members or documented representation by a political party or by the Attorney General of the Republic.
§ 2. The deputy or senator whose action may be held to be incompatible with the decorum of the Chamber to which he belongs, by a vote of two-thirds of its members, shall likewise lose his mandate.
Art. 49—It is permissible for deputies or senators, with previous permission of the Chamber to which they belong, to carry out diplomatic missions of transitory character, and to participate in congresses, conferences and cultural missions abroad.
Art. 50—During the period of his mandate, a public officer shall be separated from the functions of his office, with time of service being counted in his favor merely for promotion by seniority and retirement.
Art. 51—A deputy or senator invested with the function of minister of State, federal interventor or secretary of State, shall not lose his mandate.
Art. 52—In the case of the preceding article and in the case of leave, if permitted by the Internal Regulations, or (in case of) vacancy in the office of deputy or senator, the respective alternate shall be called.
Sole Paragraph—If there should be no alternate to fill the vacancy, the president of the Chamber concerned shall communicate the fact to the Superior Electoral Tribunal to arrange for the election, except if there should remain less than nine months to the end of the term. The deputy or senator elected to the vacancy shall exercise the mandate for the remaining time.
Art. 53—The Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate shall create commissions of inquiry upon a given matter, whenever one-third of their members shall so request.
Sole Paragraph—In the organization of these committees, the criterion established in the Sole Paragraph of Article 40 shall be observed.
Art. 54—The ministers of State are obliged to appear before the Chamber of Deputies or Federal Senate, or any of their committees, when either Chamber shall call him to personally give information respecting matters previously determined.
Sole Paragraph—Failure to appear, without justification, shall constitute a crime of responsibility.
Art. 55—The Chamber of Deputies and the Federal Senate, as well as their committees, shall designate day and hour to hear any minister of State who may desire to furnish them with explanations, or request of them legislative measures.
SECTION II
The Chamber of Deputies
Art. 56—The Chamber of Deputies is composed of representatives of the people, elected according to the system of proportional representation by the States, by the Federal District and by the Territories.
Art. 57—Each legislature shall last four years.
Art. 58—The number of deputies shall be fixed by law in a proportion not to exceed one for each one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, up to twenty deputies, and beyond this limit one for each two hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants.
§ 1. Each Territory shall have one deputy and seven deputies shall be the minimum number for each State and for the Federal District.
§ 2. The representation already fixed may not be reduced.
Art. 59—The Chamber of Deputies shall have exclusive power:
I—to declare founded or unfounded, by vote of an absolute majority of its members, accusations against the President of the Republic under the terms of Article 88, and against the ministers of State in crimes connected with those of the President of the Republic;
II—to take the initiative in demanding accounts from the President of the Republic by designation of a special committee, when they are not presented to the National Congress within sixty days after the opening of the legislative session.
SECTION III
The Federal Senate
Art. 60—The Federal Senate is composed of representatives of the States and of the Federal District, elected according to the majority principle.
§ 1. Each State, as well as the Federal District, shall elect three senators.
§ 2. The senatorial mandate shall be for eight years.
§ 3. The representation of each State and of the Federal District shall be renewed every four years, alternately, one-third and two-thirds at a time.
§ 4. The senator's alternate elected with him shall replace or succeed him under the terms of Article 52.
Art. 61—The Vice President of the Republic shall exercise the functions of president of the Federal Senate where he shall only have the deciding vote.
Art. 62—The Federal Senate shall have exclusive power:
I—to judge the President of the Republic in respect of crimes for which he is responsible and the Ministers of State who may be involved, along with the former, in crimes of the same nature.
II—to prosecute and judge the Ministers of the Federal Supreme Court and the Attorney General of the Republic, in respect of crimes for which they are responsible.
§ 1. When functioning as a Tribunal of Justice, the Federal Senate shall be presided over by the President of the Federal Supreme Court.
§ 2. The Federal Senate shall only pronounce condemnatory sentence by the vote of two-thirds of its members.
§ 3. The Federal Senate may not impose any penalties other than loss of office and prohibition against the exercise of another without prejudice to the action of ordinary justice.
Art. 63—The Federal Senate shall likewise have exclusive power:
I—to approve, by secret vote, the appointment of magistrates in the cases established by the Constitution, and likewise the appointment of the Attorney General of the Republic, of the Minister of the Tribunal of Accounts, of the Mayor of the Federal District, of the members of the National Economic Council and of the chiefs of diplomatic mission of permanent character.
II—to authorize foreign loans of States, of the Federal District and of the municipalities.
Art. 64—It shall be incumbent upon the Federal Senate to suspend the execution, wholly or in part, of any law or decree declared unconstitutional by final decision of the Federal Supreme Court.
SECTION IV
Attributes of the Legislative Power
Art. 65—The National Congress shall have power, with the approval of the President of the Republic:
I—to vote the budget;
II—to vote the taxes belonging to the Union and to regulate the collection and distribution of its revenues;
III—to make provisions concerning the federal public debt and the means of its payment;
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