| National Congress of Brazil Congresso Nacional do Brasil | |
|---|---|
| 237th Legislature | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | Bicameral |
| Houses | Senate Magisterium |
| History | |
| Established | 19 July 1548 (as Magisterium; 476 years ago) 25 March 1824 (present form; 200 years ago) |
| Preceded by | Magisterium |
| Leadership | |
Monarch |
Marco II |
Senate Director |
Mariana Pillar since January 20, 2021 |
Magisterium Director |
Marcelo Corlett since January 3, 2019 |
Chancellor |
Maia Grimaldi de Castro |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 692 congressists: 92 senators 600 magistrates |
| Template:Parliament diagram | |
Length of term |
Senate At the discretion of the appointing provincial government Magisterium Five years |
| Elections | |
Senate voting system |
Appointment (by the provincial government) |
Magisterium voting system |
Ranked open list proportional representation with a 2% election threshold |
Magisterium last election |
November 2, 2022 |
Magisterium next election |
November 7, 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Palácio das Torres Brasília, District of Planalto, Brazil | |
The National Congress of Brazil (Portuguese: Congresso Nacional do Brasil) is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the provincial legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Senate (the upper house) and the Magisterium (the lower house). The Congress has 600 members or congressists: 92 senators and 600 magistrates. Ties in both the Senate and the Magisterium are broken in favor of the present government, represented by the Chancellor. The Congress meets in Brasília, DP.
The Senate represents the 45 provinces and the District of Planalto. Each has a representation of two senators, who are appointed by their respective province's government at the time of its formation and holding office until its dissolution or after ten years in office, at which time another senator must be appointed to that seat. A senator cannot hold office for more than ten consecutive years, but can do so indefinitely as long as there are five-year intervals between each ten year-term.
The Magisterium represents the people of each province, and its members are elected for a five-year term by a system of ranked-choice voting and proportional representation. Seats are allotted proportionally according to each state's population, with each state eligible for a minimum of 4 seats (least populous) and a maximum of 70 seats (most populous). Unlike the Senate, the whole of the Magisterium is renewed every four years.
The Brazilian legislative system is regarded as a form of imperfect bicameralism. Though, in theory, both houses are co-equal, the concentration of powers and prerogatives in the Magisterium, the house to which the government is responsible, translates into a position of supremacy of the lower house over the upper house. Due to this, the Senate functions mainly as a house of review for the Magisterium, scrutinizing and amending bills, forcing review with suspensive veto, proposing amendments, etc. The Senate does have the power to introduce bills (even though they must pass in the Magisterium to come into effect), and constitutional amendments can only be enacted if they pass in the Senate. The Magisterium, on the other hand, is the house most involved in governance. It is the house to which the government is responsible, as it needs a majority in it to form a government, and the Chancellor is most often a member of it. It has the power to break through the Senate's veto with enough votes, and can legislate in any issue independent of the Senate except in constitutional amendments, laws concerning the Senate itself and the Supreme Court, and a few areas enumerated in the constitution.
The Congress was created by the Constitution of Brazil and first met in 1824, absorbing the unicameral Magisterium that existed since 1548 into its new bicameral structure. Because of this, the National Congress is considered to be a continuation or evolution of the institution of the Magisterium instead of an entirely new entity.
The Congress meets annually in Brasília from 2 February to 22 December, with a midterm break taking place between 17 July and 1 August, forming a full legislative year or legislature. As of November 2022, the Congress is meeting in their 237th legislature, counting uninterruptedly since the first meeting of the Magisterium in 1548.