Public Market of Porto Alegre located in the centre of the city.
Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in southern Brazil, is the capital of Rio Grande do Sul State. Population: over 1.5 million (2004).
The city is located at the conjunction of five rivers, among them the Guaíba River (actually a lake). Although its origins date from the early 1700s, the city was officially established in 1809.
Porto Alegre is a major industrial center for southern Brazil, and a key city for Mercosul. It also is a center for gaúcho (the popular name for natives of the State) history and culture, famous for its churrasco (grilled meat) and chimarrão (a strong tea prepared from erva-mate). Several important Brazilian universities are located there.
Brazil is usually cited in the Western press for its formidable economic problems, spiralling urban violence and dramatic environmental destruction.
PortoAlegre is a regional capital of 1.3 million people which since 1989 has been governed by the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT or Workers' Party), Brazil's largest Left-wing party.
But simply copying PortoAlegre's budget policy is unlikely to have the same results elsewhere.
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