What is the country that will host the World Council of Churches 9th Assembly next February really like?
Marked by its contrasts, Brazil is the largest Latin American nation and the fifth largest land mass in the world. Its 8.54 million square kilometres (slightly more than twice the size of the expanded European Union) are inhabited by 170 million people (approximately a third of the EU’s population). Its gorgeous Atlantic Ocean beaches are world famous. However, its geography is marked by enormous diversity: arid deserts, plains and savannahs, marshlands, mountain ranges as well as jungle and forest areas, many threatened by illegal land clearing. Huge cities like Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro (16 and 14 million inhabitants respectively) co-exist alongside regions that have an extremely low demographic density. Diversity is also a characteristic of Brazil’s population, originating from more than 40 ethnic groups and mixed with native indigenous peoples. > From the Portuguese to “Lula” Prior to being colonized by the Portuguese in 1500, Brazil was inhabited by indigenous peoples. The majo
