Congress of the Argentine Nation

The Congress of the Argentine Nation is the body that exercises the federal legislative power of the Argentine Republic. It is in charge of the formation and sanction of federal laws. In addition, it is in charge of enacting civil, criminal, commercial, labor and mining legal codes, among others intended to organize common substantive legislation.

The Congress of the Argentine Nation is made up of a bicameral assembly with 329 members, divided into the Senate (72 seats), chaired by the Vice President of the Nation and the Chamber of Deputies (257 seats) whose president is elected by majority simple.

The Congress of the Argentine Nation meets between March 1 and November 30 of each year, although the President of the Argentine Nation can call extraordinary sessions or extend their extension. In the first case, it is the president who determines the issues to be discussed, while in the second the Congress of the Argentine Nation has free initiative. According to the interpretation of the Chambers, this extension of sessions can also be ordered by Congress.

Its headquarters are located in the Palace of Congress of the Argentine Nation in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, in the Plaza del Congreso which is located at the western end of Avenida de Mayo, which connects it directly with the Plaza de Mayo, where the Casa Rosada, headquarters of the national Executive Branch, is located.

The Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation is made up of a variable number of representatives depending on the population of the district (each of the provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires), but said number can never be less to three, they are elected through the proportional representation system (D'Hondt system), they last four years in their mandate and are renewed by halves every two years (each district elects approximately half of the deputies that correspond to it every two years) being able to be re-elected indefinitely. They are elected taking each province and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires as a single district, where they vote, by a list of all the candidates of each political party or electoral alliance, for the positions that each district puts in dispute in that election. the Gender Parity Law establishes that the lists of candidates for the Congress of the Argentine Nation must be composed of 50% women and the other 50% men. This law accentuated the participation of women in politics, vigorous in Argentina since the enactment of the Women's Quota Law, so that the Argentine Republic is the South American country with the largest number of women in the Legislative Branch and is, in turn, among the top ten worldwide.

The Senate of the Argentine Nation brings together the representatives of the provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Each one corresponds to two senators for the majority and one for the minority, for a total of 72 Senators. These are elected by direct vote of the inhabitants of each district, through the incomplete list system, two corresponding to the list that obtains the greatest number of votes and one to the one that follows it. Their mandate lasts six years and is renewed by thirds every two years, corresponding to alternate renewal elections by district, and may be reelected indefinitely.

The Congress of the Argentine Nation has an autonomous constitutional body for technical assistance: the General Audit Office of the Argentine Nation, in charge of legal control, management and auditing of all public administration activity. In addition, in Within the sphere of the Congress of the Argentine Nation, the Ombudsman of the Argentine Nation functions as an independent body, without receiving instructions from any authority. Its purpose is to defend human rights and constitutional and legal rights that may be affected by the Administration.

Headquarters

Headquarters building from 1864 to 1905.

Once the Argentine Republic was unified, and after the election of Bartolomé Miter as first president, the National Congress began to meet. In its first year of operation, it precariously occupied the building of the Legislature of the Province of Buenos Aires, in the current Calle Perú 272, in the hall of representatives built in 1821, which still exists and is part of the Manzana de las Lights.

However, Miter quickly managed the construction of its own headquarters, adjusted to the needs and dimensions of the new parliament. Thus, he commissioned the work to the Cordovan architect Jonás Larguía, who designed a building with Italian influences with three large access arches and a front, located at the corner of Defensa and Victoria streets (today Balcarce and Hipólito Yrigoyen, currently the headquarters of the Academy National Museum of History), next to the Plaza de Mayo and diagonally to the Casa Rosada, headquarters of the National Executive.

This small headquarters was quickly overwhelmed by the growing number of officials, in such a way that as early as the 1880s there began to be calls for the construction of a new building. During 1880, facing a civil war caused by the Federalization of Buenos Aires, Congress met in the Municipality of Belgrano, today the Sarmiento Museum.

Meano Vittorio Project for the current Congress, presented in 1896.

After the crisis of 1890, the project for the new National Congress began to take shape. Between 1895 and 1896, an international contest was called, establishing prizes, while in the texts of the decrees the denomination of “house” was replaced by that of “palace”. The Commission was formed on February 20, 1895 by Carlos Pellegrini, Senators Rafael Igarzábal and Carlos Doncel, and Representatives Francisco Alcobendas and Alfredo Demarchi. [1]

An entire block had been chosen for the Legislative Branch next to the intersection of Avenida Rivadavia and Avenida Callao, two important arteries already at that time, and which also finished off the new Avenida de Mayo, completed and inaugurated in 1894. Although at first they had thought of a block on Avenida Callao and Paraguay, this new location was privileged, where until then there was a corral owned by Spinetto Hermanos, who sold the land to the National State.

By bidding, the works were entrusted to the construction company Pablo Besana y Cía. According to a series of notes and reports preserved in the Directorate of Archives, Publications and Museum of the Chamber of Deputies of the Nation, various actions took place between 1895 and 1896. On the one hand, the Commission prepared nineteen minutes between, on 22 March 1, 1895 and December 1, 1896. The fifth record states that, as consultants, three architects are appointed to "orally explain the plans" submitted to the Competition and these were Joaquín Mariano Belgrano, Juan Antonio Buschiazzo and Jacques Dunant; in the sixth, the prizes are published, in the seventh Vittorio Meano is named as the winning architect, and in the tenth, in March 1898, the Commission requests a new plan and “a new, more majestic vault”. Three months later, the new plans presented by the winning architect would be accepted.[2]

The new National Congress would be inaugurated in 1906, beginning to meet that same year, although the building was far from being finished, and construction continued for the next decade. The old Congress, next to Plaza de Mayo, became the headquarters of the General Archive of the Nation, until in 1942 it was sold to the National Mortgage Bank and demolished for the construction of the new bank headquarters, although its session room was preserved in the interior of the building and currently there are visits to the historic site.

The House of Deputies Annex Building, designed in 1966 and opened in 1988.

Annex “C”, opened in 2013.

In 1910, to provide an adequate perspective and framework for the imposing building, President Figueroa Alcorta ordered the demolition of two complete blocks to inaugurate the Plaza del Congreso. Around 1915, the work on the interior of the building and the stone cladding continued, with new budget items that made the sum allocated to the construction in such a way that a commission was formed to investigate overpricing. The current building of the Congress could only be completed in 1946, the year in which the lining of the hemicycle facing Combate de los Pozos street was finished.

A few decades later, the staff of the Chamber of Deputies had increased in such a way that the Palace offices were insufficient, and to avoid continuing to rent neighboring properties, it was decided to build an Annex Building. Occupying a large piece of land on the other side of Avenida Rivadavia, a project contest was called in 1966 and the one for Manteola/Petchersky/Sánchez Gómez/Santos/Solsona was chosen. But the dictatorships that closed the National Congress for the next 25 years delayed construction and the Chamber of Deputies Annex (today called Annex “A”) could only be inaugurated in 1984, with the return to democracy.

Although Congress rents an apartment building at Riobamba 71 that functions as Annex “B” for Deputies, in 2003 the project of the architect Jorge Cortiñas was chosen for the construction of an ad hoc building called Annex “C”, occupying a land that faces Bartolomé Miter street and whose funds are touched by Annex "A". The work began in 2006 and was enabled at the end of 2011, while the construction of Annex "D" was announced, a smaller building designed by the 3S Arquitectura studio.

Attributions of the Chambers

Each of the chambers of Congress has its own or particular powers.

The Chamber of Deputies has the initiative of bills that deal with contributions and recruitment of troops, receives bills arising from popular initiative (incorporated by the 1994 reform), impeach the President, Vice President, before the Senate, Chief of Staff, ministers of the Executive Branch and members of the Supreme Court in impeachment and submit a bill to popular consultation.

The Senate is the chamber of origin in the agreement law on the federal tax co-participation regime and in bills that promote the population and harmonious growth of the nation, authorizes the president to declare a state of siege in the event of foreign attack, tries in public trial those accused by the Chamber of Deputies and gives an agreement to the president to designate the members of the Supreme Court and the other federal judges, plenipotentiary ministers, business managers and senior officers of the Armed Forces Argentine.

Federal representation in the Senate and Deputies

Argentine bicameralism responds to a historical tradition related to the formation of the state and the assumption of the federal form of state. It is a bicameral system: The upper house is made up of a fixed number of 72 senators (3 per province), as long as no new provinces are established, while the lower house is made up of deputies whose number is regulated by the national census every 10 years, having 1 deputy for every 161,000 Argentines (257 currently). The foundation lies, on the one hand, with respect to the Chamber of Deputies in which it represents the people of the nation as a whole, and on the other hand, the Senate is located, which represents the provinces as part of the Argentine federal state, operating this as representation of the 24 jurisdictions of the first order (the 23 provinces and the autonomous city) in that capacity that grants a guarantee of equality to the 24 jurisdictions in the federal government.

Parliamentary privileges

Members of Congress have parliamentary privileges that, expressly in the Argentine Constitution, determine that "none of the members of Congress can be accused, interrogated judicially, or bothered by the opinions or speeches they issue while carrying out their duties. mandate of legislator". In addition, a member of Congress can only be arrested if he is caught red-handed in the commission of a crime. Said immunity applies only during his mandate. According to articles 66 and 70 of the National Constitution, the chambers can correct (suspend) any of its members for his conduct, remove him due to physical or moral disqualification following his incorporation, or his exclusion, by a majority of two-thirds of the votes. Law 25230 established an Immunity Regime for legislators, officials and magistrates, sanctioned on September 8, 2000 and promulgated by the government of Fernando de la Rúa four days later.

Political composition of Congress

View of the Congress of the Argentine Nation from the east of the Plaza del Congreso, with the statue El Pensador de Rodin in the foreground.

Detail of a spider located inside the building.

As of December 2019, after the last election in which a third of the senators and half of the deputies were renewed in the legislative elections of October 27, 2019, the pro-government bloc of the Frente de Todos, a force that supports the President Alberto Fernández, is the first minority in the Chamber of Deputies with 120 deputies and the absolute majority in the Senate with 41 senators, not achieving a quorum in the Chamber of Deputies.

The second minority in number of those represented in deputies is the Juntos por el Cambio interblock with 116 deputies. The third minority in deputies is the Federal interblock with 10 deputies, in fourth place the Federal Development Unit interblock with 8 deputies. The first minority in number of those represented in senators is the Juntos por el Cambio interblock with 28 senators.

Chamber of Deputies

This section is an extract from Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation.[chuckles]edit]

The Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, officially Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is, together with the Senate, one of the two chambers that make up the National Congress, which constitutes the legislative branch of the Argentine Republic. It is informally known as the lower chamber, as opposed to the House of Senators, known as the upper chamber. The chamber consists of 257 national deputies who represent directly the people of the Nation. They have four-year mandates and can be re-elected. They are chosen using the D'Hondt proportional representation system in each of the 24 autonomous districts that make up the federation (23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires). Every two years the House renews half of its members.

The Chamber of Deputies has exclusive powers to create taxes and recruit troops. It is also the one who must make the accusations that might lead to a political trial to the President of the Nation, the Vice-President, the Ministers of State and the members of the Supreme Court. These accusations are made before the Senate of the Argentine Nation and require approval from two thirds of the House.

Like the House of Senators, it drafts its internal rules of procedure and may decide whether to discipline or even remove its members. Its members have parliamentary forums that prevent them from being detained, but they may be revoked by the remaining members of the House if a court order is made to require them.

The representativeness that sustains democracy in the Argentine Republic is regulated by the National Constitution in terms of the formation of both chambers of Congress. Deputies are elected directly by the people of the Nation, depending on their number of inhabitants. For electoral purposes, the country is divided into 24 districts (23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires) and each of them has to choose their deputies in proportion to the number of inhabitants.

According to Law 22 847 the number of deputies corresponding to each district is 1 deputee every 161 000 inhabitants or fraction greater than 80 500. However, the Act also provides that no district may have less than 5 deputies or have fewer deputies than it had in 1976. The number of members should be consistent with the results of each census carried out every 10 years, but this has not occurred since the recovery of democracy in 1983.

Since 2019 a system of gender parity was established in the national and subregional legislative bodies (the National Congress and the Parliament of Mercosur), which requires the equal intercalation of men and women on all candidate lists.

The camera has a television channel called Diputados TV (DTV), transmitting live sessions and informative programs.

Senate

This section is an extract from the Senate of the Argentine Nation.[chuckles]edit]

Front view of the Palacio del Honorable Congreso de la Nación Argentina, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.

The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation is, together with the Chamber of Deputies, one of the two chambers that make up the National Congress, which constitutes the legislative branch of the Argentine Republic. It is informally known as the High House, as opposed to the House of Deputies, known as the Lower House. The House consists of 72 senators, three for each of the 24 autonomous districts that make up the republic (23 provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires), to which they represent. They have six-year mandates and can be re-elected indefinitely. They are elected by direct suffrage and jointly, obtaining two senators the party or coalition that obtains the highest number of votes and a senator who follows him in number of votes. Every two years the House renews one third of its members, making elections in three blocks of eight provinces rotating. The Senate is chaired by the person who holds the position of vice president of the Nation, who does not integrate the body of senators and only votes in case of a tie.

The Senate has exclusive powers that are not granted to the Chamber of Deputies. Among them is authorizing the President of the Nation to declare the state of siege, to agree with the Executive for the appointment of judicial judges, plenipotentiary ministers, senior officers of the Armed Forces and to have the initiative in laws on federal tax sharing. He is also responsible for judging those accused by the Chamber of Deputies in political trial: President of the Nation, Vice President of the Nation, State Ministers and members of the Supreme Court.

Like the Chamber of Deputies, it drafts its internal rules of procedure and may decide whether or not to discipline its members. Its members have parliamentary forums that prevent them from being detained, but they may be revoked by the remaining members of the House if a court order is made to require them.

Since 2019 a system of gender parity was established in the national and subregional legislative bodies (the National Congress and the Parliament of Mercosur), which requires the equal intercalation of men and women on all candidate lists.

The camera has a television channel called Senate TV, which broadcasts live sessions and broadcasts information programs.

This section is an excerpt from Annex: National Senators of Argentina (2021–2023) § Composition.[chuckles]edit]

Composition of the Senate of the Nation

Interbloques		Blocks	Block presidents
	Together for Change (33) (Chairman: Alfredo Cornejo)	Radical Civic Union (18)	Luis Petcoff Naidenoff
		Front PRO (9)	Humberto Schiavoni
		Federal Change (4)	Ignacio Agustín Torres
		Production and Labour (1)	Roberto Basualdo
		Party for Social Justice (1)	Beatriz Luisa Ávila
	Front of All (31) (President: unconfirmed)	National and Popular Front (19)	José Mayans
		Citizen Unit (12)	Juliana Di Tullio
	Federal Unit (5)		Guillermo Snopek
	Missions (1)		Magdalena Solari Quintana
	There is Future Argentina (1)		María Clara Vega
	Together We Are Black River (1)		Alberto Weretilneck
Source: updated to 22/02/2023

Legislative Assembly

It is the joint meeting of both chambers held since 1862 to:

• Opening of the Ordinary Session
• Admit or discard the resignation of the President and Vice-President
• Take the oath to the President who assumes
• Designate the public official to complete the remaining vacant mandate
• Proclamation of the elected President and Vice-President
• Homage the heroes of the homeland or wear down foreign presidents.

Regular Sessions

The inauguration of the periods is a custom since 1862 that consists of the meeting of the Legislative Assembly in the Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation to listen to the message of the President of the Argentine Nation, where he takes stock of his management and announces its legislative agenda for the coming year.

The opening of regular sessions is similar to the US State of the Union Address. The first was inaugurated on May 25, 1862 by President Bartolomé Miter at the first headquarters of the Argentine Congress (Peru 272) where 15 senators and 24 deputies were gathered. In the first inaugurations, the president made a brief address and left the message in the hands of the Vice President. The first President to read the message was Domingo Faustino Sarmiento at the inauguration of the eighth period, on May 5, 1869.

There was also the Closing of the Period, the last held on October 25, 1872 for the eleventh period by Domingo Faustino Sarmiento. The first for the visit of a foreign President was on May 24, 1935 (71st term) for the President of Brazil, Getulio Vargas.

The inaugurations were made on dates close to May 25 and the closings (until 1872) on October 12, but since the Constitutional Reform of 1994, the inaugurations are made on March 1 of each year.