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==South America== ===Argentina=== Argentina is a federation of 23 provinces and the federal capital of [[Buenos Aires]]. During the 19th century there was a bitter struggle between Buenos Aires and the interior provinces, and there has long been an element of tension regarding the division of powers between the central government and provincial bodies. The federal government retains control over such matters as the regulation of commerce, customs collections, currency, civil or commercial codes, or the appointment of foreign agents. The provincial governors are elected every four years. The constitutional "national intervention" and "state of siege" powers of the president have been invoked frequently. The first of these powers was designed to "guarantee the republican form of government in the provinces." Since the adoption of the 1853 constitution, the federal government has intervened over 200 times, mostly by presidential decree. Under this authority, provincial and municipal offices may be declared vacant, appointments annulled, and local elections supervised. Between 1966 and 1973, all local legislatures were dissolved, and provincial governors were appointed by the new president. A restoration of provincial and municipal government followed the return to constitutional government in 1973. After the March 1976 coup, the federal government again intervened to remove all provincial governors and impose direct military rule over all municipalities. Since 1983, representative local government has been in force again. Until 1996, the President appointed the mayor of Buenos Aires, and by law, the president and Congress controlled any legislation that affected the city. Constitutional reforms that year led to an elected mayoral position, and a 60-member Poder Legislativo (legislative power). ===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 (''CĂąmara 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 repĂșblica federativa do brasil - 1988.|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=PresidĂȘncia da RepĂșblica Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos JurĂdicos|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=JosĂ©|last2=AraĂșjo|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=381â418|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 ''CĂąmara Municipal'', depending on the population.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CONSTITUIĂĂO DA REPĂBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL - 1988|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=PresidĂȘncia da RepĂșblica Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos JurĂdicos|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, [[BorĂĄ|BorĂĄ, SĂŁo Paulo state]] (the least populous) had only 823 inhabitants, while [[SĂŁo 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=CONSTITUIĂĂO DA REPĂBLICA FEDERATIVA DO BRASIL - 1988|url=https://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/constituicao/constituicao.htm|access-date=2021-05-01|website=PresidĂȘncia da RepĂșblica Casa Civil: Subchefia para Assuntos JurĂdicos|at=Title 3, Chapter I, Art. 18, Sec. 4}}</ref> ===Paraguay=== Paraguay is divided into 17 [[Departments of Paraguay|departments]], which are subdivided into districts, which, in turn, comprise municipalities (the minimum requirement for a municipality is 3,000 persons) and rural districts (partidos). A governor, elected by popular vote, runs each department. Municipal government is exercised through a municipal board, chosen by direct election, and an executive department. In the principal cities and capitals, the executive department is headed by a mayor appointed by the minister of the interior; in other localities, the mayor is appointed by the presidents of the municipal boards. Police chiefs are appointed by the central government. ===Peru=== Peru is divided into [[Regions of Peru|25 regions]] and the [[Lima Province|province of Lima]]. Each region has an elected government composed of a president and council that serve four-year terms.<ref>''Ley N° 27867, Ley OrgĂĄnica de Gobiernos Regionales'', Article N° 11.</ref> These governments plan regional development, execute public investment projects, promote economic activities, and manage public property.<ref>''Ley N° 27867, Ley OrgĂĄnica de Gobiernos Regionales'', Article N° 10.</ref> The province of Lima is administered by a city council.<ref>''Ley N° 27867, Ley OrgĂĄnica de Gobiernos Regionales'', Article N° 66.</ref> The goal of devolving power to regional and municipal governments was among others to improve popular participation. [[NGO]]s played an important role in the [[decentralisation]] process and still influence local politics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mixed Feelings |author=Monika Huber, Wolfgang Kaiser |publisher=dandc.eu |date=February 2013 |url=http://www.dandc.eu/en/article/perus-ngos-want-government-decentralisation-serve-social-goals-and-public-participation}}</ref> ===Uruguay=== Uruguay's administrative subdivisions consisted of nineteen territories called departments and governed by intendencias, which were subordinate to the central government and responsible for local administration. They enforced national laws and administered the nation's social and educational policies and institutions within their territories. These territories had limited taxing powers, but they could borrow funds and acquire property. They also had the power to establish unpaid five-member local boards or town councils in municipalities other than the departmental capital if the population was large enough to warrant such a body. Executive authority was vested in a governor (intendente), who administered the department, and in a thirty-one-member departmental board (junta departmental), which carried out legislative functions. These functions included approval of the departmental budget and judicial actions, such as impeachment proceedings against departmental officials, including the governor. At the municipal level, a mayor (intendente municipal) assumed executive and administrative duties, carrying out resolutions made by the local board (whose members were appointed on the basis of proportional representation of the political parties). The governor was required to comply with and enforce the constitution and the laws and to promulgate the decrees enacted by the departmental board. The governor was authorized to prepare the budget, submit it for approval to the departmental board, appoint the board's employees, and, if necessary, discipline or suspend them. The governor represented the department in its relations with the national government and other departmental governments and in the negotiation of contracts with public or private agencies. Like the governor, the members of the departmental board and the mayor were elected for five-year terms in direct, popular elections. A governor could be reelected only once, and candidates for the post had to meet the same requirements as those for a senator, in addition to being a native of the department or a resident therein for at least three years before assuming office. Departmental board members had to be at least twenty-three years of age, native born (or a legal citizen for at least three years), and a native of the department (or a resident for at least three years). The board sat in the capital city of each department and exercised jurisdiction throughout the entire territory of the department. It could issue decrees and resolutions that it deemed necessary either on the suggestion of the governor or on its own initiative. It could approve budgets, fix the amount of taxes, request the intervention of the Accounts Tribunal for advice concerning departmental finances or administration, and remove from officeâat the request of the governorâmembers of nonelective local departmental boards. The board also supervised local public services; public health; and primary, secondary, preparatory, industrial, and artistic education. Although Montevideo was the smallest department in terms of area (divided into twenty-three geographic zones that generally coincided with the electoral zones), its departmental board had sixty-five members in 1990; all other departments had thirty-one-member boards and a five-member executive council appointed by the departmental board, with proportional representation from the principal political parties. Data as of December 1990{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}
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