São Leopoldo

Federal Republic of São Leopoldo
Federal Republic of São Leopoldo; República Federal do São Leopoldo; República Federal de San Leopoldo
	Flag Coat of arms
Capital	São Pedro
Largest city	Curitiba
Official languages	Portuguese; Spanish
Demonym(s)	Leopoldean; Leopoldense
Government	Federal parliamentary constitutional republic
• President	Suzana Gonçalves
• Premier	Jair Palmieri
Legislature	National Council
• Upper house	Senate
• Lower house	Chamber of Deputies
Independence from Empire of Brazil
• Declared	March 1, 1845
• Recognized	December 19, 1853
• Current constitution	October 17, 1988
Area
• Total	752,624.6 km2 (290,590.0 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 census	33,666,045
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	R$642.796 billion
HDI (2019)	0.808; very high
Currency	Leopoldean real (R$)
Time zone	UTC-3
Driving side	right
Calling code	+55
ISO 3166 code	SLP
Internet TLD	.slp

São Leopoldo, officially the Federal Republic of São Leopoldo, is a sovereign nation located in South America. It borders Brazil to the north, United Provinces to the west and south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. The capital city of the country is São Pedro and the largest city of the country is Curitiba.

São Leopoldo is a federal republic following the parliamentary system. The President is the head of state, while the Premier is head of government. The national legislature is the National Council, which divided into two chambers: Senate (upper house) and Chamber of Deputies (lower house).

Before the Portuguese colonization, it was already inhabited by the Indian tribes while the first European explorers arrived. The colonization was started when the Spanish and Portuguese Jesuits arrived and they converted the Indians into Catholicism. The Germans settled the country when it was a part of Brazil in 1824. After the Ragamuffin War, the country declared independence from Brazil and it was unrecognized until 1853. The Italians settled the country in 1875 and most of them are originated from Northern Italy.

São Leopoldo is a member of Conference of American States and League of Nations.

Etymology

São Leopoldo was a name of the town where German immigrants settled in July 25, 1824. The name of the country was used after the independence from Brazil. Some proposed names of the country are Rio Grande, Plata, and Ragamuffia.

History

Early history

Before it's discovery by European explorers, São Leopoldo was inhabited by multiple indigenous hunter-gatherer tribes, who subsisted on a combination of hunting, fishing, and gathering. These tribes would act as individual city-states, conducting trade, war, and diplomacy with each other. Some notable tribes were Guarini and Charnia, who were one of the first Leopoldean tribes to make contact with European explorers.

Portuguese colonization

The Portuguese were the first to discovery São Leopoldo, colonizing it as apart of Colonial Brazil. Along with Portuguese settlers, Spanish Jesuits traveled to São Leopoldo to convert the indigenous Leopoldeans, who followed animistic and native religions. Many jesuits lived among the natives and converted many. For decades, both Spain and Portugal dispute over the region, with both nations claiming as apart of their own colonial territories. This prompted the Portuguese King to encourage increased Portuguese settlement in the area, resulting in a population boom.

Brazilian colonization

German settlement

A house of German Settlers in Nova Alemanha.

At that time, Germany was suffering the effects of war against Napoleon, overpopulation, and poverty in the countryside. Many Germans were willing to immigrate in Brazil and São Leopoldo (it was a part of Brazil at that time). Brazilian Empress Maria Leopoldina encouraged the immigration of Germans in imperial Brazil. The first German immigrants prior the country's independence was happened in 1822 after Brazil gained independence from Portugal. The first immigrants arrived in 1824, settling the city of São Leopoldo (now known as Nova Alemanha).

Ragamuffin war and independence

Calls for independence would continue to rise after the end of the Ragamuffin War and the independence of the Riograndese and Juliana republics. Inspired by the republic's endeavors against the increasingly hostile and authoritative Empire of Brazil, the people of São Leopoldo declared unilateral independence from the Empire on March 1st, 1845, to the great dismay of the Brazillian government. The first capital city of the country was in Piratini. Ignazio Pereira became the president of the country while Sevastian Dias became the vice president. During Pereria presidency, the country was only recognized by Britian, France, and Uruguay (the same countries that regocnized by Riograndese republic). Despite acting as a self-governing entity, São Leopoldo would not be recognized as a country by the Empire of Brazil until December 19th, 1853. On the same date, the State of Paraná, which was orignally under Brazillian control, was seperated from the Empire and joined São Leopoldo. After Pereria ended his term on the same year, Sevastian Dias became president while Reinaldo Barros became vice president.

Post-independence

Annexation of Uruguay

In 1854, nine years after São Leopoldo officially became an independent country, Uruguay was annexed by the country when the two governments signed the Treaty of Artigas so that it became a province of Cisplatina. Former Uruguayan President Juan Francisco Giró became the first state president of Cisplatina.

Late 19th century

20th century

Before Great War I

Vargas era and Great War I

In 1931, Getúlio Vargas became the President of São Leopoldo when his opponent Antônio Salgado was overthrown after the Leopoldean Revolution. Initially Salgado won the election, but Vargas and some of his supporters were in disagreement of this. In response, the Leopoldean Revolution happened three weeks before what was supposed to be inaguration of Salgado. After the revolution happened, the coup d'etat happened in the country for two weeks and it was ruled by military officers from the Leopoldean Army.

Great War II

Post-Great War II

21st century

Geography

Location and borders

Geographically, São Leopoldo is bordered by Brazil to the north, Paraguay and Argentina to the west, and Uruguay to the south, and Atlantic Ocean to the east. It is located on the eastern coast of South America. It has a total area of approximately 576,409.6 square miles (222,553 km²), of which TBD percent is water or TBD square miles (TBD km2).

Climate

São Leopoldo has subtropical or temperate climate. Seasons are fairly well defined, and in most of Uruguay spring is usually damp, cool, and windy; summers are warm; autumns are mild; and winters are chilly and uncomfortably damp. In the summer, mainly in January, the average temperature of Porto Alegre is from 20 to 30 °C, Florianópolis is from 21 to 28 °C, Curitiba is from 16 to 26 °C, São Joaquim is from 13 to 23 °C, and Gaúcha is from 17 to 26 °C. In the winter, mainly in Juy, the average temperature of Porto Alegre is from 10 to 19 °C, Florianópolis is from 12 to 20 °C, Curitiba is from 8 to 19 °C, São Joaquim is from 6 to 14 °C, and Gaúcha is from 8 to 17 °C.

Government and politics

Government

São Leopoldo is a federal presidential constitutional democracy which serves as the foundation of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president is the head of state and also the head of government. He/she is also considered as a commander in-chief in Leopoldean Armed Forces. The vice president will become a head of the cabinet and the presider of the legislative houses. The government of the country is bicameral and it is divided into two houses: Senate (upper house) and Chamber of Deputies (lower house). The Senate has 38 members, four for each federal states. They are elected directly by the people using plural voting. The Chamber of Deputies has TBD members. There are two deputies per districts, and both of the two legislative houses have no term limits.

Executive

Legislative

Judicial

Administrative divisions

São Leopoldo is composed of 10 federal states, and 2 special states. The Distrito Federal is located at the capital city of the country. The head of state of every federal states is the Governor whie the deputy head of state is the Vice Governor. Each states have their own unicameral legislatives but all of the states have elected their legislators statewide-at-large and the legislators can be also the member of the executive branch of the federal states.

Federal states

States of São Leopoldo
No.	States	Capital	Established
1	Blanquillo	Durazno	1924
2	Colina	Londrina	1993
3	Formosa	Chapecó	1972
4	Iguaçu	Cascavel	1943
5	Las Pampas	Pelotas	1956
6	Paraná	Curitiba	1853
7	Rio Grande	Porto Alegre	1845
8	Rio Negro	Salto	1924
9	Santa Catarina	Florianópolis	1845
10	Serrana	Lages	1968
11	Vacaria	Gaúcha	1960

Special states

Special States of São Leopoldo
No.	Flag	Special Units	Type	Capital	Established	Population
1		Distrito Federal	Capital state	São Pedro	1920
2		Montevideo	Dependency	Montevideo	1972

Political parties

Politics in São Leopoldo is divided into two coalitions named: Federalist Coalition and Republican Coalition. Those two parties that are belong to the two coalitions have representation in two chambers of National Council. Federalist Coalition is formed by United People's Party, National Union Party, National Unity and Justice Party, Christian Democratic Party, and Social Liberty Party while the Republican Coalition is formed by National Republican Party, Liberal Party, New Democratic Union, Progressive Party, and Green Nature Party. Political parties that have no representation in the Senate but it have representation in Chamer of Deputies are Social Democratic Party, Socialist Party, People's Reform Party, and Uruguay Independence Party.

Economy

São Leopoldo is one of the most stable economies in the world with the GDP of R$541 billion. The country is active in agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services sectors. In agricultural sector, it is known for its bigger coffee and soy production and it is one of the largest export of the said products in the world. The country have also the larger rice production with 9 milion tons produce in 2020. The state of Paraguai hae the largest stevia production of the country. The two Uruguaian provinces have the largest cattle production in the country and produced 589 thousand tons of beef in 2018. The other products in that are available in the contry are sugarcane, wheat, barley, grapes, orange, apple, cassava, and many others. In mining sector, Santa Catarina have the largest coal production in the country mainly in the city of Criciúma and the production of crude mineral coal was 13.6 million tons in 2007. Gold and cement production has very active production in recent years.

Energy

Tourism

The Iguazu Falls is the most populat tourist destination of the country.

Many people around the world visited the Iguazu Falls in the state of Iguaçu and it is the most popular destination for foreign tourists who came to São Leopoldo for pleasure. The country is the home of São Miguel das Missões, where tourists can see the 17th century Spanish Jesuit mission ruins and it was the one of the World Heritage Sites. The Rota Romântica is the scenic tourist route that exhibits the diverse German culture and they can visit to Caminhos da Colônia is als the scenic route that exhibits the diverse Italian culture. Both Rota Romântica and Caminhos da Colônia are popular in the states of Rio Grande and Vacaria. The Paleorotta Geopark in the state of Rio Grande is the home of paleontological tourism in the country where many fossils of the Permian and Triassic periodare displayed there.

Infrastructure

Demographics

Population

Racial composition

Whites have the most number of population in the country and most of them have European ancestry such as the descendants of German and Italian immigrants. Mixed-race have second most number of population in the country are most of them have mixed with either European or African ancestry. Blacks have third most number of population and they are the descendants of African slaves during imperial Brazil period. Asians have the second least number of population and most of them are the descendants of Japanese immigrants with Paraná have the most number of the said population. Indigenous people have the least number of population in the country and the well-known tribes in the country are Guaraní and Kaingang.

Skin color/Race (2014)
White (Branca)	75.92%
Mixed (Parda)	18.96%
Black (Preta)	4.28%
Asian (Amarela)	0.57%
Indigenous (Indígena)	0.26%

Language

Portuguese and Spanish are the official languages of the country. Portuguese is the first language of Eastern Leopoldean region while Spanish is the first language of Western Leopoldean region. Among the 14 states and 3 special units of the country, only the two Uruguaian provinces and the dependency of Montevideo that both Portuguese and Spanish are the first languages. The minor languages of the country are the Hunsrückisch German dialect, Venetian, Yiddish, Japanese, Dutch, Polich, Ukrainian, Guarani, and Kaingang.

Religion

Most of the people in the country are Christians with Roman Catholic having the most adherents while Avignon Catholic is the second most popular church in the country. The Igreja Independente Soberana de São Leopoldo is considered as a state church but it is not the official church of the country in the Leopoldean Constitution. Protestants and other Christian religions have the least population among the Christian groups. The fewer population of the people are irreligious and followers of non-Cristian groups such as Spiritism, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, and many others.

Health

The country's public health system, the Leopoldean Healthcare Services System can be provided for the patient's to avail for their free services in public hospitals while 50% of patient's free services can be avail in private hospitals. Public health services are universal and offered for the citizens for free. The maintenance and construction of public health centers in the country are financed by 2% of its tax.

Education

Education of São Leopoldo is divided into three levels: pre-school education (educação infantil), basic education (ensino básico), and higher education (ensino superior). Pre-school education is the development of children under 6. It aims to assist in all areas of child development, including motor skills, cognitive skills, and social skills. There are nurseries for children under 2, kindergartens from 2-3 years old, and preschools for children 4 and up. Basic education is divided into two sub-levels: elementary school (ensino fundamental) and high school (ensino médio). Elementary school is mandatory for children ages 6–12. The Basic Education Council (Conselho Educação Básico) establishes a core curriculum consisting of Portuguese and Spanish languages, history, geography, science, health, mathematics, music, arts and physical education. Foreign languages and home economics can be taught for children ages 9-12. High school is mandatory for ages 13-16. Junior secondary education core curriculum comprises Portuguese, Spanish, foreign language, history, geography, algebra, geometry, physics, chemistry, biology, philosophy and sociology. Senior secondary education is also mandatory for ages 17-18. It focuses more on technical and vocational education to increase the skills of students before entering college.

In higher education, the students must take the national entrance exam before entering to a prominent colleges and universities. If a student didn't passed the exam, he or she will not chose to study in prominent schools but they can still study in other colleges. The Leopoldean standard for bachelor's degree is awarded in most areas of the arts, humanities, social sciences, businesses, or natural sciences.

The four major universities in the country São Leopoldo are: University of São Leopoldo, Federal University of São Leopoldo, National University of São Leopoldo and State University of São Leopoldo.

Culture

Cinema

Mass media

Radio and television

STL, Rede Sul, CTR, and RTVA are the four major television networks in the country. Over 10 million Leopoldeans are subscribed to cable, satellite, or other modes of television broadcasting. They are also enjoying watching telenovelas from neighboring countries such as Argentina and Brazil. 5 million Leopoldeans are listening to the radio and most of the audiences are ages 18-30 years old in music and 40 years old and above in news. The telenovelas from Central America are very popular in the country and it has the most number of percentage of Centroamerican fans outside the globe and the telenovelas are either dubbed in Portuguese or it has an original Spanish sound with Portuguese subtitles. The Leopoldean telenovelas have also a big widespread popularity in the country and the most popular telenovelas of the country are Família Gonçalves, Três Marias, and Eu Te Amo, Amanhã.

Print

The five major Portuguese newspapers in São Leopoldo are Correio Leopoldense, Arauto Nacional, Gazeta Alegre, Diário do Sul, and Jornal da Estrela and the five major Spanish newspapers in São Leopoldo Leopoldeano Noticias, El Dia Atlantico, Nación Azul, Diario del Sur and Mundo Begonia while the four major magazine in the country are Atlântico, Nova, Leia Hoje, and Revista do Sul. The newspapers and magazines in the country can help to share some exclusive updates from the daily lives of every Leopoldeans. Most of the people that are reading newspapers are ages 30 years old and above while some people at ags 13-25 years old are enjoying upon reading magazines.

Music

The music of the country are mixed with Brazilian and Argentinian music and it can be also influenced by African, European, and Amerindian forms. Tango and cambonde are popular in the Spanish dominating states while samba and bossa nova are popular in the Portuguese dominating state. Other Western-influenced music such as pop, R&B, soul, rock, hip-hop, rap, classical music, disco, and gospel are also popular to the country especially to the younger audiences. The four major record labels in the country are Luar Records, Begônia Records, Universo Music (owned by Universal Music Group), and Pedra Records (owned by Warner Music Group).

Sports

Football is the most popular sports in São Leopoldo and many people in all ages can play the said sport so that it became the national sport of the country. Volleyball and basketball is also popular in the country.