BRAZIL is more than just about football, samba, forests, beach parties and carnivals.

'Brazil is a country with a long established industrial base,' says Mr Curado. 'Our industrialisation started way back in the 1950s.'

And Embraer's history is a microcosm of the nation's industrial history, Mr Curado insists.

'Right after WWII, a few air force officers had the vision of not just having an air force fleet, but acquiring a full domain of knowledge, which is more important than technology. Knowledge allows you to develop whatever you want. Instead of a technological transfer agreement from another country to build an aircraft under licence, we established a research centre in 1948, and a school for aeronautic engineering in 1950.'

Embraer was set up in 1969, about one generation later.

'We started in 1969, basically to develop a very small airplane for the Brazilian air force, a small transport airplane which eventually became the Bandierate. Our success was due to a combination of the technological base, knowledge base, and active partnership of the Brazilian government as we started out as a state-owned company. It was only much later that we became privatised.'

Mr Curado points out that Brazilian industrial tradition goes beyond planemaking.

'We have many examples of excellence in industrial development in Brazil. In banking automation, we are the state of the art. In energy, we have the technology to tap oil reserves 4km below the sea, including 2km of rock.'

Brazil, with a population of 189 million, is the world's 10th largest economy at market exchange rates and the ninth largest in purchasing power. The country has enjoyed about 5 per cent economic growth during the current decade, has over US$200 billion in reserves, and a diversified foreign trade profile. But the US and Europe are still its biggest trading partners, accounting for 15 and 20 per cent of total trade respectively.

The country is now ranked among the four major emerging economies, called BRIC (an acronym denoting Brazil, Russia, India, China).

Mr Curado points out that Brazil has, until the last 10 years, been largely preoccupied with its own internal economy and market.

'It is only recently that we have become more global in our outlook,' he adds. 'And this has helped boost the competitiveness of the Brazilian industry tremendously. More people speak English. Our import tax average has dropped from around 70 per cent 15 years ago, to 17 per cent now.

'We have embraced free trade and removed market protection. In short, we are modernising and preparing our industrial base for the next millennium.'

The results have been good. Inflation has fallen to about 4.5 to 6.5 per cent, while national debt has come down sharply after laws were drawn up permitting state governments to limit spending against revenues.

But the challenges remain.

'We still have a lot of work to do in the education and income distribution front. We still have to improve infrastructure and address energy concerns. A huge amount of our energy comes from hydraulic plants - about 70 per cent - and as the country grows, we will need to find better ways to get our energy without degrading the environment. But we are tightening our laws.'

What is Brazil's place in the world?

'I won't say that we will be a superpower - it's not in our spirit, Brazilians are very easy going and are peaceful people - but we can definitely become a major player on the global stage,' says Mr Curado.