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I've visited Brazil several times and traveled around many parts of the country by land. It is about the size of the continental US, and an amazing place to visit. Brazil still has a lot of social problems, but their economy is becoming a lot stronger because they are to food exports what the Saudis are to oil exports. That export money is getting plowed back into their domestic economy into other areas, and it has created an upward spiral of activity. Brazil is also the first large country that is not a oil export power to break itself from dependence on foreign oil imports. About 90 percent of all new cars sold in Brazil are flex fuel that can run on either of the two fuels sold for internal combustion engines: 100 percent sugar cane alcohol or a mix of 25 percent sugar cane alcohol and 75 percent gasoline. They also get nearly all of their domestic electricity from vast hydroelectric dams driven by large rivers fed by vast area that get high rainfall. They don't need to burn coal or imported natural gas or oil to create electricity. These two things combined means that they are not sending out a huge amount of their GDP to the middle east or Venezuela like the US and other big economies addicted to imported oil. Can you imagine the effect on the GDP of the USA if we could break our addiction to imported oil??
I'm going to Brazil for a visit in October, to Curitiba in the state of Parana, about 6 hours south of Sao Paulo by bus. It's a nice city of about 1.5 million on a 3000' elevation plateau with mild spring like weather year round and lots of trees and parks. It's a city with a great urban bus system where you don't need a car to get around town.
Never thought i'd see a south american country doing better than the USA
To say that Brazil is doing better than us is still quite a bit of an over-statement. Things are slumping here and things are booming down there, but we still haven't crossed paths.
Anyways, good for Brazil. It seems like we do automatically dismiss South America as being all third world which isn't true. Brazil has a large middle class and from what I understand, the Southern part of Brazil has a standard of living very similar to the rest of the developed Western world. When we think of Brazil, we usually think of rain forests and the slums of Rio De Janerio, but there's more to Brazil. Argentina, Uruguay and Chile are also developed (for the most part) countries.
MY girlfriends family is spread out in the State of Sao Paulo, from Guaruja to Rio Preto. wonderful diverse country, the first time I visited I was totally amazed out how modern and wonderful the country is.
Most areas of Brasil are as modern as a lot of countries, such as canada. brasil is certainly not a 3rd world country in the sense most people are used to associating with.
Regular gasoline in Brazil is actually gasohol, containing 76% gasoline and 24% cane alcohol. All cars in Brazil can run this 76-24 blend of gasahol because the temperatures in the country are generally warm year round everywhere. (In the US there is a 90-10 gas ethanol blend sold in many states). They don't sell 100 percent gasoline at most gas stations in Brazil. 76-24 blend regular octane gasohol sells for about $6 per gallon. 100% sugar alcohol (Alcool in Brazil) sells for about $3.50 per gallon. Note, the value of the dollar has fallen by 50 percent against the Brazil Real in recent years (a shocking fact in itself) so my calculations of Brazil Real to USD may be off a little bit. One thing to remember is that fuel economy with 100% Alcohol is about 20% less than gasohol, so it takes 20% more pure Alcohol to travel the same distance than gasohol or gasoline. Drivers still pay less in a flexfuel car with 100% alcohol in Brazil than 76-24 gasohol.
Location: Los Angeles, which as I understand was once upon a time ago part of the United States of America
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Thanks. BTW, is the Portuguese spoken in Brazil fairly similar to that spoken in Portugal, or is it a lot different like Mexican Spanish vs. Castillian?
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