National Congress of Brazil

Encyclopedia : N : NA : NAT : National Congress of Brazil

Brazil's bicameral National Congress (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional) consists of a Senate (the upper house) and a Chamber of Deputies (the lower house).

The Federal Senate (Senado Federal) contains 81 seats: three senators from each state and three from the Federal District, 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.

The Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) comprises 513 deputies (members of congress), who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. Elections are based on a complex system of proportional representation by states. The seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, but each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats and a maximum of 70 seats. The result is a system weighted in favour of smaller states.

Both houses of Congress meet in a purpose-built legislative palace in the centre of Brasília. Fifteen political parties are currently represented in Congress. Since it is common for politicians to switch parties, the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly.

The building

National Congress building

Since the 1960s, the National Congress has its seat in Brasilia. As most of the official buildings in the city, it was designed by Oscar Niemeyer following the style of the Brazilian modern architecture.

The semisphere to the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semisphere to the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them there are two towers of offices. The Congess also occupies other surrounding buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel.

The building is located in the middle of the Monumental axis, the city main street. In front of it there's a large lawn, where demonstrations take place. At the back of it, there are the Praça dos Três Poderes, where the Palácio da Alvorada and the Palace of the Justice lie.

Latest election

Image:Brazil.Congress.01.jpg|Chamber of Deputies Image:Brazil.Congress.02.jpg|Senate Image:SenadoBrasil.jpg|Another view of the Senate

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