BRAZIL OVERVIEW

Brazil is the largest and most populous country in South America; and the fifth largest in the world in both area and population. Spanning a vast area between central South America and the Atlantic Ocean, it is the easternmost country of America and borders every other South American country except Ecuador and Chile.

Brazil was colonised by Portugal and it is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is a multiracial country with a population composed of European, Amerindian, African and Asian elements. It has the largest Roman Catholic population in the world.

The Federal Republic of Brazil

Brazil is a federation consisting of twenty-six states (estados) and one federal district (Distrito Federal), making a total of 27 "federate units".

The Brazilian states enjoy a significant autonomy of government, law making, public security and taxation. The government of a state is headed by a Governor (governador), elected by popular vote, and also comprises its own legislative body (assembléia legislativa). Each state is divided into municipalities (municípios) with their own legislative council (câmara de vereadores) and a mayor (prefeito), which are autonomous and hierarchically independent from both federal and state government. A municipality may include other towns (distritos) besides the municipal seat; those, however, have no separate government.

The judiciary is organised at the state and federal levels within districts called comarcas. One comarca may include several municipalities.