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How Brazil's political system and lawmaking work for investors, after the 2026 election

Last verified: 2026-10-27 · Status: Changing

Brazil is a federal presidential republic under the 1988 Constitution: a President elected for four years with one consecutive reelection, a bicameral Congress of 513 deputies and 81 senators, and a Supreme Federal Court (STF) of 11 justices that reviews the constitutionality of laws. The President can legislate immediately through provisional measures (medidas provisórias) that lapse unless Congress converts them within 60 plus 60 days, and constitutional amendments need three fifths of each chamber in two rounds. On 25 October 2026 the incumbent President was reelected with 51.79 percent of valid votes; under EC 111 the new term starts on 5 January 2027 and governors take office on 6 January.

Key facts

Presidential term	4 years, one consecutive reelectionConstituição arts. 14 § 5 and 82, as of 1997-06-04 · in force
Federal deputies (maximum)	513 seatsLei Complementar nº 78, art. 1, as of 1993-12-30 · in force
Senators (three per state and Federal District)	81 seatsConstituição art. 46, § 1, as of 1988-10-05 · in force
Supreme Federal Court justices	11 justicesConstituição art. 101, as of 1988-10-05 · in force
Provisional measure lifetime without conversion	60 plus 60 daysConstituição art. 62, §§ 3 and 7, as of 2001-09-11 · in force
Majority for a constitutional amendment	three fifths of each chamber, two rounds textConstituição art. 60, § 2, as of 1988-10-05 · in force
Presidential runoff, winner's share of valid votes	51.79 %Constituição art. 77, as of 2026-10-25 · in force
Start of the next presidential term	2027-01-05 dateEmenda Constitucional nº 111, art. 5; Constituição art. 82, as of 2021-09-28 · in force

The rule

1. Brazil is a federal republic formed by the indissoluble union of states, municipalities and the Federal District, founded among other things on the social value of work and free enterprise. The Union, states, Federal District and municipalities are all autonomous. The legislative, executive and judicial branches are independent and harmonious.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 1, art. 2 and art. 18, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

2. Only the Union legislates on civil, commercial, labor, procedural and electoral law, expropriation, water, energy, IT, telecommunications and the monetary system, so core business law is national. Tax, financial and economic law, budgets, commercial registries and environmental protection are concurrent: the Union sets general rules and states legislate on top.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 22, I, II, IV and VI; art. 24, I to III and VI, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

3. Congress has a Chamber of Deputies elected by proportional representation in each state, with between 8 and 70 deputies per state, and a Senate of three senators per state and the Federal District elected by majority for eight years, renewed alternately by one third and two thirds every four years. Each legislature lasts four years. The total number of federal deputies may not exceed 513.Constituição Federal de 1988; Lei Complementar nº 78, Constituição art. 44, art. 45 and art. 46; LC 78 art. 1 to art. 3, 1993-12-30 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: A 2025 bill (PLP 177/2023) raising the Chamber to 531 seats from the 2027 legislature was vetoed in full and the veto was sent to Congress (Câmara dos Deputados, semester review).

4. Congress meets from 2 February to 17 July and from 1 August to 22 December. In the first year of a legislature each chamber holds preparatory sessions from 1 February.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 57, caput and § 4, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

5. Bills may be introduced by members or committees of Congress, the President, the higher courts, the Prosecutor General and citizens; bills on tax and budget matters in the Territories, public posts and the organisation of the federal administration are reserved to the President. Bills from the President start in the Chamber of Deputies; the President may request urgency, after which each chamber has 45 days before its other business is blocked. A bill approved by one chamber is reviewed by the other in a single round and returns to the originating chamber if amended. Complementary laws need an absolute majority.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 61, caput and § 1; art. 64, caput, §§ 1 and 2; art. 65; art. 69, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

6. The President may veto a bill in whole or in part within 15 business days, on grounds of unconstitutionality or public interest; a partial veto must cover a whole article, paragraph, item or subitem, and silence for 15 days means approval. Congress considers the veto in joint session within 30 days and can override it only by an absolute majority of deputies and of senators.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 66, §§ 1 to 4, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

7. In cases of relevance and urgency the President may issue provisional measures with the force of law. They may not deal with, among others, electoral law, criminal and civil procedure, budget laws, seizure of savings or financial assets, or matters reserved to complementary law. A provisional measure that creates or raises taxes (other than import, export, IPI, IOF and extraordinary war taxes) takes effect only in the following fiscal year if converted into law by the end of the year in which it was issued. A provisional measure lapses from issue if not converted within 60 days, extendable once for 60 days, with the count suspended during recess; after 45 days it locks the agenda of the chamber where it sits. Voting starts in the Chamber of Deputies.Constituição Federal de 1988 (art. 62 as worded by EC 32/2001), Art. 62, caput and §§ 1 to 4, 6, 7 and 8, 2001-09-11 official text · verified 2026-10-27

8. The Constitution may be amended on a proposal of at least one third of either chamber, the President or more than half of the state assemblies. The proposal must pass each chamber of Congress in two rounds with three fifths of the members. No amendment may abolish the federal form of state, direct secret universal and periodic voting, the separation of powers or individual rights and guarantees.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 60, caput, §§ 2 and 4, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

9. The President and Vice President are elected on the first Sunday of October, with a runoff on the last Sunday of October if no candidate wins an absolute majority of valid votes, excluding blank and null votes. The President, governors and mayors may be reelected for a single consecutive term. Voting is compulsory for literate citizens aged 18 to 70 and optional for those aged 16 and 17, over 70, or illiterate.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 77, caput and §§ 2 and 3; art. 14, § 1 and § 5, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

10. The President's term is four years and starts on 5 January of the year after the election; governors take office on 6 January. These inauguration dates apply from the 2026 elections, so the term won on 25 October 2026 starts on 5 January 2027.Emenda Constitucional nº 111; Constituição Federal de 1988, EC 111 art. 5; Constituição art. 28 and art. 82, 2021-09-28 official text · verified 2026-10-27 · changed: Before EC 111 the presidential term began on 1 January; the change takes effect with the term starting 5 January 2027.

11. The President appoints and dismisses ministers, signs and promulgates laws and issues decrees and regulations for their faithful execution, concludes treaties subject to approval by Congress, and appoints, after Senate approval, the STF justices, the Prosecutor General and the Central Bank governor and directors. Congress has the final word on treaties that create burdens for national assets and may suspend executive acts that exceed regulatory power.Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 84, I, II, IV, VIII and XIV; art. 49, I and V, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

12. The STF has 11 justices aged over 35 and under 70, appointed by the President after approval by an absolute majority of the Senate. It guards the Constitution: it hears direct actions of unconstitutionality of federal or state laws and declaratory actions of constitutionality, and disputes between the Union and states. By a two thirds vote after repeated decisions it may issue binding precedents (súmulas vinculantes) that bind all courts and public administration at every level; an act that contradicts one can be challenged directly at the STF through a complaint (reclamação).Constituição Federal de 1988, Art. 101; art. 102, I, a and f; art. 103-A, caput and § 3, 1988-10-05 official text · verified 2026-10-27

Instrument	Who acts	Threshold	Typical investor relevance
Constitutional amendment (EC)	Congress; promulgated by both chamber boards	Three fifths of each chamber, two rounds (art. 60)	Tax system (EC 132), working week (EC 141), fiscal and judicial rules
Complementary law (LC)	Congress plus presidential signature	Absolute majority (art. 69)	Fiscal rules (LC 101, LC 200), Central Bank autonomy (LC 179), general tax rules
Ordinary law	Congress plus presidential signature	Simple majority	Most business, labor and sector law
Provisional measure (MP)	President, effective at once	Converted by Congress within 60 plus 60 days (art. 62)	Fast rule changes; tax increases mostly wait for the next fiscal year
Decree	President	None; must stay within the law (art. 84, IV)	Regulations, tariff and IOF rate changes within legal limits
Binding precedent (súmula vinculante)	STF	Two thirds of the justices (art. 103-A)	Ends repetitive litigation; binds tax and other authorities

Which instrument changes which rule, and how hard it is

Round	Date	Result
First round	4 October 2026	Opposition candidate 47.03% of valid votes; incumbent 45.16%; runoff required
Runoff	25 October 2026	Incumbent reelected with 51.79% of valid votes (64,256,232 votes) against 48.21%
New term	5 January 2027	EC 111 art. 5 and Constituição art. 82

2026 presidential election, official figures as reported by the Chamber of Deputies news agency

Worked example

Timing a provisional measure. An MP published on 1 March takes effect at once and has 60 days in Congress, extendable once for another 60. If it is not converted it loses effect from the date it was issued, and Congress regulates by legislative decree the legal relations created while it was in force (Constituição art. 62, § 3). Contracts priced on an MP should carry a change in law clause.
Tax increases by MP. An MP that raises income tax, published in October and converted in December of the same year, applies from 1 January of the next year; if it is converted only in February, it waits for the following fiscal year (Constituição art. 62, § 2). Import duty, export duty, IPI and IOF are excepted.

Step by step

1. Map which level of government writes your key rules: national for labor, civil and commercial law (art. 22), shared for tax, environment and budgets (art. 24), and local for zoning and municipal service tax.
2. Follow bills in the Chamber and Senate trackers and watch provisional measures from publication: they take effect immediately and lock the agenda after 45 days.
3. Build change in law and tax gross up clauses into long contracts, given the speed of MPs and decrees.
4. Check STF binding precedents and pending constitutional cases before relying on a tax position or regulatory rule.
5. Plan for the transition: the reelected President's new term starts on 5 January 2027 and the new Congress holds preparatory sessions from 1 February 2027; new ministers and agency boards may change regulatory priorities.

Common traps

Treating an MP as settled law. It lapses after 60 plus 60 days if Congress does not convert it, and Congress often amends it on conversion (Constituição art. 62, §§ 3 and 7).
Assuming a presidential veto ends a bill. Congress can override by an absolute majority of each chamber in joint session (art. 66, § 4).
Ignoring the STF. Binding precedents bind every court and administration (art. 103-A), and STF rulings on tax and labor matters can reshape liabilities across a sector.
Assuming the term starts on 1 January. From the 2026 election the President takes office on 5 January and governors on 6 January (Constituição arts. 28 and 82; EC 111 art. 5).
Expecting state law to override national business rules. Civil, commercial and labor law are national (art. 22, I); state rules matter most for ICMS, environment and procedure fees.

Sources

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