President of Brazil - Duties and Powers

Duties and Powers

As a republic with a presidential Executive, Brazil grants significant powers to the President. He or she effectively controls the Executive branch, represents the country abroad, and appoints the Cabinet and, with the approval of the Senate, the judges for the Supreme Federal Tribunal. The president is also the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Presidents in Brazil also have significant lawmaking powers, exercised either by proposing laws to the National Congress, or else by using Medidas Provisórias (Provisional Measures), an instrument with the force of law that the President can enact in cases of urgency and necessity, except to make changes to some areas of Law (provisional measures cannot be used to change criminal law, electoral law, tax law, among other cases). A Provisional Measure comes into effect immediately, before Congress votes on it, and remains in force for up to 60 days unless Congress votes to rescind it. This 60 day period can be extended once, up to a maximum of 120 days. If Congress, on the other hand, votes to approve the provisional measure, it becomes an actual law, with changes decided by the Legislative Branch. The provisional measure expires at the end of the 60 day period (or 120 day, in case of extension), or sooner, if rejected by one of the Houses of Congress.

Article 84 of the current Constitution, determines that the President has the power to:

1. appoint and dismiss the Ministers of State;
2. exercise, with the assistance of the Ministers of State, the higher management of the federal administration;
3. start the legislative procedure, in the manner and in the cases set forth in the Constitution;
4. sanction, promulgate and order the publication of laws, as well as to issue decrees and regulations for the true enforcement thereof;
5. veto bills, wholly or in part;
6. provide, by means of decree, on organization and structure of federal administration, in the cases where there is neither increase of expenses nor creation or extinction of public agencies; and extinction of offices or positions, when vacant;
7. maintain relations with foreign States and to accredit their diplomatic representatives;
8. conclude international treaties, conventions and acts, subject to the ratification of the National Congress;
9. decree the state of defense and the state of siege, in accordance with the constitional procedures that shall precede and authorize those emergency decrees;
10. decree and enforce federal intervention, in accordance with the constitutional procedures that shall precede and authorize such exceptional action;
11. upon the opening of the legislative session, send a government message and plan to the National Congress, describing the state of the nation and requesting the actions he deems necessary;
12. grant pardons and reduce sentences, after hearing the entities instituted by law, if necessary;
13. exercise the supreme command of the Armed Forces, appoint the commanders of Navy, Army and Air Force, promote general officers and to appoint them to the offices held exclusively by them;
14. appoint, after approval by the Senate, the Justices of the Supreme Federal Court and those of the superior courts, the Governors of the territories, the Attorney-General of the Republic, the President and the Directors of the Central Bank and other civil servants, when established by law;
15. appoint, with due regard for the provisions of article 73, the Justices of the Federal Court of Accounts;
16. appoint judges in the events established by this Constitution and the Advocate-General of the Union;
17. appoint members of the Council of the Republic, in accordance with article 89, VII;
18. summon and preside over the Council of the Republic and the National Defense Council;
19. declare war, in the event of foreign aggression, authorized by the National Congress or confirmed by it, whenever it occurs between legislative sessions and, under the same conditions, to decree full or partial national mobilization;
20. make peace, authorized or confirmed by the National Congress;
21. award decorations and honorary distinctions;
22. permit, in the cases set forth by supplementary law, foreign forces to pass through the national territory, or to remain temporarily therein;
23. submit to the National Congress the pluriannual plan, the bill of budgetary directives and the budget proposals set forth in this Constitution;
24. render, each year, accounts to the National Congress concerning the previous fiscal year, within sixty days of the opening of the legislative session;
25. fill and abolish federal government positions, as set forth by law;
26. issue provisional measures, with force of law, according to article 62;
27. perform other duties set forth in the Constitution.