Brazilian Chamber of Deputies

Chamber of Deputies Câmara dos Deputados
55th Legislature of the National Congress
Type
Type	Lower house of the National Congress of Brazil
Term limits	None
History
Founded	May 6, 1826 (1826-05-06)
New session started	February 2, 2016 (2016-02-02)
Leadership
President	Rodrigo Maia, DEM Since July 14, 2016
Government Leader	André Moura, PSC
Minority Leader	Jandira Feghali, PCdoB
Structure
Seats	513
Political groups	Government (303) Coalition With the Strength of the People (303)      PT (68)      PMDB (66)      PP (38)      PSD (36)      PR (34)      PRB (21)      PDT (19)      PROS (11)      PCdoB (10) Opposition (215) Coalition Change Brazil (128)      PSDB (54)      DEM (21)      PTB (25)      SD (15)      PTN (4)      PMN (3)      PTdoB (2)      PEN (2)      PTC (2) Coalition United for Brazil (53)      PSB (34)      PPS (10)      PHS (5)      PRP (3)      PSL (1) Out of Coalition      PSC (13)      PV (8)      PSOL (5)      PSDC (2)      PRTB (1)
Length of term	Four years
Elections
Voting system	Open list proportional representation
Last election	October 5, 2014
Next election	October 7, 2018
Meeting place
Ulysses Guimarães plenary chamber National Congress Palace Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Website
www.camara.gov.br

Government (303)

Opposition (215)

The Chamber of Deputies (Portuguese: Câmara dos Deputados) is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current president of the Chamber is the deputy Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), who was elected in July 14, 2016 to serve for the remainder of the 2015-2016 term.

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 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 numbering of the legislatures is continuous and counts all bicameral legislatures elected since the adoption of the 1824 Constitution including the imperial General Assembly and the republican National Congress. The previous constituent and legislative assembly of the Empire of Brazil, a unicameral national assembly convened in 1823 and dissolved by Emperor Pedro I before the Constitution was adopted, is not counted. The inauguration of a new composition of Chamber of Deputies for a four-year term of office marks the start of a new Legislature.

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.