Chamber of Deputies (Brazil)

The Chamber of Deputies (Portuguese: Câmara dos Deputados) 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 Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB), who was elected on 1 February 2025. Structure The number of deputies elected is proportional to the size of the population of the respective state (or of the Federal District) as of 1994. However, no delegation can be made up of less than eight or more than seventy seats. Thus the least populous state elects eight federal deputies and the most populous elects seventy. These restrictions favour the smaller states at the expense of the more populous states and so the size of the delegations is not exactly proportional to population. Elections to the Chamber of Deputies are held every four years, with all seats up for election. Federal representation A census held every 10 years by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics is used as the basis for the distribution of the seats. Proportionality is followed as a principle, with the exception that there should be a minimum of eight (8) members and a maximum of seventy (70) members per state. Per the 2010 census, states with 3,258,117 inhabitants upwards have 9 to 70 deputies. As a result, although most states hover around an average of 362,013 inhabitants by deputy (per the 2010 census), some states with smaller populations have a much lower average, such as Roraima (1 for 51,000 inhabitants). Present composition Partisan blocs composition Partisan bloc leadership is organized into the following roles: Government Leader: elected by members of the party of the Cabinet in the Chamber to speak on behalf of the Cabinet Majority Leader: elected by the leaders of the majority bloc in the Chamber, usually in support of the Cabinet Opposition Leader: elected by the members of the largest party in opposition to the Cabinet Minority Leader: elected by the leaders of the minority bloc, usually in opposition to the Cabinet Bodies The House of Deputies is composed of the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil by College Leaders and the Commissions, which can be permanent, temporary, or special inquiry. Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil The current composition of the Board of the Chamber of Deputies is the following: President: Hugo Motta (Republicanos-PB) 1st vice president: Altineu Côrtes (PL-RJ) 2nd vice president: Elmar Nascimento (UNIÃO-BA) 1st secretary: Carlos Veras (PT-PE) 2nd secretary: Lula da Fonte (PP-PE) 3rd secretary: Delegada Katarina (PSD-SE) 4th secretary: Sérgio Souza (MDB-PR) 1st substitute: Antonio Carlos Rodrigues (PL-SP) 2nd substitute: Paulo Folletto (PSB-ES) 3rd substitute: Victor Linhalis (PODE-ES) 4th substitute: Paulo Alexandre Barbosa (PSDB-SP) Standing commissions See also Federal institutions of Brazil 57th Legislature of the National Congress National Congress of Brazil Federal Senate TV Câmara Notes References External links Official website of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil Chamber of Deputies' e-Democracy Photo 360° of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil (in Portuguese) List of all the presidents of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies (in Portuguese)