Legislative Branch
The bicameral National Congress (Congresso Nacional) consists of
- the Federal Senate (Senado Federal), which has 81 seats — three members from each States and the Federal District, elected according to the principle of majority to serve eight-year terms. One-third are elected after a four-year period, and two-thirds are elected after the next four-year period; and
- the Chamber of Deputies (Câmara dos Deputados), which has 513 seats. Federal deputies are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms.
There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve for either chamber. The seats are allotted proportionally to each state's population, but each state is eligible for a minimum of eight seats and a maximum of 70 seats. The result is a system weighted in favor of smaller states that are part of the Brazilian union.
15 political parties are represented in Congress. Since it is common for politicians to switch parties, the proportion of congressional seats held by particular parties changes regularly. To avoid that, the Supreme Federal Court ruled in 2007 that the term belongs to the parties, and not to the representatives.
Read more about this topic: Federal Government Of Brazil
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