Freguesia
[1] It is also the designation for local government jurisdictions in the former Portuguese overseas territories of Cape Verde and Macau (until 2001).[3][4] In 2011, after more than two weeks of bailout negotiations in light of the sovereign debt crisis with the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Commission, the Portuguese government was obliged to reduce the number of municipal and parish local governments after July 2012.[5] The government of Pedro Passos Coelho introduced a plan to reform the administrative divisions, claiming it would create efficiencies and save money.[3] It was determined that these changes would then be formalized before the 2013 local government elections, as part of a process to reduce expenditures, a condition of the $110 billion accord.Of Cape Verde's 22 municipalities, which form the highest level of sub-national government in the small African state, some but not all are subdivided into parishes.