Brazil is 'Beauty and the Beast' writ large. Newly self-confident, it's riding an economic boom - driven on by high commodity and agricultural prices. The scourge of hyper-inflation has been banished; the pace of change and urbanization is reshaping society, creating a prosperous middle class and threatening traditional pillars like the Church. It is twenty years since the military left politics and Brazil's democracy is maturing - witness the smooth transition to a leftist president who was recently reelected for a second term. And Brazil is campaigning for a permanent seat on the Security Council.

But its politics, bureaucracy, law enforcement and judiciary are still steeped in corruption. Criminal violence is endemic in the major cities, and Brazil has a murder rate second only to Venezuela. Powerful gangs with money and heavy weapons bribe and murder - even from inside jails. Environmental laws are openly flouted; thousands of square miles of rainforest are destroyed every year. And yet Brazil is more fashionable than ever to the outside world, with its music, movies, models and footballers in high demand. Its youthful multi-ethnicity sets it apart from almost any other country on earth. These features ideas try to take the measure of a country that is full of contradictions: one that has every reason to be optimistic about its future but where rapid change is bringing its own costs.

Packages will air throughout the week during news programs. Reporters contributing are: Jim Clancy, Karl Penhaul, Helena De Moura, and Tim Lister.

CNN Connects: Voices of Brazil

CNN Connects will be taped at the Museum of Contemporary Architecture in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. Over the course of an hour, Jim Clancy will speak with some of Brazil's most prominent newsmakers and personalities about the challenges facing the biggest country in Latin America. One of the talking points in this particular program will be how to harness Brazil's enormous assets and potential and make them accessible to all Brazilians. There have been remarkable advancements, but the country still faces big challenges. How will it meet those challenges? We will discuss the wealth gap, the hopes for a revived economy and the renewed optimism found in Brazil.