Politics of Brazil

Politics of Brazil Política do Brasil
Coat of arms of Brazil
Polity type	Federal presidential constitutional republic
Constitution	Constitution of Brazil
Legislative branch
Name	National Congress
Type	Bicameral
Meeting place	National Congress Palace
Upper house
Name	Federal Senate
Presiding officer	Rodrigo Pacheco, President of the Federal Senate
Lower house
Name	Chamber of Deputies
Presiding officer	Arthur Lira, President of the Chamber of Deputies
Executive branch
Head of state and government
Title	President
Currently	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Appointer	Direct popular vote
Cabinet
Name	Cabinet of Brazil
Current cabinet	Second cabinet of Lula da Silva
Leader	President
Deputy leader	Vice President
Appointer	President
Headquarters	Palácio do Planalto
Ministries	37
Judicial branch
Name	Judiciary of Brazil
Courts	Federal courts of Brazil
Supreme Federal Court
Chief judge	Luís Roberto Barroso
Superior Court of Justice
Chief judge	Maria Thereza Moura

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of Brazil
Executive President (list) Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Vice President Geraldo Alckmin Cabinet Attorney General of the Union National Defense Council Council of the Republic Federal institutions Presidential line of succession
Legislative National Congress (57th Legislature) Federal Senate (list) President of the Federal Senate Chamber of Deputies President of the Chamber of Deputies Federal Court of Audits
Judiciary Supreme Federal Court (list) President of the Supreme Federal Court National Council of Justice Common Justice Superior Court of Justice Courts of Justice Regional Federal Courts Specialized Justice Superior Labor Court Regional Labor Courts Superior Electoral Court Regional Electoral Courts Superior Military Court Military Courts of Justice
Law Constitution (history) Penal Code Civil Code Consolidation of Labor Laws Anti-discrimination laws Gun laws Human rights LGBT rights Copyright law
Administrative divisions States State governors State Assemblies State deputies Municipalities (list) Mayors Municipal Chambers Federal District Legislative Chamber District deputies Territories
Elections Electoral system Political parties Electronic voting Recent elections General: 2014 2018 2022 Municipal: 2012 2016 2020 Referendums: 1993 2005 2010
Foreign relations Ministry of Foreign Affairs (list) Minister: Mauro Vieira Diplomatic missions of / in Brazil Nationality law Passports Visa requirements Visa policy Brazil and the United Nations BRICS CPLP G20 Mercosul
Related topics Public Prosecutor's Office Order of precedence
Brazil portal Politics portal Other countries
v t e

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 government exercises control over the central government and is divided into three independent branches: executive, legislative and judicial. Executive power is exercised by the President, advised by a cabinet. Legislative power is vested upon the National Congress, a two-chamber legislature comprising the Federal Senate and the Chamber of Deputies. Judicial power is exercised by the judiciary, consisting of the Supreme Federal Court, the Superior Court of Justice and other Superior Courts, the National Justice Council and the Regional Federal Courts.

The states are autonomous sub-national entities with their own governments that, together with the other federal units, form the Federative Republic of Brazil. Currently, Brazil is divided politically and administratively into 27 federal units, being 26 states and one federal district. The executive power is exercised by a governor elected to a four-year term. The judiciary is exercised by courts of first and second instance addressing the common justice. Each state has a unicameral legislature with deputies who vote on state laws. The Constitution of Brazil knows also two elements of direct democracy, stated in Article 14.^[1] The legislative assemblies supervise the activities of the Executive power of the states and municipalities.

The municipalities are minor federal units of the Federative Republic of Brazil. Each municipality has an autonomous local government, comprising a mayor, directly elected by the people to a four-year term, and a legislative body, also directly elected by the people.

Brazil has an unrestricted multiparty system with a large number of political parties. Some parties lack ideological consistency and it is common for congressmen to switch parties, weakening electoral coalitions. At same time, the high number of political parties makes the Executive need to gather alliances of different political parties must piece together diverse and often ideologically incoherent coalitions to pass legislation (this is known as coalition presidentialism).^[2][3][4] The Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rated Brazil as a "flawed democracy" in 2022.^[5] Brazil was 2023 the 13th most electoral democratic country in Latin America and the Caribbean according to the V-Dem Democracy indices.^[6]