Brazil. Way of life. City life. Rural life

Lifestyles in Brazil's urban areas differ greatly from those in its rural areas. In the large cities, life moves at a fast pace, and a variety of modern conveniences and government services are available. Although many Brazilian city dwellers live in miserable poverty, there are a growing number of skilled, educated Brazilians who have good jobs and enjoy a decent standard of living in the cities.

In the rural areas, the slow pace of life has changed little through the years. Large numbers of unskilled laborers continue to work long hours for low wages, and life remains hard. In general, the people in rich, industrialized southern Brazil have a higher standard of living than the people in the more rural northeast and the largely undeveloped Amazon forest area.

City life. Brazil's big cities look much like those in the United States and Canada. Rows of impressive skyscrapers tower above busy downtown streets, and streams of cars and trucks jam wide expressways at rush hours. Elegant stores and restaurants attract crowds of customers. Sleek, new high-rise apartment buildings stand on broad avenues and contrast sharply with old houses that line narrow, winding streets.

Large numbers of city dwellers work in banks, factories, hotels, office buildings, and stores. Many own businesses. Others hold government or professional jobs. Many middle-class city dwellers live in modern apartments. Other middle-class Brazilians live in small suburban houses. Most executives and other wealthy Brazilians live in luxurious apartments or mansions.

Like most large North American cities, Brazil's big cities face such problems as overcrowding, poverty, and slums. Rio is one of the world's most densely populated cities. Poverty is widespread in Brazil's cities. The poor include millions of unskilled and uneducated Brazilians who have moved from rural areas. Most of them earn low incomes, and many others are unemployed.

Most poor city dwellers live in slums called favelas. In some Brazilian cities, up to 30 percent of the people live in slums. Rio has nearly 300 favelas. Slum families crowd together in shacks made of cardboard, metal, or wood. The favelas lack sewers and running water.

Many people suffer from disease and malnutrition. The crime rate is high. Many poverty-stricken parents abandon their children because they cannot feed or clothe them. Every day, millions of children in Brazilian cities must beg, steal, or work long hours to get enough money to survive. Many of these children have no homes. They sleep in doorways, on benches, or under trees.

A slum called a favela lies on the outskirts of Sao Paulo and contrasts sharply with the modern high-rise buildings downtown. In some Brazilian cities, as many as 30 percent of the people live in slums. Slum families crowd together in shabby shacks made of cardboard, metal, or wood. Favelas lack sewers and running water, and many people who live there suffer from disease and malnutrition.

The Brazilian government has torn down a number of favelas and replaced them with low-cost public housing. Public youth centers have taken in many abandoned children. But poverty remains a major problem.

Rural life. Most of the people who live in Brazil's rural areas work on large plantations or ranches. Some others have their own small farms. Most rural Brazilians earn little money and can barely feed their families. Malnutrition and poverty are especially widespread in the dry interior of the northeast.

Most rural families live in small one- or two-room houses made of stone or adobe with roofs of red or orange clay tiles. Some of the early colonial houses are decorated with painted tiles brought from Portugal. In the Amazon Region, most houses are made of wood or wild cane plants. They have roofs of palm leaves. Dwellings built near rivers stand on stilts to avoid flooding. Most rural houses are simply furnished. Many country people sleep in hammocks.

During the middle and late 1900's, many farmworkers moved to the cities in hope of finding well-paying factory jobs. As a result, the percentage of Brazilians living in rural areas dropped sharply.