But this has not improved the lot of the vast majority of Brazilians. The cities are dotted with favelas , shanty towns which crowd around the skyscrapers, and the contrast between rich and poor is one of the most glaring anywhere. This throws up facts which are hard to swallow. Brazil is the industrial powerhouse of South America, but cannot feed and educate its people. In a country almost the size of a continent, the extreme inequalities in land distribution have led to land shortages but not to agrarian reform.
Brazil has enormous natural resources but their exploitation so far has benefited just a few.
The IMF and the greed of First World banks must bear some of the blame for this situation, but institutionalized corruption and the reluctance of the country's large middle class to do anything that might jeopardize its comfortable lifestyle are also part of the problem. These difficulties, however, rarely seem to overshadow everyday life in Brazil. And if you needed more reason to visit, there's a strength and variety of popular culture , and a genuine friendliness and humour in the people that is tremendously welcoming and infectious.