page_title: Federalism
section_title: Brazil
hierarchical_section_title: Federalism / Examples / Brazil
context_page_description: Federalism is a mixed or compound mode of government that combines a general government with regional governments in a single political system. Its distinctive feature, exemplified in the Constitution of the United States, is a relationship of parity between the two levels of government established. Federalism is thus a form of government in which powers are divided between two levels of government of equal status.
  Federalism differs from confederalism, in which the general level of government is subordinate to the regional level, and from devolution within a unitary state, in which the regional level of government is subordinate to the general level. It represents the central form in the pathway of regional integration or separation, bounded on the less integrated side by confederalism and on the more integrated side by devolution within a unitary state.
  Examples of the federation or federal state include the United States, India, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, Germany, Canada, Switzerland, Argentina, Nigeria, and Australia. Some characterize the European Union as the pioneering example of federalism in a multi-state setting, in a concept termed the federal union of states.
context_section_description: In Brazil, the fall of the monarchy in 1889 by a military coup d'état led to the rise of the presidential system, headed by Deodoro da Fonseca. Aided by well-known jurist Ruy Barbosa, Fonseca established federalism in Brazil by decree, but this system of government would be confirmed by every Brazilian constitution since 1891, although some of them would distort some of the federalist principles. The 1937 federal government had the authority to appoint State Governors (called intervenors) at will, thus centralizing power in the hands of President Getúlio Vargas. Brazil also uses the Fonseca system to regulate interstate trade. Brazil is one of the biggest federal governments.
  The Brazilian Constitution of 1988 introduced a new component to the ideas of federalism, including municipalities as federal entities. Brazilian municipalities are now invested with some of the traditional powers usually granted to states in federalism, and they are allowed to adopt a constitution.
caption: Brazil is a union of 26 states and its federal district which is the site of Brasília, the federal capital