Brazil: A New Regional Power in the World Economy

by Bertha Becker

Brazil is a country of immense diversity. It continental dimensions contain the most important industrial complex of the South as well as the largest rainforest reserve in the world, the Amazon. The 1970s witnessed a period of immense economic growth in Brazil, yet more than half the population live in poverty. In this textbook Professors Becker and Egler examine these contemporary dilemmas by exploring the process of Brazil's entry into the capitalist world-economy. They trace this development from the country's origins as a Portuguese colony to its status as a regional power in Latin America and the eighth-largest world economy. Becker and Egler combine geography, history, economics and political science in a comprehensive view of Brazil's development and this innovative and compelling approach enables comparative analysis with other countries. Brazil: A New Regional Power in the World Economy will be widely read by students and specialists of geography, Latin American history, political science, development economics, urban and regional planning and public administration. It will also be an invaluable reference source for journalists, government analysts and policy-makers in international development agencies.

219 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 1992

About the author

Bertha Koiffmann Becker (November 7, 1930 – July 13, 2013) was a Brazilian geographer, author and professor emeritus at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. She published more than 180 books, articles, and other works during her career. Much of her research dealt with issues affecting the Amazon rainforest and surrounding regions, as well as the political geography of Brazil.She helped develop new public policies for the Braizlian Ministry of Science and Technology. She spoke as a panelist at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development Rio+20 in 2012.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Becker received her degrees from the University of Brazil in 1952 in geography and history. In 1970, she completed her doctorate at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, where she became a longtime faculty member. She also completed her post-doctoral studies in urban studies and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States.

Becker served as the Vice President of the International Geographical Union from 1996 to 2000 and the Vice President of the International Advisory Group of the Pilot for the Protection of Tropical Forests from 1995 to 2005. She was awarded the David Livingstone Centenary Medal from the American Geographical Society, an honorary doctorate from the University of Lyon, and the Carlos Chagas Filho Scientific Merit award. In 2006, she had been elected a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences.

Bertha Becker died in Rio de Janeiro on July 13, 2013, at the age of 82.