National Congress of Brazil
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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.
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.
[edit] The 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 do Planalto and the Palace of Justice lie.
[edit] Latest election
| Parties | Chamber of Deputies | Federal Senate | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Total seats | elected in 2006 | |
| Workers' Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores) | 13,989,859 | 15.0 | 83 | 16,222,159 | 19.2 | 11 | 2 |
| Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (Partido do Movimento Democrático Brasileiro) | 13,580,517 | 14.6 | 89 | 10,148,024 | 12.0 | 15 | 4 |
| Brazilian Social Democracy Party (Partido da Social-Democracia Brasileira) | 12,691,043 | 13.6 | 65 | 10,547,778 | 12.5 | 15 | 5 |
| Liberal Front Party (Partido da Frente Liberal) | 10,182,308 | 10.9 | 65 | 21,653,812 | 25.7 | 18 | 6 |
| Progressive Party (Partido Progresista) | 6,662,309 | 7.1 | 42 | 4,228,431 | 5.0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brazilian Socialist Party (Partido Socialista Brasileiro) | 5,732,464 | 6.2 | 27 | 2,143,355 | 2.5 | 3 | 1 |
| Democratic Labour Party (Partido Democrático Trabalhista) | 4,854,017 | 5.2 | 24 | 5,023,041 | 6.0 | 5 | 1 |
| Brazilian Labour Party (Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro) | 4,397,743 | 4.7 | 22 | 2,676,469 | 3.2 | 4 | 3 |
| Liberal Party (Partido Liberal) | 4,074,618 | 4.4 | 23 | 696,501 | 0.8 | 3 | 1 |
| Socialist People's Party (Partido Popular Socialista) | 3,630,462 | 3.9 | 21 | 1,232,571 | 1.5 | 1 | 1 |
| Green Party (Partido Verde) | 3,368,561 | 3.6 | 13 | 1,425,765 | 1.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Communist Party of Brazil (Partido Comunista do Brasil) | 1,982,323 | 2.1 | 13 | 6,364,019 | 7.5 | 2 | 1 |
| Christian Social Party (Partido Social Cristão) | 1,747,863 | 1.9 | 9 | 131,548 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Socialism and Freedom Party (Partido Socialismo e Libertade) | 1,149,619 | 1.2 | 3 | 351,527 | 0.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Party of the Reconstruction of the National Order (Partido de Reedificação da Ordem Nacional) | 907,494 | 1.0 | 2 | 69,640 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Party of National Mobilization (Partido da Mobilização Nacional) | 875,686 | 0.9 | 3 | 12,925 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Labour Party (Partido Trabalhista Cristão) | 806,662 | 0.9 | 4 | 39,690 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Humanist Party of Solidarity (Partido Humanista da Solidariedade) | 435,328 | 0.5 | 2 | 24,940 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Christian Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata Cristão) | 354,217 | 0.4 | 0 | 53,025 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Labour Party of Brazil (Partido Trabalhista do Brasil) | 311,833 | 0.3 | 1 | 69,923 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Party of the Nation's Retirees (Partido dos Aposentados da Nação) | 264,682 | 0.3 | 1 | 2,969 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazilian Republican Party (Partido Republicano Brasileiro) | 244,059 | 0.3 | 1 | 264,155 | 0.3 | 2 | 0 |
| Republican Progressive Party (Partido Republicano Progresista) | 233,497 | 0.3 | 0 | 12,954 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Social Liberal Party (Partido Social Liberal) | 190,793 | 0.2 | 0 | 46,542 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (Partido Renovador Trabalhista Brasileiro) | 171,908 | 0.2 | 0 | 644,111 | 0.8 | 1 | 1 |
| National Labour Party (Partido Trabalhista) | 149,809 | 0.2 | 0 | 11,063 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| United Socialist Workers' Party (Partido Socialista dos Trabalhadores Unificado) | 101,307 | 0.1 | 0 | 196,636 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 |
| Brazilian Communist Party (Partido Comunista Brasileiro) | 64,766 | 0.1 | 0 | 62,756 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 |
| Workers Cause Party (Partido da Causa Operária) | 29,083 | 0.0 | 0 | 27,476 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total (turnout 83.3) | 93,184,830 | 100 | 513 | 84,383,805 | 100 | 81 | 27 |
| Source: Election Resources on the Internet: Federal Elections in Brazil, Official Federal Senate website for continuing senators. | |||||||
 Chamber of Deputies |
 Senate |
 Another view of the Senate |
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