Editing Local government (section)

===Brazil===
{{Main|Municipalities of Brazil}}
Brazil is a [[federation]] consisting of 27 [[Federative units of Brazil|federative units]]: 26 states and one [[Federal District (Brazil)|Federal District]]. Government exists at three levels: federal, state, and municipal. The states are subdivided into 5,570 [[Municipalities of Brazil|municipalities]], while the Federal District has no municipalities (divided into [[Administrative regions of the Federal District (Brazil)|administrative regions]] instead) and has powers of both a state and a municipality..

Municipal government consists of an executive branch headed by a [[Mayors in Brazil|mayor]] (''Prefeito/Prefeita''), and a legislative branch (''Câmara Municipal),'' serving four-year terms''.'' Municipalities are enshrined in the [[Constitution of Brazil|constitution of 1988]] as entities of the federation; their responsibilities are distinct from the other two levels in theory,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Constituição da república federativa do brasil - 1988.|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Presidência da República Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos Jurídicos|at=Title 3, Chapter IV, Art. 30}}</ref> but overlap in practice (e.g. education, health, transportation).<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Afonso|first1=José|last2=Araújo|first2=Erika|date=2007-01-11|title=Local Government Organization and Finance: Brazil|url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2548199|journal=The World Bank. Public Sector Governance and Accountability Series|language=en|location=Rochester, NY|volume=Local Governance in Developing Countries|pages=381–418|ssrn=2548199|via=SSRN}}</ref> With their broad powers, municipalities may create their own constitutions, termed [[organic law]], and cannot be overruled by state governments.<ref name=":0" />

Elections at the municipal level follow a similar, partisan system to [[Elections in Brazil|state and federal elections]], but take place in different years. Municipalities may have anywhere from 9 to 55 members of the ''Câmara Municipal'', depending on the population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL - 1988|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Presidência da República Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos Jurídicos|at=Title 3, Chapter IV, Art. 29, Sec. IV}}</ref> There is no minimum or maximum population requirement for municipalities: while the average population of a municipality in 2005 was 30,099, [[Borá|Borá, São Paulo state]] (the least populous) had only 823 inhabitants, while [[São Paulo]] (the largest) had 10.9 million inhabitants.<ref name=":0" /> Municipalities within a state may choose to merge or separate with approval in a [[plebiscite]] and enacting of a state law.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CONSTITUIÇÃO DA REPÚBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL - 1988|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=Presidência da República Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos Jurídicos|at=Title 3, Chapter I, Art. 18, Sec. 4}}</ref>