The Congress of the Argentine Nation ( es, Congreso de la Nación Argentina) is the

legislative branch A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of the government of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. Its composition is

bicameral Bicameralism is a type of legislature, one divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single gr ...

, constituted by a 72-seat

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and a 257-seat

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

. The Senate, whose members are elected to six-year terms renewable by thirds each two years, consists of three representatives from each province and the federal capital. The Chamber of Deputies, whose members are elected to four-year terms, is apportioned according to population, and renews their members by a half each two years. The

Congressional Palace The State Kremlin Palace (russian: Государственный Кремлёвский Дворец), formerly and unofficially still better known as the Kremlin Palace of Congresses (Кремлёвский Дворец съездов), is a ...

is located in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, at the western end of

Avenida de Mayo May Avenue ( es, Avenida de Mayo) is an avenue in Buenos Aires, capital of Argentina. It connects the Plaza de Mayo with Congressional Plaza, and extends in a west–east direction before merging into Rivadavia Avenue. History and overview B ...

(at the other end of which is located the Casa Rosada). The ''

Kilometre Zero In many countries, kilometre zero (also written ''km 0'') or similar terms in other languages (also known as zero mile marker, zero milepost, control stations or control points) denote a particular location (usually in the nation's capital cit ...

'' for all Argentine National Highways is marked on a milestone at the

Congressional Plaza Congressional Plaza (Spanish: ''Plaza del Congreso'') is a public park facing the Argentine Congress in Buenos Aires. The plaza is part of a 3 hectare (7.5 acre) open space comprising three adjoining plazas to the east of the Congress building. ...

, next to the building.

Attributes

The Argentine National Congress is

, composed of the

and the

. The ordinary sessions span is from March 1 to November 30; the President of Argentina is entitled to convene extraordinary sessions during the recess, if needed. Senators and deputies enjoy

parliamentary immunity Parliamentary immunity, also known as legislative immunity, is a system in which politicians such as president, vice president, governor, lieutenant governor, member of parliament, member of legislative assembly, member of legislative council, s ...

during their mandates, which may be revoked by their peers if a senator or deputy is caught ''in flagrante'', in the midst of committing a crime. The Congress rules the

Central Bank of Argentina The Central Bank of the Argentine Republic ( es, Banco Central de la República Argentina, BCRA) is the central bank of Argentina, being an autarchic entity. Article 3 of the Organic Charter lists the objectives of this Institution: “The bank ...

, manages internal and external debt payment, and the value of national currency (currently the Argentine peso). It rules the legal codes on Civil, Commercial, Penal, Minery, Work and Social Welfare affairs, all of which cannot be in contradiction with the respective provincial codes. Any changes on national or provincial limits, or the creation of new provinces, ought to be allowed by the Congress. The Congress is entitled to approve or reject every international treaty that Argentina signs with other states or international organizations. When approved, the treaties acquire priority over ordinary legislation. Declarations of war and the signing of peace, as well as the mobilization of the national troops, within or outside of the Argentine territoryArgentine Constitution, art. 75, i.28 must be allowed by the Congress. The Chamber of Deputies is the lower House of the National Congress. It holds exclusive rights to set taxes and customs; to draft troops; and to accuse the President, Ministers, and members of the Supreme Court before the Senate. Additionally, the Chamber of Deputies receives for consideration bills presented by popular initiative. The Senate is the upper House of the National Congress. It must obtain quorum to deliberate, this being an absolute majority. It has the power to approve bills passed by the Chamber of Deputies, call for joint sessions with the Lower House or special sessions with experts and interested parties, and submit bills for the president's signature; bills introduced in the Senate must, in turn, be approved by the Lower House for their submittal to the president. The Senate must introduce any changes to federal revenue sharing policies, ratify international treaties, approve changes to constitutional or federal criminal laws, as well as confirm or impeach presidential nominees to the cabinet, the judiciary, the armed forces, and the diplomatic corps, among other federal posts.

History

From 1976 to 1983, the Congressional Palace of Argentina housed the CAL (Legislative Advisory Commission), a group of officers from the three Armed Forces. Commissioned to review and discuss laws before they were issued by the Executive Branch, they served a succession of ''de facto'' military presidents during the

National Reorganization Process The National Reorganization Process (Spanish: ''Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'', often simply ''el Proceso'', "the Process") was the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, in which it was supported by the United St ...

. In practice, this became a mechanism to detect and discuss the differences between the three commanders-in-chief of the Army, Navy, and Air Force regarding a specific project. The CAL was established by the ''Acta del Proceso de Reorganización Nacional'' (National Reorganization Process Act), the guiding document for the military government established after the coup d'état of March 24, 1976. Following a 1994 reform of the Constitution, the

was expanded from 48 members (two per province or district) to 72 members, whereby the party garnering second place in elections for Senator would be assured the third seat for the corresponding province.

Representation

Each province elects 3 Senators to the Senate, whereas every 161,000 Argentine citizens elect a Deputy. Currently, there are 72 Senators and 257 National Deputies in the Congress.

Bibliography

References

External links

The official website of CongressSatellite picture by Google Maps
{{Authority control

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...