The administrative regions of the Federal District (, RADF or RA) are

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

s of the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. They have similar jurisdiction to

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

, albeit with a much lesser degree of autonomy. However, administrators are not directly elected, but appointed by the Governor of the Federal District. Moreover, administrative regions have no specific legislative representation apart from the district-wide

Legislative Chamber of the Federal District The Legislative Chamber of Federal District () is the unicameral legislative branch of Federal District in Brazil. The legislative chamber is composed by 24 district deputies ( Portuguese: ''deputados distritais''), which corresponds to three t ...

History

The Federal District was first divided into administrative regions by a 1964 federal law. Prior to this, the regions were not officially defined, but the seven oldest seats of government ( Gama, Taguatinga, Brazlândia, Sobradinho, Planaltina, Paranoá, and Núcleo Bandeirante) already existed and were often called satellite cities () to the capital

Brasília Brasília ( ; ) is the capital city, capital of Brazil and Federal District (Brazil), Federal District. Located in the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region, it was founded by President Juscelino ...

, located in the Brasília administrative region. The 1988

Constitution of Brazil The Constitution of the Federative Republic of Brazil () is the Constitution, supreme law of Brazil. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of Brazil and the federal government of Brazil. It replaced the ...

divides the country into

federated state A federated state (also State (polity), state, province, region, Canton (administrative division), canton, Länder, land, governorate, oblast, emirate, or country) is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federation ...

s and these into

with a degree of autonomy, headed by an elected

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

, but explicitly forbids the

to divide into municipalities. It is instead divided into administrative regions headed by a regional administrator who is appointed by the Governor of the Federal District , as opposed to the elected mayors of

. Regional administrations are tasked with representing the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

of the Federal District and coordinating local public services, and carry out most tasks reserved for municipalities, except for matters exclusive to states, which are handled by the governor themself.

History

List of administrative regions

See also

Notes

References