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 current president of the Federal Senate is Davi Alcolumbre, a member of UNIÃO from Amapá. 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 the presidendy of Jair Bolsonaro.
Membership
The Senate has 81 members, serving an eight-year term of office. There are three senators from each of the country's 27 federal units, the Federal District and the 26 states. Elections are staggered so that either one-third or two-thirds of senators in each federal unit 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 Following Brazil's independence, in 1822, Emperor Pedro I summoned the Legislative and Constituent General Assembly to draft the country's first Constitution. After several disagreements with the elected constituent deputies (which included representatives from present-day Uruguay, then a province of the Brazilian Empire) over the Emperor's role, he dissolved the Assembly in November 1823 and tasked his Council of State with drafting a new Constitution. The following year, he issued Brazil's first Constitution, which established the General Assembly as the country's legislative branch, with the Chamber of Deputies as the lower house, and the Senate as the upper house.
The Imperial Senate was modelled on the House of Lords of the British Parliament.. It had 50 members, who served for life and represented the Empire's provinces, each with a number of senators proportional to their 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 and the landed aristocracy. 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 senators. 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 constitutional 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 removing the Senate's life tenure. This was retained under later constitutions, including the current 1988 Constitution. Now known as the Federal Senate, it resembles the United States Senate in that each state has the same number of senators.
Presiding Board The current composition of the Mesa Diretora (Presiding Board) of the Federal Senate is as follows: OfficePortrait Name Party State President Davi Alcolumbre UNIÃO 1st Vice-President Eduardo Gomes PL 2nd Vice-President Humberto Costa PT 1st Secretary Daniella Ribeiro PP 2nd Secretary Confúcio Moura MDB 3rd Secretary Ana Paula Lobato PSB 4th Secretary Laercio Oliveira PP 1st Substitute Chico Rodrigues PSB 2nd Substitute Roberta Acioly Republicanos 3rd Substitute Styvenson Valentim PODE 4th Substitute Soraya Thronicke PSB
Party composition The current party composition of the Senate (57th Legislature) is as follows: + Parties and party leaders in the 57th Federal Senate PartySeats Floor leaderPortrait Liberal Party 15 Carlos Portinho Social Democratic Party 14 Omar Aziz Workers' Party 9 Camilo Santana Brazilian Democratic Movement 9 Eduardo Braga Progressistas 8 Tereza Cristina Brazilian Socialist Party 6 Cid Gomes Republicans 6 Alan Rick Brazilian Social Democracy Party 4 Plínio Valério Podemos 3 Alexandre Giordano Brazil Union 3 Dorinha Rezende Democratic Labour Party 2 Weverton Rocha Avante 1 Marcos do Val
Current senators
StatePortraitSenatorPartyBornAssumed officeBirthplaceRepublicans1 February 2023Rio BrancoPL1 February 2019FrancaPSD1 February 2011Rio BrancoPSDB30 December 2024IbateguaraMDB1 February 1995MuriciMDB1 February 2023MuriciMDB1 February 2011BelémPSD1 February 2015GarçaPSDB1 February 2019EirunepéUNIÃO1 February 2015MacapáPSD1 February 2019MacapáPT1 February 2011GaranhunsRepublicans1 February 2019Coração de MariaPT1 February 2019Rio de JaneiroPSD1 February 2015Ruy BarbosaPT1 February 2023CratoPSB1 February 2019SobralPSDB11 August 2026FortalezaRepublicans1 February 2023ParanaguáPL1 February 2019AraújosPSB6 October 2026BrasíliaPT1 February 2019Nova VenéciaPL1 February 2023MacaraniAvante1 February 2019VitóriaPSB1 February 2019CajuruPSD1 February 2019IporáPL1 February 2023TaquaralPSD1 February 2019MonçãoPSB5 August 2026CoroatáPDT1 February 2019ImperatrizPSD1 February 2019BraúnasRepublicans1 February 2023DivinópolisPP30 September 2026MuriaéPSD1 February 2019Campo GrandePSB1 February 2019DouradosPP1 February 2023Campo GrandePSD1 February 2023Bela Vista do ParaísoUNIÃO1 February 2019Várzea GrandePL1 February 2015RondonópolisPT1 February 2023BujaruMDB28 December 2011BelémPodemos1 February 2019AraguacemaPP1 February 2019Campina GrandePL1 February 2023João PessoaMDB1 February 2019Campina GrandePSD7 December 2022RecifePT1 February 2011CampinasPT1 February 2023RecifePP30 December 2022TeresinaPSD14 December 2023FronteirasMDB1 February 2019São Raimundo NonatoPSB1 February 2019CuritibaPSDB1 February 2019BatataisPL1 February 2023MaringáPL3 November 2020Rio de JaneiroPL1 February 2019ResendeIndependent1 February 2015Rio de JaneiroPL1 February 2023NatalPodemos1 February 2019Rio BrancoPSD1 February 2019Brejo do CruzMDB1 February 2019DianópolisPL1 February 2023Presidente GetúlioPL1 February 2019Ji-ParanáPSB1 February 2019RecifePP1 February 2023TeféRepublicans11 March 2026Santo AndréRepublicans1 February 2023Porto AlegrePP1 February 2019CandeláriaPT1 February 2003Caxias do SulPP1 February 2019FlorianópolisMDB30 December 2022BrusquePL1 February 2023Rio de JaneiroMDB1 February 2019Passo FundoPP1 February 2023RecifePT1 February 2019AracajuPL1 February 2023BauruPodemos31 March 2021São PauloPSD1 February 2019São PauloPL1 February 2019EstânciaPSD1 February 2019GoiâniaUNIÃO1 February 2023Goiânia
Standing committees Committee ChairSource Economic Affairs Renan Calheiros Social AffairsMarcelo Castro Communication and Digital Law Constitution, Justice and CitizenshipOtto Alencar Science, Technology, Innovation and Informatics Flávio Arns Defense of Democracy Human Rights and Participatory Legislation Damares Alves Directing Board Davi Alcolumbre Regional Development and Tourism Dorinha Rezende Education and Culture Camilo Santana Sports Infrastructure Services Marcos Rogério Environment Fabiano Contarato Agriculture and Agrarian Reform Zequinha Marinho Foreign Affairs and National Defense Nelson Trad Public Security Flávio Bolsonaro Transparency, Governance, Oversight and Control, and Consumer Protection Hiran Gonçalves
See also Federal institutions of Brazil Portal e-Cidadania TV Senado
References
External links Official website of the Brazilian Senate (archived 15 June 2014) Photos 360° of the Brazilian Senate List of all Brazilian senators (1826–2011)