Brazil is not growing because of its natural riches. It is growing despite the lack of them.
The belief that Brazil is a country of rich nature resources is not really correct.
In the 70s, for instance, Brazil imported 97% of its Oil consumption. With the Oil crisis in 72 and 77 that greatly indebted the country, It developed extraction technology and, after decades working at deep sea, it recently matched consumption with production. Of course, not without the help of its ethanol program, which today fuels over 50% of the its vehicles.
Brazil never really had any natural Coal. A lot of Iron, but no Coal. To answer its needs for steel it developed a Green Coal industry made of planted forests.
Brazil's vast "Cerrado" land areas and tropical climate has always been a burden to production. If it did not develop new breeds of Catle, Soya, Corn, etc... It would have never really produced anything. There are still many things to be done as Wheat, Olives, and many other European crops still can't be productively produced in the tropics. Grapes seems to be a recent win.
Compare now this to US. The biggest Oil producer in the world with vast Ore and Coal reserves. Temperate climate that readily adapted to European crops.
So Brazil is not growing because of its natural riches. It is growing despite the lack of them. |
