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