Congress of Brazil

National Congress Congresso Nacional
55th Legislature of the National Congress
Coat of arms of Brazil
Type
Type	Bicameral
Houses	Federal Senate Chamber of Deputies
History
Founded	May 6, 1826 (1826-05-06)
New session started	February 1, 2017 (2017-02-01)
Leadership
President of the Federal Senate	Eunicio Oliveira, PMDB Since 1 February 2017
President of the Chamber of Deputies	Rodrigo Maia, DEM Since 14 July 2016
Structure
Seats	594 members: 81 senators 513 deputies
Federal Senate political groups	Government (58)      PMDB (22)      PSDB (10)      PP (7)      PSD (5)      DEM (4)      PR (4)      PTB (2)      PRB (1)      PSC (1)      PTC (1)      PPS (1) Opposition (20)      PT (9)      PSB (7)      PDT (2)      PCdoB (1)      REDE (1) Independent (2)      PV (1)      Independent (1)
Chamber of Deputies political groups	Government (358)      PMDB (65)      PSDB (47)      PP (47)      PR (39)      PSD (36)      DEM (29)      PRB (24)      PTB (17)      SD (14)      PSC (10)      PPS (8)      PHS (7)      PROS (5)      PTdoB (4)      PEN (3)      PSL (2)      PRP (1) Opposition (144)      PT (58)      PSB (35)      PDT (19)      PCdoB (12)      PSOL (6)      REDE (4) Independent (20)      PODE (13)      PV (6)      PMB (1)
Elections
Federal Senate voting system	Plurality voting, alternating every four years between single-member elections (FPTP) and dual-member elections (Block voting)
Chamber of Deputies voting system	Open list proportional representation
Last general election	5 October 2014
Next general election	7 October 2018
Meeting place
National Congress building Brasília, Federal District, Brazil
Website
Federal Senate Chamber of Deputies

Government (58)

Opposition (20)

Independent (2)

Government (358)

Opposition (144)

Independent (20)

The National Congress (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate (the upper house) and the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house). The Congress meets annually in its Brasília seat from 2 February to 27 July and from 1 August to 22 December.

The Senate represents the 26 states and the Federal District. Each state and the Federal District has a representation of three Senators, who are elected by popular ballot for a term of eight years. Every four years, renewal of either one third or two-thirds of the Senate (and of the delegations of the States and the Federal District) takes place.

The Chamber of Deputies represents the people of each state, and its members are elected for a four-year term by a system of proportional representation. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 8 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous). Unlike the Senate, the whole of the Chamber of Deputies is renewed every four years.

Until recently it was common for politicians to switch parties and the proportion of congressional seats held by each party would often change. However, a decision of the Supreme Federal Court has ruled that the seats belong to the parties and not to the politicians, and that one can only change parties and retain his seat in a very limited set of cases. Consequently, politicians who abandon the party for which they were elected now face the loss of their Congressional seat.