ect of the national capital, designating
members of the supreme tribunal and diplomatic representatives for the
approval of the senate, to negotiate treaties, &c., _ad referendum_ to
congress, and maintain relations with foreign powers, to declare war in
case of invasion and to declare martial law in case of grave internal
disorder, and to advise congress at the opening of the annual session of
the progress and state of public affairs. He may be impeached before the
senate for his official acts and suspended from office, or tried by the
supreme tribunal for criminal offences.

The legislative power is vested in a national congress of two chambers,
elected by direct suffrage, and convened on the 3rd of May each year.
The regular annual sessions are of four months' duration, but they may
be extended to complete necessary legislation. The senate consists of
sixty-three members (three from each state and the federal district)
elected for a period of nine years, one-third of each delegation being
renewed every three years. The senators must be not less than
thirty-five years of age, and are exempt from all legal processes not
previously authorized by the senate during their term of office, except
in cases of arrest _in flagrante delicto_ for a capital crime. The
chamber of deputies contains 212 members, the membership being
distributed among the states on a basis of one for each 70,000 of
population, but with a minimum representation of four for each state.
The deputies are elected by direct suffrage for the legislative session
of three years, and have the same immunities from legal process as the
senators. The chamber has the right of initiative in the organization of
the annual budget laws and those relative to the numerical strength of
the army and navy. The members of both houses receive a _per diem_
subsidy.

The judicial system of the republic consists of a supreme federal
tribunal of fifteen judges in the national capital, and a district
tribunal in the capital of each state, which forms a federal judicial
district. The judges are appointed for life and can be removed only by
judicial sentence and impeachment. One member of the supreme tribunal
holds the position of solicitor-general of the republic. The judges and
solicitor-general are appointed by the president with the approval of
the senate, but the tribunal chooses its own presiding officers and
secretaries and, nominally, is independent of executive control. Th