Brazil has been transformed from an economy based on sugar and coffee into a leading industrial power, and this has happened over a relatively short time period. Over recent years inflation has been brought under control, and foreign direct investment has been encouraged.The Government has privatised many state-owned companies, and they have also invested a lot of money in advanced infra-structure. In an attempt to decentralize the economy, Campinas was chosen to be Brazil’s IT capital, and car production has been moved away from traditional centres to states such as Rio Grande do Sul in the south. No one pretends that all the old problems have been solved, but Brazil is finally taking its place on the world stage.
