Riograndense Constitution of 1841 (RRG)

The first Constitution of the Riograndense Republic was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on February 8, 1841. The constitution marked a victory for the landowners and conservatives as the text limited the exercise of political rights to wealthier male citizens. The constitution would serve as the basis of the First Republic and would ultimately be replaced in 1851 by the Radical Constitution.

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The 1841 Constitution established the Republic as a semi-presidential regime where the president, elected by the bicameral General Assembly, would serve as the chief executive for a non-renewable four-year term. The president would be elected in the second year after legislative elections and his role would be similar to that of other presidential regime.

Legislative power was vested into the bicameral General Assembly composed of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house) and the Senate (upper house). The Chamber was elected directly for a four-year term while the Senate would be renewed using a complex method. Every 12 years, the entire Senate would be renewed through indirect elections. The members of the Senate would then be divided into three classes that would serve for 4 years (class 1), 8 years (class 2) and 12 years (class 3). The replacement members for the class 1 and 2 senators would be chosen by the president from a list presented by the Chamber before being approved by the same Chamber.

The Constitution of 1841 marked a victory for the conservatives as the text declared Roman Catholicism to be the official state religion and voting rights were heavily restricted to wealthy free-born males of over 21 years of age. The lack of any proposal vis-à-vis the pressing issue of slavery, coupled with protections on the Catholic Church and limitations of suffrage led to outcry among the liberals, resulting in a political conflict that would continue uninterrupted until the end of the First Republic.

The Constitution would be amended on June 2, 1845 when the second Chamber of Deputies certified the abolition of slavery, which had been law since 1844.