Senate of Brazil
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Federal Senate () is the
upper house An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...
of the National Congress of
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
of the British Parliament, 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 a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
. The current president of the Federal Senate is Davi Alcolumbre, a member of UNIÃO from
Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...
. He was re-elected in February 2025 for his two-year non-consecutive term, as he had already led the Senate between 2019-21 during Bolsonaro's government.


Membership

The Senate has 81 members, serving an eight-year term of office. There are three senators from each of the country's 27 federative units, the Federal District 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 2022, where one-third of the Senate was elected. Elections are held under the first-past-the-post and block voting 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, first enacted after the Declaration of Independence. It was modelled on the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
of the British Parliament. 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, 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 the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
, 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 The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...
as the
lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
, 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
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
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, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, 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, second seat of the Senate. File:Plenário do Congresso (14651661588).jpg, The Federal Senate in the National Congress building in Brasília, 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

The current composition of the Senate (57th Legislature) is as follows:


Current senators

;
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
: Alan Rick (UNIÃO) : Márcio Bittar (UNIÃO) : Sérgio Petecão (PSD) ; Alagoas : Eudócia Caldas (PL) : Fernando Farias (MDB) : Renan Calheiros (MDB) ;
Amapá Amapá (; ) is one of the 26 federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil. It is in the North Region, Brazil, North Region of Brazil. It is Federative units of Brazil#List, the second-least populous state and the eighteenth-largest state by area ...
: Davi Alcolumbre (UNIÃO) : Lucas Barreto (PSD) : Randolfe Rodrigues (PT) ; Amazonas : Eduardo Braga (MDB) : Omar Aziz (PSD) : Plínio Valério (PSDB) ;
Bahia Bahia () is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Mina ...
: Angelo Coronel (PSD) : Jaques Wagner (PT) : Otto Alencar (PSD) ;
Ceará Ceará (, ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, northeastern part of the country, on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It is the List of Brazilian states by population, eighth-largest Brazilian State by ...
: Augusta Brito (PT) : Cid Gomes (PSB) : Eduardo Girão (NOVO) ; Espírito Santo : Fabiano Contarato (PT) : Magno Malta (PL) : Marcos do Val (Podemos) ; Federal District : Damares Alves (Republicans) : Izalci Lucas (PL) : Leila Barros (PDT) ;
Goiás Goiás () is a Brazilian States of Brazil, state located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. Goiás borders the Federal District (Brazil), Federal District and the states of (from north clockwise) Tocantins, Bahia, Minas Ge ...
: Jorge Kajuru (PSB) : Vanderlan Cardoso (PSD) : Wilder Morais (PL) ;
Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...
: Ana Paula Lobato (PDT) : Eliziane Gama (PSD) : Weverton Rocha (PDT) ;
Mato Grosso Mato Grosso ( – ) is one of the states of Brazil, the List of Brazilian states by area, third largest by area, located in the Central-West Region, Brazil, Central-West region. The state has 1.66% of the Brazilian population and is responsible ...
: Jayme Campos (UNIÃO) : Margareth Buzetti (PSD) : Wellington Fagundes (PL) ; Mato Grosso do Sul : Nelson Trad (PSD) : Soraya Thronicke (Podemos) : Tereza Cristina (PP) ;
Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil, being the fourth largest state by area and the second largest in number of inhabitants with a population of 20,539,989 according to the 2022 Brazilian census, 2022 census. Located in ...
: Carlos Viana (Podemos) : Cleitinho Azevedo (Republicans) : Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD) ;
Pará Pará () is a Federative units of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins (state), Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas (Brazilian st ...
: Beto Faro (PT) : Jader Barbalho (MDB) : Zequinha Marinho (Podemos) ; Paraíba : Daniella Ribeiro (PP) : Efraim Filho (UNIÃO) : Veneziano Vital do Rêgo (MDB) ; Paraná : Flávio Arns (PSB) : Oriovisto Guimarães (PSDB) : Sergio Moro (UNIÃO) ; Pernambuco : Fernando Dueire (MDB) : Humberto Costa (PT) : Teresa Leitão (PT) ; Piauí : Ciro Nogueira (PP) : Jussara Lima (PSD) : Marcelo Castro (MDB) ;
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
: Carlos Portinho (PL) : Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) : Romário Faria (PL) ; Rio Grande do Norte : Rogério Marinho (PL) : Styvenson Valentim (PSDB) : Zenaide Maia (PSD) ;
Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...
: Hamilton Mourão (Republicans) : Luis Carlos Heinze (PP) : Paulo Paim (PT) ; Rondônia : Confúcio Moura (MDB) : Jaime Bagattoli (PL) : Marcos Rogério (PL) ;
Roraima Roraima ( ) is one of the 26 states of Brazil. Located in the country's North Region, it is the northernmost and most geographically and logistically isolated state in Brazil. It is bordered by the state of Pará to the southeast, Amazonas t ...
: Chico Rodrigues (PSB) : Hiran Gonçalves (PP) : Mecias de Jesus (Republicans) ; Santa Catarina : Espiridião Amin (PP) : Ivete da Silveira (MDB) : Jorge Seif (PL) ;
São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...
: Alexandre Giordano (MDB) : Mara Gabrilli (PSD) : Marcos Pontes (PL) ; Sergipe : Alessandro Vieira (MDB) : Laercio Oliveira (PP) : Rogério Carvalho Santos (PT) ; Tocantins : Dorinha Seabra (UNIÃO) : Eduardo Gomes (PL) : Irajá Abreu (PSD)


Standing committees


See also

* Federal institutions of Brazil * Portal e-Cidadania


Notes


References


External links


Official website
of the Brazilian Senate (archived 15 June 2014)

* List of all Brazilian senators (1826–2011) {{Authority control
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
1824 establishments in Brazil Federal chambers