Amazonia and the Bolivar States are generally prosperous and thriving on the new industries of the TwenCen - culture and entertainment. Rio has surpassed Hollywood (and India) as the greatest producer of movies and mass media entertainment in the world. The great Rio, Paulo and Aires media combines which produce a large chunk of the world's multimedia have created great wealth in the region, but wealth which is unevenly distributed. Many of South America's slums (barrios) have disappeared or fallen beneath the spade of development projects, but most of the continent is still beset by ethnic divisions among poor Amerindians, somewhat wealthier Blacks, and several strata of richer Whites.

Most of South America is federated into a free-wheeling confederation called Amazonia whose member states include Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, the Bolivar States, Ecuador, Guyana, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Surinam. This confederation emerged slowly from the old Mercosur (shorthand for Southern Cone Free Trade Zone) economic union which emerged at the turn of the century. Amazonia has seen then flowered into an economic union and military alliance. It's 340m people are a unique Latin mix of white, black, yellow, mulatto (white/black) and mestizo (white/indian) with a healthy dose of Spanish and Portuguese cultures. The Brazilian Interior (Matto Grosso) is considered a Denied Area following the growth of incredibly dangerous macro-parasites and wild chimeric plant species known locally as the Nueva Vida (New Life). Protocol maintains a constellation of 'Rainforest' class eyesats to monitor the deteriorating situation around the abandonded city of Manaus, which, in a dramatic reversal of centuries of human conquest, was overrun by Mother Nature's critters and quickly became a swamp-city. Swarms of giant (up to a foot long) insects and parasites pose a threat to humans as far south Cuiaba, and the Amazon river has been completely overrun by ferocious aquatic fish (dubbed megapiranhas, even though they're not).

During the early NewCen, the coastal zone stretching from Buenos Aires all the way to Bahia became a mega-industrial urban zone based on automobile, aircraft and shipbuilding industries. The manufacturers thrived on a wave of investment from abroad, deregulation and privatisation at home, and open access to foreign markets under the WTO. This zone became known as the great Sao-Paulo-Rio Metropolitan Complex. During the Pacific War, Amazonia contributed its industrial muscle to US military production, and the fledgling Amazonian Confed even sent a division of troops to the Philippines in defence of Western civilization. That assistance was rewarded by America in the form of lucrative contracts within Seacom and by preferential access to the North American economy. The New Mutation took a toll on the region and splintered old Colombia and Venezuela into small statelets known collectively as the Bolivar States, but in general the trend in South America has been towards integration and economic growth. Both Brazil and Argentina are fairly wealthy, and the Amazonia Confederation ranks as the seventh-largest economic region of the world. Amazonia's military ties to the United States and its frequent interventions in the Northeast and the Caribbean are a testimony to its growing importance.

Nevertheless Amazonia has its share of problems, and most of these revolve around religious and cultural issues. Since the twencen the growing number of Protestant religious groups in what were then predominantly Roman Catholic societies has created a cultural rift that threatens to spark a civil war in Brazil. Baptist and Evangelical churches have grown to encompass nearly 27% of the population of Brazil and 34% of Argentina. Growing disillusionment with the corruption of Catholic clergymen during the last twenty years has tempted Amazonians to join a bewildering array of Christian and other sects, ranging from the benign Moonies to the missionizing Mormons to the fanatical Templar cult. The syncretic religions of Marianism, Saintism and Semparia (related to voodoun) have also captured the popular imagination, as have several doom-cults which thrived during the New Mutation. The large migration of Filipinos, Indonesians, Chinese and Malays after the Pacific War have added an exotic new ingredient to the already-volatile mix. Since most Amazonian governments have been generally weak in this century, Brazil and Argentina have become considerably freer and more liberal than the conservative United States.



SAPARIO MEGACITY
[Pop: 28m, Security: 4, Contamination: 7, SOL: 70%, COL: 120%]
The massive Sao-Paulo-Rio metropolitan conurbation is the centre of Brazilian culture and industry. While pollution from antiquated 'rusty' industries and uncontrolled urban sprawl have contributed to the abysmal living conditions, many sections of this metropolis have grown wealthy and risen to First-World status. SaPaRio is a thriving world-city which combines the best elements of American, Latin, and Asian culture, producing famous sound-groups and the most stylish synthespians. SaPaRio's streets are awash with synths and pharmas of every imaginable variety in a culture which almost promotes recreational drug use. Despite a long bout with the New Mutation, Sapario maintains an easy swinging atmosphere suffused with sex, designer symbionts, and thousands of strange syncretic religions which form counter-cults and splinter Catholic sects. SaPaRio is a government unto itself, with all attempts by the Brazilian government to reign in its excessive and debauched politicians having come to nothing. The segregated citizens of SaPaRio often rely on the services of the Security Franchise rather than their own corrupt police to enforce order.