Dr.
Hostel Directory has been started in an effort to build a
complete free service and comprehensive list of hostel
information's for Travellers and backpackers in all
countries and all cities allover the world.
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest and most populous country in South America, and fifth largest in the world in both area and population. It is also the second most populous country in the Western Hemisphere after the United States. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of America and it borders Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname and the French department of French Guiana. In fact, it borders every South American nation except for Ecuador and Chile.
The country's name is generally believed to be derived from pau-brasil (brazilwood), a tree highly valued by early colonists, though some credit the name to a mythical land mentioned in Europe during Middle Ages. Brazil is home to both extensive agricultural lands and rain forests. Exploring vast natural resources and a large labor pool, it is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader.
Brazilian society is still heavily influenced by Portugal's 300 year colonization. Portuguese is the official language, and the Roman Catholic religion is adopted by most of its people, with a number of adherents never seen in any other country. The population is composed mainly of descendants from European immigrants and Africans brought during the slavery times.
After declaring Independence from Portugal in 1822, Brazil became a Monarchy until a military coup deposed the emperor and established a Republic in 1889. Since then the country suffered three more coups in 1930, 1937 and 1964. In the 1980's the military regime ended and a new constitution was established, opening the way to the Brazilians' return to democracy.
Currently Brazil's greatest challenge is to reactivate its economy, which was once one of the most thriving in the world but had many problems in the last 20-30 years, while dealing with serious issues that plague many of its inhabitants, like poverty, hunger and crime.
Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal), making a total of 27 "federate units". The Brazilian states enjoy a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a Governor (governador), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body (assembléia legislativa). Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both federal and state government. A municipality may include other towns (distritos) besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government. The judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called comarcas. One comarca may include several municipalities.
