Brazil

Brazil has long been an enigma to outsiders. Over the last two decades alone, Latin America’s largest and most populous country has been celebrated as a vibrant new democracy with a powerful economy, and derided as a nation in complete disarray heading toward the status of a failed state.

In this vibrant and smart book, Joel Wolfe tells the story of this “incomplete nation” and its two-hundred-year-old struggle to control its vast national territory and to fashion and maintain a functioning democracy against a backdrop of intense inequality, racial discrimination, and regional rivalries. From independence to the abolition of slavery, from scarring military dictatorship to the election of President Bolsonaro – the “Tropical Trump” – and his defeat by former President Lula da Silva, the author weaves a rich portrait of a country fighting against the odds to overcome the long-standing and seemingly intractable problems that have, for most of its history, hindered national unity and development.

Map

Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Terms

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1: Tropical Liberalism (1840-1930)

Chapter 2: The Failed March to Modernity (1930-1964)

Chapter 3: Military Dictatorship (1964-1985)

Chapter 4: Chaotic Democracy (1985-1994)

Chapter 5: The Triumph of Social Democracy (1993-2010)

Chapter 6: The Great Unraveling (2011-)

Further Reading

“Wolfe deftly examines Brazil’s complicated economic and political history to explain its current opportunities and challenges. A welcome volume for the general public and specialists alike.”
Todd Diacon, Kent State University

“An important and lucid exploration of history, memory, and politics, Wolfe's fast-paced and engaging account shows how aspirations bolstered and ideology undermined Brazil’s two-hundred-year struggle to create a multicultural democracy.”
Heather Cox Richardson, Boston College

“Joel Wolfe’s excellent short history of Brazil with an emphasis on the past century is a wonderful introduction for anyone interested in this fascinating country.”
Marshall C. Eakin, Vanderbilt University

Joel Wolfe is Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. He is the author of numerous articles and books on Brazilian society and politics.