Federal Senate Senado Federal | |
|---|---|
| 57th Legislature of the National Congress | |
 Flag of the Federal Senate | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | None |
| History | |
| Founded | 6 May 1826 (1826-05-06) |
New session started | 1 February 2025 (2025-02-01) |
| Leadership | |
Government Leader | |
Majority Leader | |
Opposition Leader | |
Minority Leader | |
Female Caucus Leader | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 81 |
 | |
Political groups | Government (42) PSD (15) MDB (11) PT (9) PSB (4) PDT (3) Opposition (28) PL (14) PP (6) Republicans (4) PSDB (3) Independents (11) UNIÃO (7) Podemos (4) |
Length of term | 8 years |
| Salary | R$ 33,763.00 (and benefits)[1] |
| Elections | |
| Plurality voting, alternating every four years between single-member elections (FPTP) and dual-member elections (block voting) | |
Last election | 2 October 2022 |
Next election | 4 October 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Senateplenary chamber National Congress Palace Brasília,Federal District, Brazil | |
| Website | |
| www | |
| This article is part of a series on the |
 |
|---|
|
Recent elections |
Related topics |
15°47′59″S47°51′51″W / 15.79972°S 47.86417°W /-15.79972; -47.86417
TheFederal Senate (Portuguese:Senado Federal) is theupper house of theNational Congress ofBrazil. When created under theImperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on theHouse of Lords of theBritish Parliament, but since theProclamation of the Republic in 1889 and under thefirst republican Constitution the Federal Senate has resembled theUnited States Senate.
The currentpresident of the Federal Senate isDavi Alcolumbre, a member ofUNIÃO fromAmapá. He was re-elected in February 2025 for his two-year non-consecutive term, as he had already led the Senate between 2019-21 duringBolsonaro's government.
The Senate has 81 members, serving an eight-yearterm of office. There are three senators from each of the country's 27 federative units, theFederal District and the 26states. Elections arestaggered so that either a third or two-thirds of senators are up for election every four years. Themost recent election took place in 2022, where one-third of the Senate was elected.
Elections are held under thefirst-past-the-post andblock voting systems. In years when a third of members are up for election, voters can cast only one vote and the candidate who receives aplurality 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.
The Federal Senate of Brazil was established as theImperial Senate by theConstitution of 1824, first enacted after theDeclaration of Independence. It was modelled on theHouse of Lords of theBritish Parliament.[2]
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-dayUruguay, then part of the Brazilian Empire under the name ofProvíncia Cisplatina), the Emperor dissolved the Assembly. In 1824, Pedro I implemented the first Constitution which established a legislative branch with theChamber of Deputies as thelower 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 theEmpire'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 senatorsby right.
The elected members of the Senate had to be at least 40 years old and have an annual income of 800,000contos-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 anabsolutist government.
TheProclamation of the Republic in 1889 ended the Brazilian Empire in favor of theFirst Republic. The1891 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 current1988 Constitution. Now known as the Federal Senate, it resembles theUnited States Senate in that each state has the same number of senators.
.jpg)
.jpg)
The current composition of the Mesa Diretora (Presiding Board) of the Federal Senate is as follows:
| Office | Name | Party | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Davi Alcolumbre | UNIÃO | Amapá |
| 1st Vice-President | Eduardo Gomes | PL | Tocantins |
| 2nd Vice-President | Humberto Costa | PT | Pernambuco |
| 1st Secretary | Daniella Ribeiro | PSD | Paraíba |
| 2nd Secretary | Confúcio Moura | MDB | Rondônia |
| 3rd Secretary | Ana Paula Lobato | PSB | Maranhão |
| 4th Secretary | Laercio Oliveira | PP | Sergipe |
| 1st Substitute | Chico Rodrigues | PSB | Roraima |
| 2nd Substitute | Mecias de Jesus | Republicans | Roraima |
| 3rd Substitute | Styvenson Valentim | PSDB | Rio Grande do Norte |
| 4th Substitute | Soraya Thronicke | Podemos | Mato Grosso do Sul |
The current composition[3] of the Senate (57th Legislature) is as follows:
| Party | Floor leader | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party | Otto Alencar | 15 | |
| Liberal Party | Carlos Portinho | 14 | |
| Brazilian Democratic Movement | Eduardo Braga | 11 | |
| Workers' Party | Rogério Carvalho | 9 | |
| Brazil Union | Efraim Filho | 7 | |
| Progressistas | Tereza Cristina | 6 | |
| Brazilian Socialist Party | Jorge Kajuru | 4 | |
| Podemos | Carlos Viana | 4 | |
| Republicans | Mecias de Jesus | 4 | |
| Brazilian Social Democracy Party | Plínio Valério | 3 | |
| Democratic Labour Party | Weverton Rocha | 3 | |
| New Party | Eduardo Girão | 1 | |
| Total | 81 | ||
| Committee | Chair |
|---|---|
| Agriculture and Agrarian Reform | Zequinha Marinho (PODE-PA) |
| Communication and Digital Law | TBA |
| Constitution, Justice and Citizenship | Otto Alencar (PSD-BA) |
| Defense of Democracy | TBA |
| Economic Affairs | Renan Calheiros (MDB-AL) |
| Education and Culture | Teresa Leitao (PT-PE) |
| Environment | Fabiano Contarato (PT-ES) |
| Ethics and Parliamentary Decorum | TBA |
| External Relations and National Defence | Nelson Trad Filho (PSD-MS) |
| Human Rights and Participative Legislation | Damares Alves (Republicanos-DF) |
| Infrastructure Services | Marcos Rogério (PL-RO) |
| Public Security | Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ) |
| Regional Development and Tourism | Dorinha Seabra (UNIÃO-TO) |
| Science, Technology, Innovation and Computing | Flávio Arns (PSB-PR) |
| Social Affairs | Marcelo Castro (MDB-PI) |
| Sports | Leila Barros (PDT-DF) |
| Transparency, Governance, Inspection and Control and Consumer Defence | Hiran Gonçalves (PP-RR) |
O Senado Federal foi criado com a primeira Constituição do Império, outorgada em 1824, inspirado, primeiramente, na Câmara dos Lordes da Grã-Bretanha. Sua primeira reunião ocorreu em 6 de maio de 1826..
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
