Legislativo

Legislativo is the term used in several Romance-language contexts to denote the legislative branch of government or the body that holds legislative power. Its principal function is to make laws, but it also approves budgets, ratifies treaties, and oversees the actions of the executive. Legislatures represent the people through elected members and operate within constitutional rules, often through committees, debates, and voting processes.

Legislatures can be unicameral or bicameral. Unicameral bodies have a single chamber; bicameral systems have two chambers with sometimes distinct constituencies and powers. Examples include Spain’s Cortes Generales (Congress of Deputies and Senate), Portugal’s Assembleia da República (unicameral), Brazil’s National Congress (Chamber of Deputies and Federal Senate), and the United States Congress (House of Representatives and Senate). In many countries, the lower house drafts budget and revenue measures, while the upper house may have specialized duties or longer terms.

Interaction with the executive: the legislative branch operates within a framework of separation of powers and checks and balances. It can scrutinize and censure the executive through inquiries and oversight, approve appointments, and in some systems initiate or sustain impeachment or motions of no confidence. The legislative process typically proceeds from proposal, committee review, readings and amendments, to vote and promulgation by the head of state or government. Local and regional legislatures—such as city councils or state/provincial assemblies—also exercise legislative functions within their jurisdictions.

Terminology: in Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries the term legislativo is used to refer to the legislative branch; the broader concept is often called Poder Legislativo. The idea is a core element of the separation of powers in modern democracies.

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