After a surprisingly peaceful 19th century, the beginning of the 20th has been trying for the people of Brazil. The Old Republic, while nominally a democratic alternative to Emperor Pedro II, in fact consisted of oligarchic control and rigged elections. Those actually able to vote consisted roughly 3% of the country's population. With new ideas immigrating alongside new people from Europe and increasing industrialization, the 1920s saw agitation for change. When the stock exchange crashed in 1929, the old landed powers could no longer hold control, and in 1930 General Getúlio Vargas rose to power on a populist wave of middle-class interests.
Betrayal of Reform[]
Initially a seemingly leftist leader, Vargas intervened on the behalf of workers' rights and made promises regarding land reform to benefit peasants and farmers. However, in the wake of a 1932 rebellion led by the old landed regime, Vargas chose to build a coalition with his old enemies, appeasing the landed interests and ousting his own center-left advisers. Reform for rural land never came, and the strides made for workers in the cities never translated to the countryside. In 1934, Vargas created a constitution heavily modeled on the fascist states of Europe, and used familiar tactics to crush communist movements within Brazil. At the same time, strong government intervention was utilized to increase the country's industrial base, which had never prospered in the Old Republic. However, communists, anarchists, and other dissidents still lurk, ready for the moment when Vargas's abuses push the populace too far.
The Great Dreadnought Race[]
In 1905, Brazil fired the opening salvo in a naval arms race with Argentina and Chile when it ordered the dreadnought Minas Geraes, the most powerful battleship in the world when it was finished in 1910. Brazil's São Paulo was finished shortly thereafter. Old naval rivalries and new fears blended, and soon Argentina ordered the Rivadavia and Moreno with Chile purchasing the Almirante Latorre. While each ship's raw power was offset by certain flaws, instability in Mexico to the north and the Great War in Europe encouraged each nation that their navies needed to remind strong, even in the face of internal economic crises and rebellions. So it is that for 30 years now, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile have maintained an arms race, in the last decade expanding to the air as well as the sea. Under Vargas, Brazil is finally equipped to entirely produce its own fleet without outside help, something outside observers watch with caution at best.
Magic and Demographics[]
Suukya' Taawa in Brazil exhibits an interesting blend of indigenous traditions and practitioners influenced by the African branch of the organization, and is by far the dominant magical tradition in the area. The Sentinels have at times expressed an interest in dealing with some of the darker denizens of the jungle, but most of the native groups in the area are not interested in outside help. The Banister School tends to focus on regions with more obvious archaeological sites, whether to the north in Mexico and Guatemala or Peru to the west.
Like most of South America, Brazil has a fairly diverse mix of humans, epesi, and native elves, although its human and epesi populations come from quite diverse ethnic and national backgrounds. What else may dwell in the deep Amazon, sentient or otherwise, is difficult for anyone to say.