The Dark Side of "The Light": Brascan in Brazil

Publisher:  Taskforce on the Churches and Corporate Responsibility, Toronto, Canada
Year Published:  1976
Pages:  12pp   Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX144

Report evaluates the impact of BRASCAN Ltd. in Brazil as well as that of the economic system the company promotes.

Abstract: 
BRASCAN Ltd. is typical of a relatively small number of transnational corporations (TNC's) which dominate more and more of the world's economy. The corporation - Canada's sixth largest according to assets and tenth most profitable - oversees $2 billion worth of assets invested in a wide range of businesses, producing everything from electricity to candies to beer. Untypically for a TNC of its size, BRASCAN has the bulk of its assets located in one nation: Brazil. There, BRASCAN, owns the country's single largest private corporation, Light Servicios, and manages a conglomerate valued at $1.685 billion. Throughout the company's development and growth, BRASCAN has been dominated by one main and outstanding motivation: the maximization of profit. It omits a concern for the social and economic impact of its industries and of the military government which it so assiduously supports. This short report attempts to delve into and evaluate the impact of BRASCAN Ltd. in Brazil as well as that of the economic system which the company promotes.