In every autonomous territory there are internal divisions that serve to facilitate administration. In Brazil it is no different, the country needs to be managed and controlled by entities linked to the government, one subordinate to the other.
Given the need to divide the administration and control of the country, a fragmentation of the territory was established Brazilian in states, municipalities and districts, in addition to other regionalizations, such as regions and complexes regional.
Currently, Brazil has 26 states, also called federation units; also including the Federal District, one of the federative units that was created with the intention of housing the country's capital, the city of Brasília. Most of the political decisions take place at the headquarters of the federal government located in this city.
The delimitation of the territories of many of the Brazilian states took place mainly in the late nineteenth century. But we had other more contemporary changes, which took place in 1977, when Mato Grosso do Sul emerged. Later, in 1988, Goiás was divided, giving rise to a new state, Tocantins.
States are free to create autonomous laws, but they are subordinate to the Brazilian Federal Constitution. Within the states there is yet another division, the municipalities. These also have their own laws, which must follow the standards stipulated by our constitution. Within the municipal territories it is possible to find another division of smaller proportion, which subdivides them into districts.
By Eduardo de Freitas
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/brasil/a-estrutura-politicoadministrativa-brasil.htm