The National Congress of Chile () is the

legislative branch A legislature (, ) is a deliberative assembly with the authority, legal authority to make laws for a Polity, political entity such as a Sovereign state, country, nation or city on behalf of the people therein. They are often contrasted with th ...

of the

Republic of Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Oce ...

. According to the current Constitution (

Chilean Constitution of 1980 The Political Constitution of the Republic of Chile of 1980 () is the fundamental law in force in Chile. It was approved and promulgated under the military dictatorship headed by Augusto Pinochet, being ratified by the Chilean citizenry throug ...

), it is a

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate Deliberative assembly, assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate ...

organ made up of a

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 ...

and a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. Established by law No. 18678, the city of

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

is its official headquarters. Chile's congress is the oldest operational in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and one of the oldest in

Ibero-America Ibero-America (, ) or Iberian America is generally considered to be the region in the Americas comprising countries or territories where Spanish or Portuguese are predominant languages (usually former colony, territories of Spain or Portugal). Sp ...

. The First Chilean National Congress was founded on July 4, 1811, to decide the best kind of government for the Kingdom of Chile during the captivity of

King Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

in the hands of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

. The Chamber of Deputies is constituted by 155 members called deputies or ''diputados'' in Spanish and they are elected for a four-years period. Re-election is possible for a maximum of two times, which means that the deputy may remain in the post for up to 12 years. The country has 28 electoral districts and each one is represented by two deputies. The

is formed by 50 senators elected for an eight-years period and may go for re-election one time, which means a senator can remain in the role for 16 years. The

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

is different from the deputies, it is made of 19 senatorial constituencies (''Spanish:'' ''circunscripción senatorial''), where two senators are elected per constituency. The Congress's powers, duties and processes are defined in articles 42 to 59 of the current

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

of 1980 and through the Constitutional Organic Law No. 18918 published in 1990. The current

electoral system An electoral or voting system is a set of rules used to determine the results of an election. Electoral systems are used in politics to elect governments, while non-political elections may take place in business, nonprofit organizations and inf ...

(or voting system) in Chile is proportional and inclusive according to the 2015 update of the organic law No. 18700, article 179 bis. The National Congress was closed without an immediate renewal of the members of its two chambers during three periods: 1924-1925, June-October 1932 and 1973-1989. A new four-years legislative period begins with the installation of the National Congress. The

LVI legislative period of the Chilean Congress The LVI legislative period of the Chilean Congress is sitting from 11 March 2022 to 10 March 2026. It was elected at the 2021 Chilean general election. Composition Senate Deputies List of Deputies References

{{Reflist Legi ...

began on March 11, 2022 and will end in 2026.

History

Patria Vieja

Patria Nueva

Dictatorship 1973-1990

On 13 September 1973, the Government Junta of Chile dissolved Congress."Junta general names himself as new President of Chile"
''The Guardian''. 14 September 1973. Retrieved 31 October 2018. During the last years of the Pinochet regime, the current building of Congress was built in the port city of

, some 140 km west of the country's capital,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

. This new building replaced the Former National Congress Building, located in downtown Santiago.

Transition to Democracy

Between 1989 and 2013, elections in Chile were carried out following a binomial voting system, which was prescribed in 1980 during the Military dictatorship of Chile. The binomial system was considered by most analysts as the main constitutional lock that prevented completion of the

Chilean transition to democracy The military regime in Chile led by General Augusto Pinochet ended on 11 March 1990 and was replaced by a democratically elected government. The transition period lasted roughly two years, although some aspects of the process lasted significan ...

References

External links

Cámara de Diputados

Senado
{{coord, 33, 02, 52, S, 71, 36, 21, W, type:landmark, display=title Government of Chile

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...