President: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, popularly known as Lula, secured a second term in a landslide election victory in October 2006.

He promised to boost economic growth and to narrow the gap between rich and poor. In January 2007, Lula marked the start of his second term in office by announcing an ambitious investment programme.

Lula promises to help Brazil's poorest while pursuing growth Profile: Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

But with a weakened presence in congress, his left-wing Workers' Party may have to rely on political alliances to pursue planned tax, social security and political reforms.

Lula implemented tough fiscal policies in his first term, overseeing economic stabilisation and falling levels of inflation and foreign debt.

He changed the pension system and pushed through a modest increase in the minumum wage. Welfare programmes targeted millions of poor families. But he had to contend with a surge of land invasions by activists frustrated at what they saw as the slow pace of agrarian reform.

In 2005 his popularity was dented by claims of corruption in the ruling party, focusing on a cash-for-votes scheme in Congress. The president apologised and said he had known nothing about the alleged corruption.

Brazil is a major commodities exporter and Lula has argued strongly that countries should not put up protectionist barriers in response to the current global economic crisis.

Lula was born in 1945 in the impoverished north-east. His family moved to Sao Paulo when he was seven and he left school at 14 to become a metal worker.

In the 1970s, he honed his political skills as a fiery union leader in the industrial suburbs of Sao Paulo. He went on to help found the Workers' Party. 

MEDIA

South America's biggest media market is home to thousands of radio stations and hundreds of TV channels.

Media ownership is highly concentrated. Home-grown conglomerates such as Globo, Brazil's most-successful broadcaster, dominate the market and run TV and radio networks, newspapers and pay-TV operations.

Brazilian-made dramas and soaps are aired around the world. Game shows and reality TV attract huge audiences.

The constitution guarantees a free press; vigorous media debate about controversial political and social matters is commonplace.

Brazil is rolling out digital TV services; it aims to switch off analogue TV transmissions from 2016.