Historical independence

Southern Brazilian separatism: current status

Where the question stood on 22 September 2026: the three southern states remain part of Brazil, with no official referendum held.

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Status verified as of 22 September 2026. Political positions change; this explainer describes the documented position on that date.

Current position

Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina remain constituent states of Brazil. No official, state-run referendum on secession has been held; the movement's 2016 self-run consultation carries no legal effect.[1]

Sources for this page

Each number marks a specific claim. Notes give the source, its locator and how it relates to the claim.

  1. 1.

    Claim: On 1 October 2016, the "O Sul é o Meu País" movement organised a self-run, non-binding consultation across 386 municipalities in the three southern states, in which 616,917 people participated; the result was 95.74% ("590,664 votes") in favour of secession, with Rio Grande do Sul recording the highest support at 97.21%. This was a private civic exercise organised by the movement itself, not an official Brazilian state-run referendum, and carries no legal effect on Brazil's territorial integrity.

    • 'Sim' vence consulta para criar país com três estados do Sul do Brasil (Jornal do Comércio) link, Consultation results and non-official status section. Source record

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