (December 1990)
_#_Unemployment rate: 4.4% (1990)
_#_Budget: revenues $36.5 billion; expenditures $48.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $4.6 billion (1988)
_#_Exports: $31.4 billion (1990);
commodities—iron ore, soybean bran, orange juice, footwear, coffee
partners—EC 29%, US 23%, Latin America 10%, Japan 7% (1989)
_#_Imports: $20.4 billion (1990);
commodities—crude oil, capital goods, chemical products, foodstuffs, coal;
partners—US 21%, Middle East and Africa 20%, EC 20%, Latin America 18%, Japan 7% (1989)
_#_External debt: $122 billion (December 1990)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate - 8.9% (1990); accounts for 35% of GDP
_#_Electricity: 55,773,000 kW capacity; 214,116 million kWh produced, 1,400 kWh per capita (1990)
_#_Industries: textiles and other consumer goods, shoes, chemicals, cement, lumber, iron ore, steel, motor vehicles and auto parts, metalworking, capital goods, tin
_#_Agriculture: accounts for 12% of GDP; world's largest producer and exporter of coffee and orange juice concentrate and second-largest exporter of soybeans; other products—rice, corn, sugarcane, cocoa, beef; self-sufficient in food, except for wheat
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis and coca, mostly for domestic consumption; government has a modest eradication program to control cannabis and coca cultivation
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70–89), $2.5 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970–88), $9.9 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979–89), $284 million; Communist countries (1970–89), $1.3 billion
_#_Currency: cruzeiro (plural—cruzeiros); 1 cruzeiro (Cr$) = 100 centavos
_#_Exchange rates: cruzeiros (Cr$) per US$1—193.189 (January 1991), 68.300 (1990), 2.834 (1989), 0.26238 (1988), 0.03923 (1987), 0.01366 (1986), 0.00620 (1985)
_#_Fiscal year: calendar year
_*Communications #_Railroads: 29,694 km total; 25,268 km 1.000-meter gauge, 4,339 km 1.600-meter gauge, 74 km mixed 1.600–1.000-meter gauge, 13 km 0.760-meter gauge; 2,308 km electrified
_#_Highways: 1,448,000 km total; 48,000 km paved, 1,400,000 km gravel or earth
_#_Inland waterways: 50,000 km navigable
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 2,000 km; refined products, 3,804 km; natural gas, 1,095 km
_#_Ports: Belem, Fortaleza, Ilheus, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos
_#_Merchant marine: 263 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,898,838 GRT/9,975,272 DWT; includes 2 passenger-cargo, 59 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 13 container, 7 roll-on/roll-off, 60 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 15 chemical tanker, 11 liquefied gas, 14 combination ore/oil, 79 bulk, 2 combination bulk; additionally, 2 naval tanker and 4 military transport are sometimes used commercially
_#_Civil air: 176 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 3,751 total, 3,078 usable; 401 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 22 with runways 2,240–3,659 m; 533 with runways 1,220–2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: good system; extensive radio relay facilities; 9.86 million telephones; stations—1,223 AM, no FM, 112 TV, 151 shortwave; 3 coaxial submarine cables 3 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth stations with total of 3 antennas; 64 domestic satellite stations
_*Defense Forces #_Branches: Brazilian Army, Navy of Brazil (including Marines), Brazilian Air Force, Federal Police Force
_#_Manpower availability: males 15–49,