Brazil’s border is pretty mammoth (here’s a visual reminder), and a growing economy has made illegal activities (chief among them illegal immigration) an equally growing concern. But the country has a plan: a 10,000-mile fence … except that this one is virtual. For reference, America’s southern border is only about 20% as long. The SistemaIntegrado de Monitoramento de Fronteiras (aka Sisfron) will take a decade and some $13 billion to erect, and as NPR explains, it’ll be a mix of satellites, drones, electromagnetic signaling, and an element that sounds fairly corporeal to us: an increased army presence.
The country’s border touches that of 10 other countries. The portion touching Bolivia (a major cocaine producer) and Paraguay (which attracts black market items) will be tackled first, and Brazil is currently amassing supplies, reports UPI. But some people are sour on the plan, and with a potentially valid reason: Only about 20% of Brazil’s border is, in NPR’s word, “accessible,” due to the country’s rivers, marshland, and Amazon forest.
