legislatura

Legislatura is a term used in Spanish and other languages to describe the period during which a given legislature is elected to govern, or the legislature itself during that period. The term derives from Latin legislatura, from lex (law) and statuere (to set). In most systems, a legislature is the chief deliberative and law-making body of a state, composed of representatives elected by the people, and it may also provide oversight of the executive branch.

The life of a legislature, or its term, begins with elections and ends with the next general elections; during this time, elected parliamentarians debate, draft, amend, and vote on laws, budgets, and other measures. The exact duration of a legislatura is constitutionally fixed or determined by statute and can be affected by dissolution or early elections.

Differences exist across countries. In many Spanish-speaking countries, the term legislatura denotes the period between general elections, though separate chambers within the legislature can have their own schedules. The length of the term varies by country and chamber, with typical formats including multi-year terms and the possibility of re-election. In parliamentary systems, governments can sometimes fall and trigger early elections, ending the legislatura sooner than the maximum term.