Southern Cross Republic

The Southern Cross Republic, also referred to as the Republic of the Southern Cross Island, the SCR, the Southern Cross, or Southern Cross Island (Portuguese: República do Cruzeiro do Sul, the RCS, or Cruzeiro do Sul), is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean and the 2nd Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is the 13th by geographical area and 11th most populous South American sovereign state. It shares maritime border with Tristan da Cunha Islands to the east, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands to the south, Falkland Islands to the southwest, Argentina and Uruguay to the west, and Brazil to the northwest.

Southern Cross Republic was a colony of Portugal from the landing of Pedro Álvares Cabral in 1500 until its independence in 1912. After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1910 in Portugal.

The Southern Cross Republic is a developed country. It is a member of the UN, OAS, and OECD; as well as a founding member of the Mercosul, Unasul, Latin Union, the Organization of Ibero-American States, and also CPLC.

The names "Southern Cross Island" and "Southern Cross Republic" has origin in the constellation of same name -- the Crux constellation, or Southern Cross constellation (Constelação do Cruzeiro do Sul in Portuguese). This name was adopted since the first days of the discovery.

Geography
Main Article: Geography of the Southern Cross Republic

The Southern Cross Republic is an island with not very more than 111,000 km² (or almost 43,000 sq mi), located in the South Atlantic ocean. It has volcanic origin and it formed during the continental separation there is more than 130 million years ago. Its highest point is the Bocanegra volcano (literally: Blackmouth), with 4,137m height, located in the southeast of the island, in the mountains calls Serra Branca (White Mountains). Other important mountains are the Serra Central (Central Mountains) located in the central region with 2,000m height, and the Serra Lusitana (Lusitanian Mountains), located in the northwest with 1,000m height.

Climate
The climate of the Southern Cross Island is temperate. It is dominated by the Brazil Current in the north, and by the south wind coming from Antarctica in the south. The Serra Branca and Serra Central splits the country in these two climatic regions.

Flora and Fauna
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin group (Eudyptes chrysocome), are two subspecies of rockhopper penguin, that together are sometimes considered distinct from the Northern Rockhopper Penguin. It occurs in subantarctic waters of the western Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as around the southern coasts of South America. The South Crossic Shag is one of the blue-eyed shags, sometimes placed in the genera Leucocarbo or Notocarbo, and a subspecies of the Imperial Shag. It is sometimes considered to be a full species. The South Crosser Shag is restricted to subantarctic climate of the south of the island and the nearby South Georgia island group. Apart from breeding and roosting, its habitat is marine.

Subtropical plants dominate the north, with the Dalbergia genus of trees well represented by Brazilian Rosewood and the quebracho tree; also predominant are white and black algarrobo trees (prosopis alba and prosopis nigra). Aquatic plants thrive in the wetlands of the island. In the island some imported species like the American sycamore or eucalyptus are present along roads or in towns and country estates (fazendas). The only tree-like plant native is a variant of the evergreen ombú. The surface soils are a deep black color, primarily mollisols, known commonly as humus. This makes the region one of the most agriculturally productive on Earth; however, this is also responsible for decimating much of the original ecosystem, to make way for commercial agriculture.

Most of the south of the island under efect of the south wind from Antarctica, so the flora, shrubby bushes and plants, is suited to this conditions. The soil is hard and rocky, making large-scale farming impossible except along river valleys. Coniferous forests in far western on the island, include variants of alerce, ciprestes da cordilheira, ciprestes das guaitecas, hulilã, lheque, manho hembra and araucária, while broadleaf trees include several species of Nothofagus such as coiê, lenga and nhiro. Other introduced trees present in forestry plantations include spruce, cypress and pine. Common plants are the copí and colí.

History
Main Article: History of the Southern Cross Republic

The land now called Southern Cross Island, was claimed by Portugal in May 1500 -- 38 days after the discovery of Brazil --, on the arrival of the Portuguese fleet commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral. The Portuguese encountered an uninhabited land.

Colonization was effectively begun in 1579, during the reign of Henry, the Cardinal-King of Portugal (Portuguese: Henrique I, Cardeal-Rei de Portugal) or Henry, the Chaste (Henrique I, o Casto).

Politics
Main Article: Politics of the Southern Cross Republic and Government of the Southern Cross Republic

Politics of the Southern Cross Republic takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic in which the President of the Southern Cross Republic is the head of government and head of state, in a multi-party system (de jure, two-party system de facto).

The national government is composed of three branches:


 * Legislative: The unicameral General Council, makes national law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government.
 * Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the members of the Cabinet (subject to General Council approval) and other officers, who administer and enforce national laws and policies.
 * Judicial: The National Justice Court and lower provincial courts, whose judges are appointed by the president with General Council approval, interpret laws and overturn those they find unconstitutional.

The Republican and Nationalist parties have been locked in a power struggle throughout most of Southern Cross Republic's history.

Southern Cross Republic adopted its first and current constitution in 1912, following the Portuguese revolution.

See also: Constitution of the Southern Cross Republic and Law in the Southern Cross Republic

Foreign Relations
Main Article: Foreign Relations of the Southern Cross Republic

The Ministry of External Relations is responsible for managing the foreign relations of the Southern Cross Republic. The Southern Cross Republic is a significant political and economic power in Latin America. Southern Cross Republic's foreign policy is designed to help protect the country's national interests, national security, ideological goals, and economic prosperity.

Military
Main Article: Defensive Forces of the Southern Cross Republic

The Defensive Forces of the Southern Cross Republic consist of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. With a total of 6,655 active personnel. The Army is responsible for land-based military operations and has 4,200 active personnel. It is the oldest of the South Crossic armed forces. The Police is described as an ancillary force of the Army by the constitution, but is under the control of each provinces' governor. The Navy is responsible for naval operations and for guarding territorial waters, with about 16 ships of several types, 4 aircrafts and about 1,400 active personnel. In case of a crisis situation the Navy must be ready to defend sea approaches, harbour areas, sea lines of communication and to co-operate with coalition units. The Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the armed forces. The average size of the military formation in peacetime is about 1,055 men, with about 48 manned aircraft in service. The Air Force reduces the political, military, economical, social, environmental and psychological threats. The Air Force has important role in enhancing flight safety in South Crossic airspace.

Provinces and District
Main Article: Provinces of the Southern Cross Republic

The Southern Cross Republic is divided into five Provinces (Províncias), and one District (Distrito), which are the administrative subdivisions of the country.

The provinces and the district are the biggest administrative subdivision. The province government (Governo da Província) of each province is led by a province governor (Governador(a)) as well as the district, who represents the national government at the regional level. Governors are elected by people for a term of four years, and only two consecutive mandates.

Municipalities
Each province is further divided into municipalities (concelhos), which is also subdivided into parishes (freguesias). Each municipality is an unit of self-government with its representative and executive bodies. The municipalities in the Southern Cross Republic cover the entire territory of the country.

See also: List of Municipalities of the Southern Cross Republic

Demographics
Main Article: Demographics of the Southern Cross Republic

Left without inhabitants per millennia, the Southern Cross Island had its first inhabitants registered with the Portuguese colonization begun on July 26, 1579 with the foundation of Our Lady Santana's Villa, where about 400 Portugueses -- 320 men and just 80 women --, established your homes. Today, however, besides the Portugueses, there are descendants of Spanish (mainly Galicians), Italians (mainly Neapolitans), and Germans (mainly Swabians). The population of Southern Cross Republic totaled 1,578,836 on January 1, 2010. On January 1, 2012, the population was estimated to 1,589,907.

Language
The official language of the Southern Cross Republic is the Portuguese. In spite of having been domain of Portugal for so much centuries there is a great influence of the Brazilian Portuguese, besides Spanish (Galician de facto).

See also: List of nation names

Religion
The most predominant religion in the Southern Cross Republic is Roman Catholicism. Approximately 78% of the population is nominally Catholic, and about 16% attend mass and take the sacraments regularly, while a larger number wish to be baptized, married in a church, and receive Last Rites.

Although Church and State were formally separated during the Proclamation of the Republic (1912), Roman Catholic precepts continue to have a relative weight in the South Crossic society and culture. Many South Crossic holidays, festivals, and traditions have a religious origin or connotation. The educational and health care systems were for a long time the Church's preserve, and in many cases, whenever a building, bridge, or highway was opened, it received a blessing from the Clergy.

Other Christian and Non-Christian religions are still minorities or don't exist in the Southern Cross Republic.

The group that more grows in Southern Cross Republic is it of non-religious; atheists, agnostics and secularists. They reach 22%, turning Southern Cross Republic the most secularized country of South America, followed by Uruguay (c. 17%).

Economy and Infrastructure
Main Article: Economy of the Southern Cross Republic and Infrastructure of the Southern Cross Republic

South Crossers enjoy the first highest GDP per-capita and first highest GDP (PPP) per-capita in the South America. Southern Cross Republic maintained first place in the South America in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI) since the index was adopted.

The South Crossic economy is an example of a mixed economy, a prosperous capitalist welfare state featuring a combination of free market activity and large state ownership in certain key sectors. The state has large ownership positions in key industrial sectors, such as the strategic petroleum sector (Petróleo do Cruzeiro do Sul, PetroCS), hydroelectric energy production (Companhia Elétrica do Cruzeiro do Sul, CECS), mining sector (Mineração do Cruzeiro do Sul, MinaCS), and telecommunication provider (Telecomunicações do Cruzeiro do Sul, TeleCS). Through these big companies, the government controls approximately 30% of the stock values at the Santana Stock Exchange (Bolsa de Valores de Santana, BVS). When non-listed companies are included, the state has even higher share in ownership (mainly from direct oil license ownership). The country is richly endowed with natural resources including petroleum, hydropower, fish, forests, and minerals. Large reserves of petroleum and natural gas were discovered in the 1980s, which led to a boom in the economy. Southern Cross Republic has obtained one of the highest standards of living in the Americas in part by having a large amount of natural resources compared to the size of the population. The South Crossic welfare state makes public health care free, and parents have 12 months paid parental leave. The income that the state receives from natural resources includes a significant contribution from petroleum production and the substantial and well-managed income related to this sector. Southern Cross Republic has a very low unemployment rate, currently 3.1%. The hourly productivity levels, as well as average hourly wages in Southern Cross Republic are among the highest in the world. The egalitarian values of the South Crosser society ensure that the wage difference between the lowest paid worker and the CEO of most companies is much smaller than in comparable western economies. This is also evident in Southern Cross Republic's low Gini coefficient.

Education
Main Article: Education in the Southern Cross Republic

The education system in Southern Cross Republic is very diverse, because the constitution delegates the authority for the school system to the provinces and municipalities. The South Crossic constitution sets the foundations, namely that primary school is obligatory for every child and is free in public schools and that the republic can run or support universities.

Because of its diversity, there are many private international schools in Southern Cross Republic that encourage respect for all cultures. Diversification of the education system in 6 sub-systems is viewed by many as being inefficient. Consequently, it was voted on May 21, 1999 to reform the education system in one common program for all the provinces and municipalities.

Culture
Main Article: Culture of the Southern Cross Republic

The South Crossic culture has its roots in the Portuguese culture, which in turn has its roots in Celtic culture, Iberian, Roman and Germanic. The differentiation of the South Crossic culture manifests itself through the types of housing, the religious, gastronomy and folklore due to the mixture occurred over the centuries between the various waves of migration, mainly Spaniards, Italians and Germans, and the great influence of the Brazilian culture.

Sports
The South Crossers' favorite sport is football, and the national team is its most passion.