A Chamber of Deputies it is part of the National Congress and is where federal and district deputies carry out their work. It is one of the legislative houses that make up the Legislative Power of Brazil (the Federal Senate is the other house). It is headquartered in Brasilia, capital of Brazil.
Its members are elected by popular vote, and elections are based on proportional criteria. In all, the Chamber of Deputies is made up of 513 male and female deputies, and these vacancies are distributed according to the population of the Brazilian states.
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Summary about the Chamber of Deputies
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It is one of the legislative houses that make up the Legislative Power of Brazil.
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It is located in Praça dos Três Poderes, in Brasília.
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It is made up of 513 deputies, and vacancies are distributed according to the population of the Brazilian states.
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Its function is to legislate and supervise the work of the Executive.
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The election of its members follows the proportional criterion.
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What is the Chamber of Deputies?
The Chamber of Deputies is the place where deputies work and deputies federal and districtbeing one of the houses that form the Legislative Power of Brazil. It is inside the building that forms the National Congress, which has the two houses that make up the Legislative of Brazil at the federal level.
In addition to the Chamber of Deputies, the Legislative Power of Brazil is also formed by the Senate, and both houses act at the federal level. The Chamber of Deputies is located at Praça dos Três Poderes, in Brasilia, capital of our country. It is occupied by 513 male and female deputies elected by the Brazilian population.
The distribution of these vacancies is based on a proportional criterion, which stipulates the number of vacancies in the states and the Federal District based on the population of each place. Therefore, the distribution of vacancies, until the year 2022, was as follows:
Through the table, we can see that São Paulo is the state that elects the most deputies, with 70 in total, while a series of states plus the Federal District share the position as those that elect the least deputies, with eight for each in total. This distribution of vacancies is reorganized at each election, always according to the number of inhabitants in those places.
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How are members of the Chamber of Deputies elected?
We have seen that male and female deputies are those who work in the Chamber of Deputies and that their choice is made through the participation of the population in the election. The election that determines the composition of the Chamber of Deputies is held every four years and takes place with the election that defines senators and senators, state deputies and deputies, governors or governors, and president of the republic.
This election therefore defines the 513 new male and female deputies in Brazil, always remembering that a federal deputy can to try re-elect to the function as many times as you want. The system used to elect new deputies is different from that which occurs in elections for the Executive Branch.
For the Chamber of Deputies, the proportional system, which establishes the electoral quotient. Through this criterion, political parties need to win legislative seats based on the total number of votes received. From the moment a party wins legislative seats, they are distributed to its most voted candidates.
If the party does not reach the electoral quotient, its candidates are not elected, even if they obtain an expressive vote. This means that less voted candidates can be elected to occupy a vacancy in the Chamber of Deputies. It is enough for your party to reach the electoral quotient, defined by the number of votes divided by the number of vacancies.
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Role of the Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies, as the place where federal deputies work, has the same functions as its members. Thus, deputies, as representatives of the population, must guarantee the preservation of the interests of the population and actsr legislating and supervising the executive.
The Chamber of Deputies has as one of its functions the act of legislating, that is, propose and debate bills. This is one of the main functions of federal deputies, as they must propose bills that meet and bring benefits to the population, and, when they are not preparing a bill, they have the role of analyzing and debating other bills proposed by housemates.
In addition, members of the Chamber of Deputies must oversee the Executive, therefore, as they act at the federal level, they must supervise the president of rpublic and the ministers of state. In this sense, members of the government can be summoned to provide clarifications; complaints can be made by deputies; government accounts and acts can be investigated; and, as a last resort, members of the Chamber of Deputies can call for an impeachment process to remove the president and vice president.
In general, bills approved in the Chamber of Deputies are sent for consideration, revision and possible approval in the Senate. The same goes for the impeachment process, since, as soon as it is approved in the Chamber of Deputies, it is sent so that male and female senators can vote on the issue.
Composition of the Chamber of Deputies
In this text, we saw that the Chamber of Deputies is formed by 513 men and women deputies, but it is not limited to the Plenary, where part of the discussions and voting takes place. Within the Chamber, there are, for example, commissions. These are basically small committees that bring together a group of deputies to analyze bills in specific areas.
They exist standing committeess and some temporary, and some of them can be mixed and have the participation of both members of the Chamber of Deputies and members of the Senate. Many of the bills in our country are approved directly by the commissions.
In addition, the Chamber of Deputies has other committees, such as the Ethics Council, and legislative work is led by a Board of Directors, who directs debates and votes in the Plenary, for example. That Board of Directors is made up of:
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president;
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1st vice president;
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2nd Vice President;
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1st secretary;
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2nd secretary;
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3rd secretary;
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4th secretary;
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1st alternate;
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2nd alternate;
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3rd alternate;
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4th alternate.
image credits
Alexandre Siqueira and Shutterstock
By Daniel Neves
History teacher