The Federal Senate ( pt, Senado Federal) is the

upper house An upper house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house.''Bicameralism'' (1997) by George Tsebelis The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restric ...

of the National Congress of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

of the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

, but since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 and under the first republican Constitution the Federal Senate has resembled the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. The current president of the Federal Senate is

Rodrigo Pacheco Rodrigo Daniel Pacheco Carrillo (born 14 January 1983) is a Peruvian badminton player. Pacheco started playing badminton when he was 6 years old at the club Regatas Lima. He had made his debut at the Pan Am Junior Championships in 1996, and bec ...

, a member of the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

from

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literally ...

. He was elected in February, 2021 for a two-year term.

Membership

The Senate has 81 members, serving an eight-year

term of office A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject ...

. There are three senators from each of the country's 27 federative units, the

Federal District A federal district is a type of administrative division of a federation, usually under the direct control of a federal government and organized sometimes with a single municipal body. Federal districts often include capital districts, and they ...

and the 26 states. Elections are staggered so that either a third or two-thirds of senators are up for election every four years. The most recent election took place in 2018, where two-thirds of the Senate was elected.

Electoral system

Elections are held under the

first-past-the-post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

and

block voting Block voting or bloc voting refers to electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected at once and a group (voting bloc) of voters can force the system to elect only their preferred candidates. Block voting may be used at large (in a si ...

systems. In years when a third of members are up for election, voters can cast only one vote and the candidate who receives a plurality of votes within their state is elected. In years when two-thirds of members are up for election, voters can cast two votes. People can not vote for the same candidate twice, but each party can field up to two candidates in each state. The two highest-placed candidates in each state are elected.

History

The Federal Senate of Brazil was established as the ''Imperial Senate'' by the

Constitution of 1824 The Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1824 ( es, Constitución Federal de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos de 1824) was enacted on October 4 of 1824, after the overthrow of the Mexican Empire of Agustin de Iturbide. In the new Fr ...

, first enacted after the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...

. It was modelled on the

of the

. Following independence, in 1822, Emperor Pedro I ordered the convocation of a Assembleia Geral Constituinte e Legislativa (''Legislative and Constituent General Assembly'') to draft the country's first Constitution. Following several disagreements with the elected deputies (which included representatives from present-day

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, then part of the Brazilian Empire under the name of '' Província Cisplatina''), the Emperor dissolved the Assembly. In 1824, Pedro I implemented the first Constitution which established a legislative branch with the Chamber of Deputies as the lower house, and the Senate as an upper house. The first configuration of the Senate was a consulting body to the Emperor. Membership was for life and it was a place of great prestige, to which only a small part of the population could aspire. The original Senate had 50 members, representing all of the Empire's provinces, each with a number of senators proportional to its population. In addition to these elected senators, daughters and sons of the Emperor aged at least 25 were senators by right. The elected members of the Senate had to be at least 40 years old and have an annual income of 800,000 contos-de-réis, which limited candidates to wealthy citizens. Voters also faced an income qualification. Voting in an election for the Senate was limited to male citizens with an annual income of at least 200,000 contos-de-réis. Those who qualified for this did not vote directly for senators; instead, they voted for candidates to be Senate electors. To be a Senate elector required an annual income of 400,000 contos-de-réis. Once elected, these electors would then vote for senator. The election itself would not result in a winner automatically. The three candidates receiving the most votes would make up what was called a "''triple list''", from which the Emperor would select one individual that would be considered "''elected''". The Emperor usually chose the candidate with the most votes, but it was within his discretion to select whichever of the three individuals listed. Following the adoption of the 1824 Constitution, the first session of the Senate took place in May 1826. The Emperor had repeatedly delayed calling the first election, which had led to accusations that he would attempt to establish an absolutist government. The Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 ended the Brazilian Empire in favor of the First Republic. The 1891 Constitution was then adopted, transforming Brazil's provinces into states and the Senate into an elected body. This was retained under later constitutions, including the current 1988 Constitution. Now known as the Federal Senate, it resembles the

in that each state has the same number of senators. File:Bertichen camara senadores campo aclamacao.jpg, Palácio Conde dos Arcos, seat of the Imperial Senate in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

, then Brazil's capital. File:Golden law 1888 Brazilian senate.png, The Imperial Senate in session, 1888 File:Palácio Monroe (cartão-postal 2).jpg,

Palácio Monroe The Palácio Monroe was a monumental hall in the Centro neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was named in honor of U.S. president James Monroe. It was originally built in the U.S. city of St. Louis to act as the Brazilian Pavilion during t ...

, second seat of the Senate. File:Plenário do Congresso (14651661588).jpg, The Federal Senate in the National Congress building in

Brasília Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...

, capital city of Brazil since 1960. File:Senat de Brasilia.JPG, Exterior view of the Senate chamber.

Presiding Board

The current composition of the Mesa Diretora (''Presiding Board'') of the Federal Senate is as follows:

Composition

Leadership

The current composition of the Senate (56th Legislature) is as follows:

Current senators

; Acre *

Mailza Gomes Mailza Assis da Silva (born 10 December 1976) better known as Mailza Gomes is a Brazilian politician. Although born in Mato Grosso do Sul she has spent her political career representing Acre, having served as state senator since 2019. Personal l ...

( PP) * Márcio Bittar ( UNIÃO) * Sérgio Petecão (

PSD PSD may refer to: Educational bodies * Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, a Pre-K to 12th grade school for Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania * Philippine School Doha, a Filipino scho ...

) ;

Alagoas Alagoas (, ) is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco (N and NW); Sergipe (S); Bahia (SW); and the Atlantic Ocean (E). Its capital is the city of Maceió. ...

Fernando Collor Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello (; born 12 August 1949) is a Brazilian politician who served as the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his impeachment trial by the Brazilian Senate. Coll ...

( PTB) * Renan Calheiros ( MDB) * Rodrigo Cunha ( UNIÃO) ; Amapá * Davi Alcolumbre ( UNIÃO) * Lucas Barreto (

) * Randolfe Rodrigues ( REDE) ; Amazonas * Eduardo Braga ( MDB) *

Omar Aziz Omar José Abdel Aziz (born November 9, 1958) is a Brazilian politician. He served as the Governor of the Brazilian state The federative units of Brazil ( pt, unidades federativas do Brasil) are subnational entities with a certain degree of au ...

(

) * Plínio Valério (

PSDB The Brazilian Social Democracy Party ( pt, Partido da Social Democracia Brasileira, PSDB), also known as the Brazilian Social Democratic Party or the Party of Brazilian Social Democracy,. is a political party in Brazil. As the third largest par ...

) ;

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...

* Angelo Coronel (

) *

Jaques Wagner Jaques Wagner (born 16 March 1951) is a Brazilian politician who was Governor of Bahia from 2007 to 2015 and Minister of Defence in 2015. Wagner, whose parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland, was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1951. In his youth, ...

( PT) *

Otto Alencar Otto Alencar (born August 28, 1947) is a Brazilian politician. He has represented Bahia in the Federal Senate since 2015. Previously he was vice-governor and governor of Bahia. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party The name Social ...

(

) ; Ceará *

Cid Gomes Cid Ferreira Gomes (born 27 April 1963) is a Brazilian politician who serves as a Senator for the state of Ceará since 2019. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) since 2015, and is the brother of fellow Brazilian politician Cir ...

( PDT) * Eduardo Girão ( PODE) * Tasso Jereissati (

) ;

Espírito Santo Espírito Santo (, , ; ) is a state in southeastern Brazil. Its capital is Vitória, and its largest city is Serra. With an extensive coastline, the state hosts some of the country's main ports, and its beaches are significant tourist attra ...

* Fabiano Contarato ( PT) * Marcos do Val ( PODE) * Rose de Freitas ( MDB) ;

* Izalci Lucas (

) * Leila Barros ( PDT) * José Reguffe ( UNIÃO) ;

Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian state located in the Center-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The state capital is Goi ...

Jorge Kajuru Jorge Kajuru Reis da Costa Nasser, better known as Jorge Kajuru (born January 20, 1961) is a sports journalist, broadcaster, television presenter, businessman and Brazilian politician affiliated with the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), being a ...

( PODE) * Luiz Carlos do Carmo ( PSC) * Vanderlan Cardoso (

) ;

Maranhão Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...

* Eliziane Gama (

Cidadania Cidadania () is a Brazilian political party. It was originally founded as the Popular Socialist Party ( pt, Partido Popular Socialista, PPS) by members of the former Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), as a centre-left social democratic and democ ...

) * Roberto Rocha ( PTB) * Weverton Rocha ( PDT) ; Mato Grosso * Carlos Fávaro (

) * Jayme Campos ( UNIÃO) * Wellington Fagundes ( PL) ; Mato Grosso do Sul * Nelsinho Trad (

) *

Simone Tebet Simone Nassar Tebet (; born 27 February 1970) is a Brazilian academic, lawyer, and politician. A member of the Federal Senate for Mato Grosso do Sul since 2015, she was previously mayor of Três Lagoas from 2005 to 2010. She is a member of the ...

( MDB) * Soraya Thronicke ( UNIÃO) ;

* Alexandre Silveira (

) * Carlos Viana ( PL) *

(

) ;

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

Jader Barbalho Jader Fontenelle Barbalho (born 27 October 1944) is a Brazilian politician, businessman and landowner from the state of Pará. He is currently a member of the PMDB party and a Senator for Pará. He is the father of Hélder Barbalho, former mayo ...

( MDB) * Paulo Rocha ( PT) *

Zequinha Marinho José da Cruz Marinho (born 18 September 1959) more commonly known as Zequinha Marinho is a Brazilian politician, as well as a pedagogist, accounting technician, and pastor. Although born in Tocantins, he has spent his political career represen ...

( PL) ; Paraíba *

Daniella Ribeiro Daniella Velloso Borges Ribeiro (born 26 March 1972) is a federal senator of Brazil representing her home state of Paraíba. She was previously served in the Legislative Assembly of Paraíba from 2011 to 2019 and was vereador of Campina Grande f ...

(

) * Nilda Gondim ( MDB) *

Veneziano Vital do Rêgo Veneziano Vital do Rêgo Segundo Neto (born 17 July 1970) is a lawyer and a federal senator of Brazil representing the state of Paraíba. Since February 2021, he has served as the first vice president of the Federal Senate. Vital do Rêgo is a m ...

( MDB) ; Paraná * Alvaro Dias ( PODE) * Flávio Arns ( PODE) * Oriovisto Guimarães ( PODE) ;

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...

* Fernando Bezerra Coelho ( MDB) *

Humberto Costa Humberto Costa (born July 7, 1957) is a Brazilian medical doctor and politician. He has represented Pernambuco in the Federal Senate since 2011. Previously, he was a Deputy from Pernambuco from 1995 to 1999. He is a member of the Workers' Party ...

( PT) *

Jarbas Vasconcelos Jarbas Vasconcelos (born August 23, 1942) is a Brazilian politician and lawyer. He represented Pernambuco in the Federal Senate from 2007 to 2015. Previously, he was governor of Pernambuco from 1999 to 2006. He is a member of the Brazilian Democr ...

( MDB) ; Piauí * Eliane Nogueira ( PP) * Elmano Férrer ( PP) * Marcelo Castro ( MDB) ;

* Carlos Portinho ( PL) * Flávio Bolsonaro ( PL) * Romário Faria ( PL) ;

Rio Grande do Norte Rio Grande do Norte (, , ) is one of the states of Brazil. It is located in the northeastern region of the country, forming the northeasternmost tip of the South American continent. The name literally translates as "Great Northern River", re ...

* Jean-Paul Prates ( PT) * Styvenson Valentim ( PODE) * Zenaide Maia ( PROS) ; Rio Grande do Sul * Lasier Martins ( PODE) * Luis Carlos Heinze ( PP) * Paulo Paim ( PT) ; Rondônia *

Acir Gurgacz Acir Marcos Gurgacz (born February 5, 1962) is a Brazilian politician and journalist. He has represented Rondônia in the Federal Senate since 2009. He is a member of the Democratic Labour Party. References Living people 1962 births ...

( PDT) *

Confúcio Moura Confúcio Aires Moura (born May 16, 1948 Dianópolis, Tocantins) is a Brazilian politician and member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMBD). He served as the Governor of Rondônia between January 1, 2011 and April 6, 2018. In 2018 ...

( MDB) * Marcos Rogério ( PL) ; Roraima *

Chico Rodrigues Francisco de Assis Rodrigues (born 23 April 1951) better known as Chico Rodrigues, is a federal senator of Brazil representing the state of Roraima. Although born in Pernambuco, he has spent his political career representing Roraima, and was prev ...

( UNIÃO) * Mecias de Jesus ( Republicanos) * Telmário Mota ( PROS) ; Santa Catarina * Dário Berger ( PSB) *

Esperidião Amin Esperidião Amin Helou Filho (December 21, 1947) is a Brazilian politician. Born to a family of businessmen and politicians of Lebanese origin, he was twice elected governor of the state of Santa Catarina and twice mayor of the city of Florianó ...

( PP) * Jorginho Mello ( PL) ;

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

* Alexandre Giordano ( MDB) *

José Serra José Serra Chirico (; born 19 March 1942) is a Brazilian politician who has served as a Congressman, Senator, Minister of Planning, Minister of Health, Mayor of São Paulo, Governor of São Paulo state, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bra ...

(

) * Mara Gabrilli (

) ;

Sergipe Sergipe (), officially State of Sergipe, is a state of Brazil. Located in the Northeast Region along the Atlantic coast of the country, Sergipe is the smallest state in Brazil by geographical area at , larger only than the Federal District. Serg ...

Alessandro Vieira Alessandro Vieira (born 3 April 1975) sometimes better known as Delegado Alessandro Vieira is a federal senator of Brazil representing the state of Sergipe. Although born in Rio Grande do Sul, he has spent his political career representing Sergip ...

(

) *

Maria do Carmo Alves Maria do Carmo do Nascimento Alves (born August 23, 1941) is a Brazilian politician. She has represented Sergipe in the Federal Senate since 1999. She is a member of the Brazil Union (UNIÃO). She voted in favor of impeaching Dilma Rousseff ...

( PP) * Rogério Carvalho ( PT) ;

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

* Eduardo Gomes ( PL) * Irajá Abreu (

) *

Kátia Abreu Kátia Regina de Abreu (born 2 February 1962) is a Brazilian politician. She has been serving as the Senator from Tocantins since 2007. She was a congresswoman elected by the Tocantins State from 2003 to 2007. She is a member of Progressistas, si ...

( PP)

Standing committees

References

External links

Official website of the Brazilian Senate

* List of all Brazilian senators (1826–2011; in Portuguese) {{Authority control

1824 establishments in Brazil