The South is My Country movement includes three stars which represent Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. On 1 October 2016, Plebisul - an unofficial referendum - was held. Voters were asked if they wanted to secede from Brazil, forming a new country with the three states. A total of 616,917 votes (which represents less than 3% the number of registered voters in these states) were counted according to the organizers of the ballot, 95% voting "yes". They were hoping to reach up to a million votes throughout the three Brazilian states. Some academics claim that the movement bases its separatist claims in
The South is My Country "natural differences", such as the region's climate, and that although these might create an "identity" for the region, the people and their culture are not much different from the rest of the country. Others claim there are cultural differences, such as in religion, literature, food, clothing, dances, music, etc. Some go as far as to say that Brazilians identify first with their home state, and only then as Brazilians. On the other hand, it is argued that it's impossible to identify each state's identity due to a shared "Brazilian" culture, which includes the Portuguese language, sport preferences, etc. The South