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The New Brazil
Book

The New Brazil

Riordan Roett
Brookings Institution Press, 2010

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Eye Opening
  • Background

Recommendation

If you only associate Brazil with soccer, samba and “The Girl from Ipanema,” adjust your thinking. Brazil inaugurated its first female president, Dilma Rousseff, in 2011, and it will host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games. But even more significantly, Brazil has become a global economic powerhouse. Political scientist Riordan Roett explains how it all happened – from Brazil’s status as a neglected Portuguese colony to its 20th-century military dictatorship to its modern role as a commercially influential nation. Published just prior to Rousseff’s election, Roett’s slightly stolid book ends with former President Luiz Inácio (Lula) da Silva’s second term and leaves you wanting to know more, though it reveals in exhaustive detail how this dynamic democracy has come so far so fast. Roett’s tough-going textbook style can be dense, but getAbstract promises you will learn a lot about Brazil, the 21st century’s “crafty superpower.”

Take-Aways

  • Smart fiscal policies, savvy political moves and a growing economy contribute to Brazil’s rise onto the world stage.
  • As a neglected Portuguese colony, Brazil lagged behind its South American neighbors.
  • Its natural resources, particularly its coffee crop, kept the nation dependent on exports.

About the Author

Riordan Roett is a professor at Johns Hopkins University, where he leads the Western Hemisphere and Latin American Studies programs.

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