This country could be so much more than it is.
Brazil was always a rural country with an extractive economy.
The elites don't want a strong military or a strong educated middle class that isn't composed majorly of government employees.
Look at our industrialization policies, which are basically excuses for politicians to:
- take money from the poor and give to their wealthy benefactors;
- protect non-competitive rent-seeking industries which are completely dependant on those policies;
- increase tax revenue (why else tax things for each there's not even an industry like microchips?).
Look at what was done to FEB veterans. The entire division was disbanded throwing all that valuable institutional knowledge in the garbage.
https://gruntsandco.com/snakes-smoking-brazilian-expeditiona...
> essentially zero nuclear power
Supposedly Brazil has the full nuclear supply chain and is partially self-sufficient (lack scale).
https://www.ipen.br/portal_por/portal/interna.php?secao_id=4...
Russia too though it's more natural gas and oil than farm and they got nukes and a dying space program.
Brazil officially have a space program though it's very modest. And Brazil supposedly was secretly developing nukes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilian_space_program https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programa_Nuclear_Paralelo
Brazil was included in the BRICs because at the time commodities were booming and Brazil was an important commercial ally. And despite all Brazil still is a top 10 economy with a bigger GDP than Russia.