Brazil is the fifth most populous country on the planet and the most influential power
in Latin America.
But the nation may have just lost sight of becoming a serious, global superpower due
to a recent downturn in their economy.
So how powerful is Brazil?
Well, Brazil does have the strongest military in South America but on a global scale it
only ranks behind Italy and Egypt.
And despite Brazil being only slightly geographically smaller than the US, it has less than a quarter
of the troops the US has.
The armed forces have around 500 tanks and over 1,300 Armored Fighting Vehicles.
And recently, the government struck a 5.4 billion dollar deal with Saab to equip them
with 36 new fighter jets.
That being said, Brazil’s armed forces are currently not engaged in any major military
action.
Aside from the Brazil military leading UN peacekeeping missions to Haiti and the Congo,
the military’s primary role has been state security safeguarding a total of 8.5 million
square kilometers of land and 4.4 million square kilometers of territorial waters.
Brazil also operates large-scale military operations to protect the Amazon rainforest.
Which includes jungle defence forces on the ground and an extensive surveillance network
to ensure it’s security.6
But why is Brazil so concerned about protecting the Amazon?
Well, they want to protect their resources, the rainforest makes up 60 percent of Brazil.
In a recent survey around fifty percent of Brazilians believe that foreign military forces,
larger than Brazil’s own, are interested in invading the country to exploit the Amazon
rainforest.
It may seem a bit paranoid to some but Brazil has previously had huge problems with illegal
logging, mining and drug production within the forest.
However, Brazil has been it’s own worst enemy when it comes to exploiting the rainforest.
In the last 40 years, close to 20 percent of the Amazon has been cleared for agricultural
land.
Brazil’s food production now rivals the US but researchers predict that deforestation
will negatively impact temperature and rainfall which will eventually decrease Brazil’s
agricultural productivity.
Which is bad news for a country on the cusp of an economic crisis.
Brazil is the largest national economy in South America and the seventh largest in the
world.
And up until recently, it’s agricultural output, coupled with the recent discovery
of offshore oil reserves, had experts wondering if the nation was an emerging superpower.
But falling prices on major commodities like oil along with a prolonged drought has hit
their economy hard.3 Austerity measures have already begun and even Rio’s carnival budget
has been cut.
But, while Brazil may not be in a strong economic position globally, experts suggest that it
will continue to be the most powerful country in South America.
To learn more about the power of our nations check out our playlist now, including this
one on China.
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