critical of
government's social and economic policies

_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-19,
G-24, G-77, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO,
ITU, LAES, LAIA, LORCS, NAM (observer), OAS, OPANAL, PCA, RG, UN, UNAVEM,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Marcilio Marques MOREIRA;
Chancery at 3006 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone
(202) 745-2700; there are Brazilian Consulates General in Atlanta,
Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, and New York, and Consulates in
Dallas, Houston, and San Francisco;

US--Ambassador Richard MELTON; Embassy at Avenida das Nocoes,
Lote 3, Brasilia, Distrito Federal (mailing address is APO Miami 34030);
telephone [55] (6) 321-7272; there are US Consulates General in Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo, and Consulates in Porto Alegre and Recife

_#_Flag: green with a large yellow diamond in the center bearing a
blue celestial globe with 23 white five-pointed stars (one for each
state) arranged in the same pattern as the night sky over Brazil; the
globe has a white equatorial band with the motto ORDEM E PROGRESSO
(Order and Progress)

_*_Economy
_#_Overview: The economy, with large agrarian, mining, and
manufacturing sectors, entered the 1990s with declining real growth,
runaway inflation, an unserviceable foreign debt of $122 billion, and
a lack of policy direction. In addition, the economy remained highly
regulated, inward-looking, and protected by substantial trade and
investment barriers. Ownership of major industrial and mining facilities
is divided among private interests--including several multinationals--and
the government. Most large agricultural holdings are private, with the
government channeling financing to this sector. Conflicts between large
landholders and landless peasants have produced intermittent violence.
The government is seeking an IMF standby loan despite several failed
agreements over the past decade. Relations with foreign commercial
banks remain strained because of mounting interest arrears on Brazil's
long-term debt. The Collor government, which assumed office in March
1990, is embarked on an ambitious reform program that seeks to
modernize and reinvigorate the economy by stabilizing prices,
deregulating the economy, and opening it to increased foreign
c