Brazil

The government of Brazil is considered a federal representative democratic republic, under a presidential system. Under this system, the President is both the Head of State and the Head of Government. Multiple political parties are represented throughout the government and its administration. The administrative organization of Brazil includes the federal government, states, federal districts, and municipalities. This article focuses on the federal government, also known as União, which is divided into 3 branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

Brazilians’ family ties, both immediate and extended, generally remain stronger than in western Europe and North America; family members customarily live in relatively close proximity to one another, holding frequent reunions or gathering at a family farm or ranch on weekends and holidays. However, this traditional system of kinship ties depends on a certain degree of wealth and stability for its preservation, and it is no longer as strong as it once was, given the increased mobility and urbanization of the Brazilian people. In the favelas, various members of an extended family may occupy the same dwelling because of economic pressures or family tradition. Automobiles have become a household fixture for most middle-class families, to the extent that Brazilians are said to have a love affair with cars; however, families with lesser means must rely on bus trips as the only practical way to commute to work or, on the weekend, to the beach or countryside.

The cultures of the indigenous Indians, Africans, and Portuguese have together formed the modern Brazilian way of life. The Portuguese culture is by far the dominant of these influences; from it Brazilians acquired their language, their main religion, and most of their customs. The Indian population is now statistically small, but Tupí-Guaraní, the language of many Brazilian Indians, continues to strongly influence the Brazilian Portuguese language; other Indian contributions to Brazilian culture are most apparent in the Amazon basin. African influences on the Brazilian way of life are strongest along the coast between the Northeast and Rio de Janeiro; they include traditional foods, religions, and popular music and dance, especially the samba. Commercial and cultural imports from Europe and North America have often competed with—and influenced—Brazilians’ own cultural output, and critics have argued that the nation’s cultural identity is suffering as a result. Despite numerous social and economic challenges, Brazilians continue to be exuberant and creative in their celebrations and art forms.

Cristo Redentor and Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro

With arms outstretched 28 meters, as if to encompass all of humanity, the colossal Art Deco statue of Christ, called Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), gazes out over Rio de Janeiro and the bay from the summit of Corcovado.

The 709-meter height on which it stands is part of the Tijuca National Park, and a rack railway climbs 3.5 kilometers to its top, where a broad plaza surrounds the statue. Completed in 1931, the 30-meter statue was the work of Polish-French sculptor Paul Landowski and Brazilian engineer Heitor da Silva Costa, and is constructed of reinforced concrete and soapstone.

The eight-meter base encloses a chapel that is popular for weddings. Although this is one of Brazil's most readily recognized icons, it is often mistakenly called The Christ of the Andes, confused with the older statue marking the boundary between Argentina and Chile.