Maps of South Africa

The apartheid can be understood as a policy that legalized the racism in South Africa between the years 1948 and 1994. In this scheme, the white minority went on to enjoy all the social privileges, such as voting and have access to several places, in order to segregate the black population socially and geographically, in one of the most regrettable historical events of humanity.

The institutionalization of apartheid occurred with the arrival of the Reunited National Party in 1948, which fought for the imposition of the segregationist vision of the Afrikaners , who justified themselves based on similar traditions of their ancestors, the Boers . As a result, in addition to restricting suffrage, blacks began to be isolated in specific settlements (called “bantustões”), prevented from acquiring land and marrying white people.

As a result, in addition to the established social humiliation, blacks began to rely on degrading public and private services, to suffer from a greater degradation of their living conditions, in addition to the intensification of repressive action by the government. Even so, protests against the apartheid regime were intensified under the leadership of the African National Congress (CNA), a party that was banned in the 1960s. Among the leaders of the CNA was Nelson Mandela (1918 - 2013), who was arrested and kept like that for 27 years.

In this context, international pressure against the apartheid regime in South Africa has become quite intense, with several international sanctions and a consequent political isolation in the face of the government's inflexibility.

In 1989, however, after elections were held, Africans were defeated and the new president, Frederik Willem Klerk, implemented measures to end apartheid, restoring legality to the ANC and revoking the arrest of activists fighting against the regime ( including Mandela). Nelson Mandela, in 1994, was elected in democratic and multiracial elections, becoming the first black president in the history of South Africa, responsible for putting a definitive end to the existing racial regime.

However, the legacy of apartheid is still very much felt in South Africa, which has also suffered from serious economic problems, which are gradually being overcome. Today, the country is considered an emerging economy and is one of the main countries on the African continent in political and economic terms. From 2011, inclusive, the South Africans became part of the BRICS summit, alongside Brazil, Russia, India and China, who are seen today as the main representatives of developing countries in the world.

In this context, the candidacy for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa - remembering that, by FIFA's decision, the event should necessarily take place in an African country - was considered as a symbolic act to demonstrate the country's evolution and also a clear demonstration that, at least in the political aspect, apartheid has been overcome.

Despite the fact that the local team did not even pass the first stages of the tournament, it was considered that the event was very well done, culminating in a greater and wider dissemination of the country's social conditions and also of its tourist potential. Contrary to what happened in times of racial repression, today South Africa is viewed differently by the international community.

• Countryaah.com:  Offers a full list of airports in the country of South Africa, sorted by city location and acronyms.
• Digopaul.com: presents formal definitions of English word - South Africa. Covers U.K. and U.S. pronunciations, popular web meanings, various word forms, and related pictures about South Africa.
• Abbreviationfinder.org: Provides most commonly used abbreviations and initials containing the country name of South Africa. Listed by popularity.

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