Government of Porto Alegre

The government of Porto Alegre, bound to the Porto Alegre City Charter, is a mayor-council form of government, which is mandated by the Brazilian Constitution of 1988. The government of Porto Alegre is responsible for primary education, healthcare, libraries, parks and open spaces, sanitation, water supply, and youth correctional services.

The Mayor of Porto Alegre is elected for a four-year term, and all executive powers are vested in him or her. Councillors are also elected for four-year terms. The Porto Alegre City Council is a unicameral body elected by open list system.

The executive branch is represented in the office of Mayor of Porto Alegre, who is elected by direct vote for four-year terms. He or she is only entitled to re-election once. The mayor has several secretaries whom he or she directly appoints. The deputy mayor, elected as the running mate of the mayor, performs the function of acting mayor whenever needed. The mayor may assign tasks to the deputy mayor.

The current mayor is José Fogaça, who was elected in 2004 with 431,820 votes (53.32% of all valid votes) in a run-off election. His election was a huge loss to the Worker's Party, of which all Porto Alegre's mayors between 1988 to 2004 were members. The current deputy mayor is Eliseu Santos, who is also the Health Secretary. Eliseu Santos promoted several polemical changes in the Porto Alegre health system. Despite being a doctor himself he confronted the doctors who work for the city health system in order to obtain more "productivity". Even though the doctors organized strikes, the intended changes aimed by the deputy mayor were carried out.

As of September 24, 2006, the membership for Porto Alegre cabinet is as follows:

All legislative powers are vested in the Porto Alegre City Council. The city council is a unicameral, open list, 36-member body. Council members are elected for four-year terms, with no term limit or re-election restriction.

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