About Brazil
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and by far the largest in Latin America, covering almost 50% of its territory and being responsible for 41,4% (EIU, 2017) of the local economy, thus representing its main market.
Brazil is also one of the most populated countries in the world, with estimated 208.494.900 (IBGE/2018) inhabitants, 85.3% of which lives is urban areas along the Atlantic Coast.
The Federal Republic of Brazil is made up of five main geographical regions: North, Northeast, Southeast, South and Central-West.
Since 1988, year when the Federal Constitution in force was enacted, Brazil has 27 Federative units: 26 States and one Federal District, Brasília the country’s capital. The division is meant for political and administrative purposes. Each State has its own government, legislation and tax entities, which together form the Federative Republic of Brazil. However, there are subject matters in which the States do not have power to legislate and only the Congress may enact the Law, e.g., civil Law, criminal Law, commercial Law, Civil and Criminal Procedures Law, Elections Law, agribusiness Law, maritime Law, credits policy, international trade and inter States trade, Social Security and others.
São Paulo is Brazil’s most populous State with roughly 45.54 million inhabitants, followed by Minas Gerais (21.04 million) and Rio de Janeiro (17.16 million), according to a survey made by the IBGE (2018). São Paulo is also one of the fastest-growing cities in the world, and is responsible for 32, 4% (SEADE, 2015) of Brazil’s Nominal GNP. The stock exchange of São Paulo – BOVESPA – is also the largest in South America.
Brazil has enormous internal growth potential. In 2017, the Brazilian GDP was US$ 2.055 trillion, which lead Brazil to take back the eighth position in terms of global economy and GDP. There are expectations that Brazil will fully recover from the recent economic slowdown and will occupy the 5th place in terms of overall major global economy in 2050.
By any standards, the Brazilian economy is large and diverse, appearing as one of the major agricultural producers in the world, being the main exporter of coffee and sugar cane, and holding the second place in the meat and soy exportation market. Brazil is also one of the main iron exporters. Only in the first 10 months of 2018, the country has exported roughly US$ 199.079.344.901 FOB (COMEX STAT, 2018).
The Judiciary power is composed by the State Courts, by the Federal Courts and by the Superior Court of Justice (Superior Tribunal de Justiça) and by the Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal). The Supreme Court is the top of the Judiciary Power. It is composed of only eleven Judges, which are appointed by the President, with the Senate prior approval (by majority). The Court decides about Constitutional matters.
Brazil´s legal system is based on the Law enacted, compiled in Codes, or not, and on the cases judged by the Courts. The precedents are important, but Brazil does not follow the case Law system, such as in USA, or in England. In the past, the Brazilian Civil Code and the Criminal Code had much influence respectively of French and Italian Law.
Brazilians are highly connected to the Internet. IBGE statistics shows 116 million people wired on 2016 (IBGE), which is the equivalent of 64.7% of the population aged over 10 years. The IT (hardware, software and services) market in Brazil grew 4.5% in 2018 (ABES). At the top of the list of IT investors in Latin America, Brazil recorded about US$ 38 billion in investments in the sector during 2017. Investments in ICT (IT + Telecom) totaling US$ 105 billion in Brazil, which secured the 6th place in the overall global ranking.
The development of the technology had a great impact on the way of leaving of the Brazilians. The use of the social network has become an important way of communication between the Brazilians, which is used not only for fun and leisure, but also for economic and political purposes.
As a consequence of the growing use of Internet and technology devices and gadgets in the day to day routine of the Brazilians, Brazil has recently enacted important Laws to protect the privacy of the users and their rights, such as Law 12.965/2014 known as “Marco Civil da Internet” and Law 13.709/2018, known as the “General Law of Data Protection”. That shows how the Brazilian society is connected with the constant need to change and review the Law, so as to conform to the needs of the people.
In summary, despite all the challenges that Brazil faces, it is a country, in which the culture of the people is open to diversity and new ideas, and of creative people, where there is space for innovation and for growing.
This is an informative summary about the Brazilian market and does not constitute legal orientation or advice for any purposes.
Brentani Roncolatto Advogados
This is an informative summary about the Brazilian market and does not constitute legal orientation or advice for any purposes.
