****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Although there have been many news stories about the recent economic development of Brazil, "Brazil: the Troubled Rise of a Global Power" is one of the few books that provides a historical context and an analysis of the current country.Historical events discussed in Part I are carefully focused to help the reader understand their importance to modern Brazil. These include Brazil's unique transition from a colony to an independent nation, the traditional power of landowners such as coffee planters, the effects of Getulio Vargas' incorporation of many Fascist labor laws, and finally the transition from the military dictatorship to democracy.Part II is the most interesting section for readers interested in current Brazil. Reid discusses the administrations of three post-military-dictatorship presidents: Cardoso, Lula, and Dilma. He points out how each has helped change Brazil into a nation with a expanding economy with a growing middle class. His discussions of the current middle class and of the developing agriculture and petroleum industries are especially interesting. And of course, his information about the development of the Amazon Rain Forest is of international interest.Michael Reid spent several years as an Economist of London reporter in Brazil and published this book as the country prepared to host the World Cup Soccer tournament. He knows his subject. He is objective, but he writes from his British perspective supporting democratic development. It is an excellent resource for anyone interested in Brazil, its current development, and the changing world economic situation as BRICS nations take a larger role.
