The National Congress Palace () is a building in Brasilia, Brazil that serves as the meeting place of the Brazilian national legislature, the National Congress of Brazil. It was built in 1960.
History
In early 1900s, the Brazilian National Congress happened to be in separate buildings in Rio de Janeiro which was then the national capital. The Senate was located near Railway Central Station, beside the Republica Square, at Moncorvo Filho Street, where there is today a Federal University of Rio de Janeiro students' center. The Federal Chamber of Deputies was located at Misericórdia Street, which would later be the location of the State of Rio de Janeiro's local Chamber of Deputies. From the 1930s to early 1960s, the Senate occupied the Monroe Palace, which was demolished in the 1970s to allow the construction of the subway Cinelândia Station. The Federal Chamber of Deputies moved to Brasília in the early 1960s, a process that took years to complete.
Since the 1960s, the National Congress has been located in Brasília. As with most of the city's government buildings, the National Congress building was designed by Oscar Niemeyer in the modern Brazilian style.
The semi-sphere on the left is the seat of the Senate, and the semi-sphere on the right is the seat of the Chamber of the Deputies. Between them are two vertical office towers. The Congress also occupies other surrounding office buildings, some of them interconnected by a tunnel.
The building is located in the middle of the Monumental Axis, the main street of Brasília. In front of it there is a large lawn where demonstrations take place. At the back of it, is the Praça dos Três Poderes ('Three Powers Plaza'), where lies the Palácio do Planalto and the Supreme Federal Court.
On 6 December 2007, the Institute of Historic and Artistic National Heritage () decided to declare the building of the National Congress a historical heritage of the Brazilian people. The building has also been a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as part of Brasília's original urban buildings, since 1987.
Events
Death of José Kairala
On 4 December 1963, in the floor of the Federal Senate, there was a homicide caused by senator Arnon de Melo (PDC-AL) who, trying to shoot at senator Silvestre Péricles (PSD-AL), hit the substitute senator José Kairala (PSD-SC).
2023 storming
The attacks of 8 January 2023 in Brasília were a series of vandalisms, stormings and depredation of public property cause by thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro who stormed the Planalto Palace, the National Congress Palace and the Supreme Federal Court Palace with the objective to instigate a military coup d'état against president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and restore Jair Bolsonaro as President of Brazil.
Around 13:00 (BRT), about 4,000 Bolsonaro supporters left the Brazilian Army Headquarters e marched towards the Three Powers Plaza, coming into conflict with the Military Police of the Federal District (PMDF) at the Monumental Axis. Before 15:00, the crowd broke the security barrier established by the security forces and occupied the ramp and roof of the National Congress Palace, while part of the group could storm and vandalize the Congress, the Planalto Palace and the Supreme Court Palace. President Lula and former president Bolsonaro were not present in Brasília during the storming. The Supreme Federal Court considered the storming as acts of terrorism.
Governor of the Federal District, Ibaneis Rocha, informed that more than 400 people were arrested until 21:00. On the following day, around 1,200 people that were camping in front of the Army HQ were also arrested and taken by bus to the head office of the Federal Police. Until March 2023, 2,182 people were arrested for participating or having any kind of involvement in the attacks. Right after the events, Ibaneis Rocha fired the Public Security Secretary and former Minister of Justice of Bolsonaro administration, Anderson Torres, who was in Orlando during the stormings. After that, justice of the Supreme Federal Court, Alexandre de Moraes, suspended Rocha from office for 90 days, decision revoked on 15 March. After the attacks, president Lula signed a deccree authorizing a federal intervention in the Federal District until 31 January.