Legislative Power in Brazil

The Legislative Branch is responsible for, among other tasks, discussing and enacting laws. It consists of two chambers: the Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados) and the Senate (Senado). The former is formed by the representatives of the people (deputados federais) whereas the latter by the representatives of the states (senadores). When referring to both chambers, the term used is “Congress”.

The Chamber of Deputies

It is formed by 513 representatives whose term is of 4 years. The minimum number is 8 and the ceiling number is 70 representatives by state. Consequently, citizens from every region are represented in the federal sphere. The exact number of representatives to be elected is defined based on the number of inhabitants from the respective states.

The Senate

The Senate is an institution formed by 81 senators whose term is of 8 years. Unlike the Chamber of Deputies, their members represent the states and everyone must elect three senators. In this case, the fundamental idea is to allow the states to be represented equally in order to diminish the discrepancies generated by the non-proportional number of representatives in the Chamber of Deputies.