National Congress of Brazil

National Congress
National Congress ; Congresso Nacional
	56th Legislature of the National Congress
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Federal Senate ; Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded	6 May 1826
New session started	1 February 2021
Leadership
President of the; Federal Senate	Rodrigo Pacheco, DEM ; since 1 February 2021
President of the; Chamber of Deputies	Arthur Lira, PP ; since 1 February 2021
Government Leader	Eduardo Gomes, MDB ; since 17 October 2019
Majority Leader	Roberto Rocha, PSDB ; since 6 February 2019
Minority Leader	Jandira Feghali, PCdoB ; since 27 February 2019
Structure
Seats	594 members: ; 81 Senators; 513 Federal Deputies
Federal Senate political groups	Government (27)[1] PSD (12); PP (7); REPUBLICANOS (3); PSL (2); PL (2); PSC (1); Independent (36)[1] MDB (13); PODE (10); PSDB (7); DEM (6); Opposition (18)[1] PT (6); PDT (3); PROS (3); CDN (3); REDE (2); PSB (1);
Chamber of Deputies political groups	Government (257)[1] PL, PP, PSD, SDD, PROS, PTB, AVANTE bloc (155) PL (41); PP (40); PSD (33); SDD (13); PROS (11); PTB (11); AVANTE (6); ; PSL (53) PSL (suspended) (12); ; REPUBLICANOS (34); PSC (9); PATRI (6); Independent (125)[1] MDB (36); PSDB (31); DEM (28); PODE (10); NOVO (8); CIDADANIA (8); PV (4); Opposition (131)[1] PT (53); PSB (31); PDT (28); PSOL (10); PCdoB (8); REDE (1);
Elections
Federal Senate voting system	Plurality voting, alternating every four years between single-member elections (FPTP) and dual-member elections (Block voting)
Chamber of Deputies voting system	Open list proportional representation
Last general election	7 October 2018
Next general election	2 October 2022
Meeting place
	National Congress building; Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Website
	Federal Senate; Chamber of Deputies

The National Congress of Brazil (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional do Brasil) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). The Congress meets annually in Brasília from 2 February to 22 December, with a mid-term break taking place between 17 July and 1 August.[2][3]

The Senate represents the 26 states and the Federal District. Each state and the Federal District has a representation of three Senators, who are elected by popular ballot for a term of eight years. Every four years, renewal of either one third or two-thirds of the Senate (and of the delegations of the States and the Federal District) takes place. The Chamber of Deputies represents the people of each state, and its members are elected for a four-year term by a system of proportional representation. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous). Unlike the Senate, the whole of the Chamber of Deputies is renewed every four years.

Until recently it was common for politicians to switch parties and the proportion of congressional seats held by each party would often change. However, a decision of the Supreme Federal Court has ruled that the seats belong to the parties and not to the politicians; one can only change parties and retain his seat in a very limited set of cases. Consequently, politicians who abandon the party for which they were elected now face the loss of their congressional seat. Each house of the Brazilian Congress elects its president and the other members of its directing board from among its members. The President of the Senate is ex officio the President of the National Congress, and in that capacity summons and presides over joint sessions, as well as over the joint services of both houses. The President of the Chamber is second in the presidential line of succession while the President of the Senate (and of Congress) is third.

Director Board

The current composition of the Board of the National Congress is as follows:

Office	Name	Party	State
President	Rodrigo Pacheco	DEM	Minas Gerais
1st Vice-President	Marcelo Ramos	PL	Amazonas
2nd Vice-President	Romário Faria	PODE	Rio de Janeiro
1st Secretary	Luciano Bivar	PSL	São Paulo
2nd Secretary	Elmano Férrer	PP	Piauí
3rd Secretary	Rose Modesto	PSDB	Mato Grosso do Sul
4th Secretary	Weverton Rocha	PDT	Maranhão

Houses

Federal Senate

The Federal Senate (Portuguese: Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired in United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States Senate.

Currently, the Senate comprises 81 seats. Three Senators from each of the 26 states and three Senators from the Federal District are elected on a majority basis to serve eight-year terms. Elections are staggered so that two-thirds of the upper house is up for election at one time and the remaining one-third four years later. When one seat is up for election in each State, each voter casts one vote for the Senate; when two seats are up for election, each voter casts two votes, and the voter cannot give his two votes for the same candidate, but, in elections for the renewal of two-thirds of the Senate, each party can present two candidates for election. The candidate in each State and the Federal District (or the first two candidates, when two thirds of the seats are up for election) who achieve the greatest plurality of votes are elected.

Chamber of Deputies

The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) is the lower house of the National Congress, it is composed of 513 federal deputies, who are elected by a proportional representation of votes to serve a four-year term. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous).

In 2018, 24 out of the country's 33 political parties were able to elect at least one representative in the Chamber, while sixteen of them were able to elect at least one Senator.

See the Latest election section for election results table.

Building

In early 1900s, the Brazilian National Congress happened to be in separate buildings. The Senate was located near Railway Central Station, beside the Republica Square, at Moncorvo Filho Street, where there is today a Federal University of Rio de Janeiro students' center. The Federal Chamber of Deputies was located at Misericórdia Street, which would later be the location of the State of Rio de Janeiro's local Chamber of Deputies. From the 1930s to early 1960s, the Senate occupied the Monroe Palace, which was demolished in the 1970s to allow the construction of the subway Cinelândia Station. The Federal Chamber of Deputies moved to Brasília in the early 1960s as well but temporarily occupied a building near the Municipal Theater for a couple of years.

Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília. As with most of the city's government buildings, the National Congress building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the modern Brazilian style.

The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semi-sphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers. The Congress also occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel.

The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis, the main street of Brasília. In front of it there is a large lawn where demonstrations take place. At the back of it, is the Praça dos Três Poderes (Three Powers Plaza), where lies the Palácio do Planalto and the Supreme Federal Court.

On December 6, 2007, the Institute of Historic and Artistic National Heritage (Portuguese: Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional) decided to declare the building of the National Congress a historical heritage of the Brazilian people. The building has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of Brasília's original urban buildings, since 1987.

Similar high-rises

At least two other high-rise buildings are similar to the National Congress building:

Sokos Hotel Viru in Tallinn, Estonia. Completed in 1972, originally owned by USSR's Intourist, and formerly called Viru hotell;
Greece–Bosnia and Herzegovina Friendship Building in Sarajevo. Built in 1974; formerly Executive Council Building in the former Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Gallery

National Congress building

Chamber of Deputies
Federal Senate
Committee room
Noble Room of the Senate
Exterior, on a rainy day
Exterior view of the Chamber of Deputies
Exterior view of the Senate chamber
The National Congress building at night
Front facade and lawn, showing the twin towers.
The Congress as seen from the Monumental Axis
Legislative police officers outside the National Congress building.
Protesters during an anti-government demonstration in front of the Congress, 13 March 2016.

Latest election

Party		Chamber of Deputies				Senate
Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–	Votes	%	Elected	Total	+/–
	Social Liberal Party	11,457,878	11.7	52	+44	19,413,869	11.3	4	4	+4
	Workers' Party	10,126,611	10.3	56	–13	24,785,670	14.5	4	6	–6
	Brazilian Social Democracy Party	5,905,541	6.0	29	–25	20,310,558	11.9	4	8	–2
	Social Democratic Party	5,749,008	5.8	34	–2	8,202,342	4.8	4	7	+4
	Progressistas	5,480,067	5.6	37	–1	7,529,901	4.4	5	6	+1
	Brazilian Democratic Movement	5,439,167	5.5	34	–32	12,800,290	7.5	7	12	–6
	Brazilian Socialist Party	5,386,400	5.5	32	–2	8,234,195	4.8	2	2	–5
	Republic Party	5,224,591	5.3	33	–1	3,130,082	1.8	1	2	–2
	Brazilian Republican Party	4,992,016	5.1	30	+9	1,505,607	0.9	1	1	–
	Democrats	4,581,162	4.7	29	+8	9,218,658	5.4	4	6	+2
	Democratic Labour Party	4,545,846	4.6	28	+9	7,737,982	4.5	2	5	–3
	Socialism and Liberty Party	2,783,669	2.8	10	+5	5,273,853	3.1	0	0	–1
	New Party	2,748,079	2.8	8	New	3,467,746	2.0	0	0	–
	Podemos	2,243,320	2.3	11	+7	5,494,125	3.2	1	5	+5
	Republican Party of the Social Order	2,042,610	2.1	8	–3	1,370,513	0.8	1	1	–
	Brazilian Labour Party	2,022,719	2.1	10	–15	1,899,838	1.1	2	3	–
	Solidariedade	1,953,067	2.0	13	–2	4,001,903	2.3	1	1	–
	Avante	1,844,048	1.9	7	+5	713,379	0.4	0	0	–
	Social Christian Party	1,765,226	1.8	8	–5	4,126,068	2.4	1	1	+1
	Green Party	1,592,173	1.6	4	–4	1,226,392	0.7	0	0	–1
	Popular Socialist Party	1,590,084	1.6	8	–2	2,954,800	1.7	2	2	+2
	Patriota	1,432,304	1.5	5	+3	60,589	0.0	0	0	–
	Humanist Party of Solidarity	1,426,444	1.5	6	+1	4,228,973	2.5	2	2	+2
	Communist Party of Brazil	1,329,575	1.4	9	–1	1,673,190	1.0	0	0	–1
	Progressive Republican Party	851,368	0.9	4	+1	1,974,061	1.2	1	1	+1
	Sustainability Network	816,784	0.8	1	New	7,166,003	4.2	5	5	New
	Brazilian Labour Renewal Party	684,976	0.7	0	–1	886,267	0.5	0	0	–
	Party of National Mobilization	634,129	0.6	3	–	329,973	0.2	0	0	–
	Christian Labour Party	601,814	0.6	2	–	222,931	0.1	0	1	+1
	Free Homeland Party	385,197	0.4	1	+1	504,209	0.3	0	0	–
	Christian Democracy	369,386	0.4	1	–1	154,068	0.1	0	0	–
	Party of Brazilian Women	228,302	0.2	0	–	51,027	0.0	0	0	–
	Brazilian Communist Party	61,343	0.1	0	–	256,655	0.1	0	0	–
	United Socialist Workers Party	41,304	0.0	0	–	413,914	0.2	0	0	–
	Workers Cause Party	2,785	0.0	0	–	38,691	0.0	0	0	–
Invalid/blank votes		18,771,737	–	–	–	61,995,824	–	–	–	–
Total		117,111,476	100.0	513	0	117,111,478	100.0	54	81	0
Registered voters/turnout		146,750,529	79.8	–	–	146,750,529	79.8	–	–	–
Source: Election Resources

Legislatures

The Legislatures are counted from the first meeting of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, on 6 May 1826, in the imperial era (the Chamber of Deputies met for preparatory sessions from 29 April 1826 onwards to elect its officers and conduct other preliminary business, but the Legislature was formally opened on 6 May). The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate were created by Brazil's first Constitution, the Constitution of the Empire of Brazil, adopted in 1824. The previous Constituent and Legislative Assembly of the Empire of Brazil, a unicameral National Assembly, that was convened in 1823 and that was dissolved by Emperor Pedro I before adopting a Constitution is not counted among the Legislatures. Thus, the numbering includes only the bicameral Legislatures that existed from 1826 to the present day, and includes only Legislatures elected after the adoption of the first Brazilian Constitution.

In the imperial era, the national legislature was named General Assembly. It was made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Senators were elected for life and the Senate was a permanent institution, whereas the Chamber of Deputies, unless dissolved earlier, was elected every four years. When Brazil became a Republic and a Federal State the model of a bicameral Legislature was retained at the Federal level, but the Parliament was renamed National Congress. The National Congress is made up of the Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate. Both Houses have fixed terms and cannot be dissolved earlier. Under Brazil's present Constitution, adopted in 1988, Senators are elected to eight-year terms, and Deputies are elected every four years.

The numbering of the Legislatures is continuous, including the Legislatures of the imperial General Assembly and of the republican National Congress. The inauguration of a new composition of Chamber of Deputies for a four-year term of office marks the start of a new Legislature.

Legislature	Period	Legislature	Period	Legislature	Period	Legislature	Period	Legislature	Period
1st Legislature	1826–1829	13th Legislature	1867–1868	25th Legislature	1900–1902	37th Legislature	1935–1937	49th Legislature	1991–1995
2nd Legislature	1830–1833	14th Legislature	1869–1872	26th Legislature	1903–1905	38th Legislature	1946–1950	50th Legislature	1995–1999
3rd Legislature	1834–1837	15th Legislature	1872–1875	27th Legislature	1906–1908	39th Legislature	1951–1954	51st Legislature	1999–2003
4th Legislature	1838–1841	16th Legislature	1876–1877	28th Legislature	1909–1911	40th Legislature	1955–1958	52nd Legislature	2003–2007
5th Legislature	1842–1844	17th Legislature	1878–1881	29th Legislature	1912–1914	41st Legislature	1959–1962	53rd Legislature	2007–2011
6th Legislature	1845–1847	18th Legislature	1882–1884	30th Legislature	1915–1917	42nd Legislature	1963–1967	54th Legislature	2011–2015
7th Legislature	1848–1848	19th Legislature	1885–1885	31st Legislature	1918–1920	43rd Legislature	1967–1970	55th Legislature	2015–2019
8th Legislature	1849–1852	20th Legislature	1886–1889	32nd Legislature	1921–1923	44th Legislature	1971–1975	56th Legislature	2019–2023
9th Legislature	1853–1856	21st Legislature	1890–1891	33rd Legislature	1924–1926	45th Legislature	1975–1979
10th Legislature	1857–1860	22nd Legislature	1891–1893	34th Legislature	1927–1929	46th Legislature	1979–1983
11th Legislature	1861–1863	23rd Legislature	1894–1896	35th Legislature	1930–1930	47th Legislature	1983–1987
12th Legislature	1864–1866	24th Legislature	1897–1899	36th Legislature	1933–1935	48th Legislature	1987–1991

References

"A configuração da Câmara após a investida de Bolsonaro". Nexo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-15.
"Brazil - The legislature". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-01-09.
"The National Congress". Portal da Câmara dos Deputados (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-01-09.

External links

(in Portuguese) National Congress
(in Portuguese) Chamber of Deputies of Brazil
- (in Portuguese) Chamber of Deputies' e-Democracy
(in Portuguese) Senate of Brazil
(in Portuguese) Photos 360° of National Congress

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[nexo-1] "A configuração da Câmara após a investida de Bolsonaro". Nexo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-06-15.

[2] "Brazil - The legislature". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 2020-01-09.

[3] "The National Congress". Portal da Câmara dos Deputados (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2020-01-09.