32-201: Geography of Latin America
The Northeast Region of Brazil
Humid conditions along the coast soon give way to drier climate as one moves inland. Climatic data for Quixeramobim are representative of interior locations where one finds a scrub woodland vegetation termed caatinga. The interior, or sertão, is also plagued by frequent droughts and floods.
Coastal areas were used for the production of sugarcane. To provide labor on the sugar fazendas African slaves were imported. Slaves were not emancipated in Brazil until 1888, and African racial and cultural influences are very much in evidence in the Northeast today.
This region is both populous and poor. Although the Northeast contains 18% of Brazil's land, it is home to 30% of the nation's population. The region produces but 15% of Brazil's gross national product. Of the nation's poorest one-fifth, based on income, 41% live in the Northeast. A regional development organization called SUDENE (Superintendência de Desenvolvimento do Nordeste) was founded in 1959 to help the region to develop.
