The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative organization of Brazil comprises the federal government, the 26 states and a federal district, and the municipalities.
The Federal District is one of 27 federative units of Brazil. Located in the Center-West Region, it is the smallest Brazilian federal unit and the only one that has no municipalities, being divided into 35 administrative regions. The federal capital of Brazil, Brasília, which is also the seat of government of the Federal District, is located in its territory. The Federal District is almost completely surrounded by the state of Goiás, but it shares a small border with Minas Gerais.
The federative units of Brazil are subnational entities with a certain degree of autonomy and endowed with their own government and constitution, which together form the Federative Republic of Brazil. There are 26 states and one federal district. The states are generally based on historical, conventional borders which have developed over time. The states are divided into municipalities, while the Federal District assumes the competences of both a state and a municipality.
The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England.
The National Congress is the legislative body of Brazil's federal government. Unlike the state legislative assemblies and municipal chambers, the Congress is bicameral, composed of the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. The Congress meets annually in Brasília from 2 February to 22 December, with a mid-term break taking place between 17 July and 1 August.
Brazil elects on the national level a head of state — the president — and a legislature. The president is elected to a four-year term by absolute majority vote through a two-round system. The National Congress has two chambers. The Chamber of Deputies has 513 members, elected to a four-year term by proportional representation. The Federal Senate has 81 members, elected to an eight-year term, with elections every four years for alternatively one-third and two-thirds of the seats. Brazil has a multi-party system, with such numerous parties that often no one party has a chance of gaining power alone, and so they must work with each other to form coalition governments.
The Chamber of Deputies is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. The chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current President of the Chamber is the Deputy Arthur Lira (PP-AL), who was elected on 1 February 2021.
The Federal Senate is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords 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 administrative regions of the Federal District are administrative divisions of the Federal District, Brazil. They have similar jurisdiction to municipalities, albeit with a much lesser degree of autonomy. However, administrators are not directly elected, but appointed by the Governor of the Federal District. Moreover, administrative regions have no specific legislative representation apart from the district-wide Legislative Chamber of the Federal District.
The Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais is the state legislature of Brazil's Minas Gerais state. It consists of 77 state deputies elected by proportional representation and is based in Belo Horizonte, the state capital. The Assembly has been based at the Palácio da Inconfidência since the building's 1972 opening; it was made a national heritage site in 2009.
The Legislative Chamber of Federal District is the unicameral legislative branch of Federal District in Brazil. The legislative chamber is composed by 24 district deputies, which corresponds to three times the number of federal deputies that represent the voters of the Federal District.
Francisco Rodrigues de Alencar Filho, known as Chico Alencar, is a Brazilian politician, historian, and writer, affiliated with the Socialism and Liberty Party (PSOL).
Sérgio Olímpio Gomes, best known as Major Olímpio, was a Brazilian police officer and politician, member of the Social Liberal Party (PSL). He was a state deputy for São Paulo, and leader of the Democratic Labor Party (PDT) during his term in the Legislative Assembly of São Paulo (ALESP). In the 2014 Brazilian general election, he was elected federal deputy for São Paulo. In 2018 he was elected to the Federal Senate.
Ronaldo Fonseca de Souza is a Brazilian lawyer and politician, member of the Republicans (REP). He was elected Federal Deputy from Distrito Federal in 2010, and was appointed by president Michel Temer as Secretary-General of the Presidency of Brazil. Fonseca is also a pastor of the Assembleias de Deus church.
Eduardo Nantes Bolsonaro is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and federal police officer. He is the third child of Jair Bolsonaro, the 38th president of Brazil. Since March 2022 he has been affiliated with the Liberal Party.
Municipal elections took place in Brazil on 15 November 2020. Electors chose Mayors, Vice-Mayors and City Councillors of all 5,568 cities of the country. The partisan conventions took place between 31 August and 16 September. They were the first elections since Bolsonaro's election as President.
Bonifácio José Tamm de Andrada was a Brazilian politician affiliated to Democrats (DEM), law academic, university professor, political scientist and journalist.
The electoral system of Brazil is the set of means used to choose representatives and government members of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The current system is defined by the 1988 Constitution and the Electoral Code, in addition to being regulated by the Superior Electoral Court as delegated by law. The Constitution itself already defines three distinct electoral systems, which are detailed in the Electoral Code: proportional elections for the Chamber of Deputies, mirrored in the legislative powers at the state and municipal levels, majority elections with one or two elected representatives to the Federal Senate and majority elections in two rounds for president and other executive heads in other spheres.
Celina Leão Hizim Ferreira is a Brazilian business administrator and politician affiliated to the Progressistas (PP), who currently serves as the vice-governor of the Federal District and was the acting governor after the removal of Ibaneis Rocha for 90 days by the Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. Ibaneis was removed after being accused of ignoring security flaws during the 2023 Brazilian Congress attack. The decision to remove Ibaneis from office ended up being endorsed in plenary of the Supreme Federal Court by 9 votes to 2, but it was later revoked by Alexandre de Moraes on 15 March 2023.
José Sarto Nogueira Moreira is a physician and a Brazilian politician affiliated to the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). He has been the mayor of Fortaleza, the capital city of Ceará since 2021.
