Politics & Current Affairs — December 26, 2011

Brazil Overtakes UK: At what Cost to the Amazon?

Brazil's rapid economic development–it is now the 6th largest economy in the world–is likely to come at the expense of the Amazon and its indigenous people, fauna and forests.

bigthinkeditor

What’s the Latest Development?

Brazil has replaced the U.K. as the sixth biggest economy worldwide thanks to vast reserves of natural resources–including gold, silver, off-shore oil and minerals in the Amazon–and a rapidly growing and cash-rich middle class. Also, unlike China, Brazil is unlikely to undergo prolonged civil unrest.

What’s the Big Idea?

Brazil still has huge potential but the vast majority of its resources are in the Amazon basin and the cost of exploiting this wealth is likely to be the loss of the habitat and the traditions of indigenous tribes, warns one expert. Meanwhile, figures from the Centre for Economic and Business Research predict that by 2020, Britain will leapfrog France to be the eighth largest economy in the world, one ahead of France and two behind Brazil.

Photo credit: shutterstock.com

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