Building
Designed by the Italian architect Vittorio Meano and completed by Argentine architect Julio Dormal, the building was under construction between 1898 and 1906. Inaugurated that year, its aesthetic details were not completed until 1946. The quadriga atop the entrance is the work of sculptor Victor de Pol; local sculptor Lola Mora graced the interior halls and exterior alike with numerous allegorical bronzes. As time went by, the building proved too small for its purpose, and in 1974 the construction of the Annex, which now holds the Deputies' offices, was started (image, below).
Congressional Plaza was created facing the building by French Argentine urbanist Charles Thays and inaugurated in 1910. Popular among tourists, the plaza is also a preferred location for protesters and those who want to voice their opinion about Congress' activities.
The building from 1976 to 1983 housed the CAL (Legislative Advisory Commission), which was a group of officers from the three Armed Forces. Commissioned to review and discuss laws before they were issued by the Executive Branch, they served a succession of de facto military presidents during the National Reorganization Process. In practice, this became a mechanism to detect and discuss the differences between the three commanders-in-chief of the Army, Navy, and Air Force regarding a specific project. The CAL was established by the Acta del Proceso de Reorganización Nacional (National Reorganization Process Act), the guiding document for the military government established after the coup d'état of March 24, 1976.
Following a 1994 reform of the Constitution, the Senate was expanded from 48 members (two per province or district) to 72 members, whereby the party garnering second place in elections for Senator would be assured the third seat for the corresponding province.
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