Industrial Development
Power Generation

Brazil's electricity is almost entirely generated by water power even though a considerable proportion of the nation's hydroelectric potential remains untapped.

The prodominance of hydroelectricity is explained by the existence of large-volume
rivers and the relatively small size of Brazil's coal and petroleum reserves. In 1996,
92 percent of all the electric power generation was hydroelectric and the remainder was thermal and geothermal.

The national power system is composed of two interconnected grids, one for the north and northwest and the other for the south, southeast and central west. Total hydropower potential amounts to 259.7 gigawatts, of which only 25 percent has been tapped or will have been once the power plants currently under construction are finished. Privatizing generation and distribution, liberalizing grid access, and permiting large consumers to choose their energy suppliers are all expected to increase the development of the vast potential of the Brazilian electricity sector in the near future.

Motor Vehicles

The renewed dynamism and modernization of the Brazilian automotive industry are broadly attributed to trade liberalization which began in 1990, the introduction of economy models in 1993, and the start of the Real Plan in July 1994. In the seven years since 1990, Brazil has moved up from tenth to eighth place in world output. In 1997 it produced more than two million vehicles and earned almost US $5 billion from exports; motor vehicles accounted for almost 10 percent of the total value of Brazil's exports for the year. By the turn of the century it is expected that Brazil will be one of the five largest automotive producers in the world. In 1997, almost 64 percent of the vehicles exported went to MERCOSUL countries, with Argentina accounting for 75 percent of the exports to this common market. Vehicle imports totaled just over 303,000, of which 85 percent were imported by manufacturers and 15 percent by dealers.

Aircraft Industry

In 1899, four years before Wilbur and Orville Wright flew a heavier-than-air machine at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Alberto Santos Dumont, a Brazilian, piloted a dirigible that left from the field of the Aero Club of France, circled the Eiffel Tower, and returned to its base in 29.5 minutes. It was a 7 mile (11 km) trip. In 1906, before official witnesses and a large crowd in Paris, Santos Dumont won the Taça Archdeacon Prize when he flew a self-propelled, heavier-than-air machine for 820 feet (250 meters).

Although a Brazilian was one of aviation's first pioneers, the aircraft industry in Brazil only began in earnest 20 years ago. Today the success of planes wholly designed and manufactured in Brazil, mainly by Embraer, and exported to countries on every continent, makes Brazil's aircraft industry one of the largest in the world. The greatest number of Embraer's planes have been sold to customers in the United States (more than 500 aircraft currently in service) and in Europe. Embraer's Tucano a turboprop military trainer, is used by the Brazilian Air Force and in the air forces in twelve other countries including France and the United Kingdom. In 1998 thirteen customers in nine countries, including three in North America -- American Eagle, Continental Express, and Trans States Airlines -- ordered Embraer's ERJ-145, a 50-seat regional jet. Embraer's purchase of components creates over 6,000 American jobs as well as jobs in Spain, Belgium and Chile.

Aerospace Industry

The Brazilian aerospace industry has also experienced growth. Through the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) and the National Institute of Space Research (NPE), it has been involved in the Brazilian Space Program which comprises the construction of satellites and the launching of space vehicles, as well as wide-ranging collaboration with NASA to integrate Brazil's participation in the International Space Station. Brazil's SCD-2, a data collection satellite which collects environmental and meteorological information from platforms in Brazil and other South American countries, was successfully launched in October 1998 from Cape Canaveral. The Brazilian VLS (Satellite Launcher Vehicle) is expected to be launched in 1999.

Brazil's space industry will contribute hardware, such as the Earth Observation
Window, and scientific modules to the International Space Station.

Source: Embassy of Brazil (www.brasilemb.org; www.brazilembassyinindia.com)