Federal District

Washington D.C. Federal District, United States Capital.

In some federal republics, the territory containing the federation's capital is known as a federal district and does not belong to any particular federal state. District is a term from the Latin districtus, which originates from the word distringere, which means "to separate". This concept is used to name the delimitations that subdivide a territory in order to organize the administration and public function, as well as political and civil rights, although the definition of district is different in each country.

A federal district is a territory that is under the sovereignty of a federal state without being part of any state or province that is part of the federation. In the federal districts, the central State has direct and exclusive jurisdiction and is under its administration, although this does not prevent the federal government from delegating some of its powers to a local government.

It is common for federations to create federal districts with the aim of avoiding the influence of the particular interests of any member state or province, this territory being the headquarters of the federal government authorities. In this case, it is generally called the "Federal District" to distinguish it from other types of capitals (state, municipal, provincial).

There are several countries in the world constituted as federal states, for example: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, United States, Mexico, Russia, Venezuela, among others.

Etymology

The idea of the federal district was born in the United States, since in 1778 there was a military uprising in the City of Philadelphia in rejection of the national authorities that resided there. On that occasion, the local authorities were reluctant to come to the aid of the federal authorities, and from this experience came the conviction that the federal authorities should exercise exclusive jurisdiction in the city where they resided.

Examples of federal districts

Here are some examples of different federal districts in different regions of the world:

• Washington, U.S. federal capital, is located in the District of Columbia, the headquarters of federal powers. It was created as such on July 1, 1790, being one of the first federal districts to be head of a Federation.
• Canberra is located in the Australian Capital Territory, which functions as a distinct entity compared to the other Australian federation states. It is located in the northern part of the territory, 300 kilometres south-west of Sydney and 650 kilometres north-east of Melbourne. The situation in Canberra was selected for the position of the national capital in 1908 as a commitment between Sydney and Melbourne, the two major cities. It is different from other Australian cities, as it was built from scratch, as a planned city.
• In the Russian Federation, there are eight federal districts that are, instead, an additional administrative level between the national level and other smaller subdivisions. The capital, Moscow, is next to St. Petersburg a federal city.
• In India, the Delhi capital is in a special territory (National Capital Territory), separated from the other states of the union, giving it a different status.
• In the Malay Federation, it comprises the territory of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan, which is administered directly by the national government.
• Brazil had between 1889 and 1960 the city of Rio de Janeiro in the former Federal District, until Brasilia was inaugurated in 1960 in the new Federal District.

Former federal districts

• Federal District. It was created on 18 November 1824, with the intention that it would be an entity other than the other states, to house the executive, legislative and judicial powers, thereby avoiding the excessive influence of a state on the others of the federation. The Mexican Constitution envisages the possibility that the powers of the Union could move to another part of the territory, in which case a new federal district would be appointed and Mexico City would be established in the state of the Valley of Mexico. The Federal Constitution of 1824 gave the Congress of the Union the power to choose the place where the supreme powers of the federation should be established. After many discussions the Congress of the Union by decree of November 18, 1824 the Federal District was created. Having the Plaza de la Constitución as the center and hence a radius of 8,830 kilometers. On November 20, the decree was issued on instructions from President Guadalupe Victoria. On January 20, 2016, the president of the Permanent Commission of the Congress of the Union, Jesús Zambrano Grijalva, made the declaration of constitutionality of the political reform of the Federal District of Mexico and sent it to the federal executive for publication in the Official Journal of the Federation (DOF) on Friday, January 29, 2016. This reform contemplates substantial changes in the capital of the country, among which the Federal District disappears, and becomes the Mexico City.
• The Federal District is the name by which the former federal entity of Venezuela has been known, which worked from 1881 to 1999, and which ceased to exist with the approval of the new constitution that same year. The entirety of the current Capital District, which is equivalent to the Libertador municipality of Caracas, as well as what is now the La Guaira state until 1998. His government was until that year linked to the National Executive directly under the figure of a designated Governor.
• Guatemala City. The City of Guatemala became the headquarters of the powers of the disappeared Federal Republic of Central America, becoming the Federal District of this. He ceased to be the Federal District of the Central American Federation when General Francisco Morazán decided to officially transfer the capital of this other union to San Salvador in 1834.
• San Salvador. This city officially became the Federal District of the former Federal Republic of Central America in 1834 by order of General Francisco Morazán, president of that disappeared country. El Salvador and more specifically his capital, San Salvador, represented his most faithful military and political ally in his dream as a Central American unionist, clearly obliging this to designate San Salvador as the Federal District of the Central American Union. The Salvadoran State then moved the headquarters of its powers to the city of Saint Vincent. By 1840 already only El Salvador remained officially a member of the Central American Federation, so in 1841 a constituent assembly officially recovers the territory granted to the Central American Federal District by appointing San Salvador again as its political headquarters of sovereign and independent State.
• Federal District of Bogotá. It was a Colombian territorial legal entity created on July 23, 1861, so that the city would be a residence of the federal government of the then United States of Colombia. It was suppressed on 11 May 1864 and its territory reinstated to the Sovereign State of Cundinamarca.

Cases of absence from defined federal district

• In Canada, a federal country, there is no defined federal district or any rank that separates its capital, Ottawa, from other Canadian federal entities. This city is located in the province of Ontario and forms an agglomeration with the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The location of Ottawa was chosen by Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, as it is in a strategic place, where the English and French-speaking part of the country join to symbolize a union between the two.
• In Switzerland, a federal country, there is neither a defined federal district or any rank that separates its capital, Bern, from the other Swiss federal entities. This city is located in the canton of Bern, of which it is also its capital. The location of Bern was chosen for being in a strategic place, although in the German-speaking part, very close to the French-speaking part of the country, and strategically connected with the latter and the italophone.
• In Bosnia Herzegovina, its national capital Sarajevo is within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the two entities that make up the federation, and the capital of that entity. It is also the capital of iure of the Republika Srpska, although the government of the Republika Srpska resides in Bania Luka.

Countries where the capital is a state

In these cases, the capital is the same as a state or province, with a different and autonomous government not dependent on the federal government.

• Germany: BerlinStadt-Staat, city state)
• Austria: Vienna
• Belgium: Brussels (Region of Brussels Capital)
• Ethiopia: Adis Abeba (astedader akabibiconstitutional city)
• Mexico: Mexico City (capital of the country, but with autonomy—government and legislative power—its own)