The United States constitutes a federal constitutional republic, with a presidential system as a form of government based on the separation of powers into three branches: executive, legislative and judicial. What do each of these terms consist of?
federal system. Federalism is the political system by which the functions of government are divided between a central power and associated states. A system that the US is a pioneer in both theory and practice. The Federal Government exclusively exercises the minimum and essential powers to guarantee the political and economic unity of the nation, in matters such as foreign policy and defense, as opposed to systems based on a unitary or centralized state. The rest of the powers correspond to the federal states or are exercised in a coordinated manner at both levels of government, as in the case of Education policy. Below the federal power is the power of the states (today 50) and behind them, the local power, which takes many forms and has the county as its basic administrative unit. For its management, each state has an elected governor and its own legislature.
presidential regime. Presidentialism is a system of government created in the United States, contrary to parliamentarism, which has the following fundamental characteristics:
Constitution of 1787. The Supreme Law that governs the operation of the United States was adopted on September 17, 1787 in the Constitutional Convention of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), and later ratified by the people in conventions in each state. The essential aspects of the Constitution are:
Executive power. Formed by the President, the Vice President, the President’s Cabinet composed of the 15 Secretaries of departments (equivalent to the ministries), the Office of the President (administrative organizations) and the independent agencies of the Government (such as the CIA, the FBI or the FDA ).
The President must be over 35 years of age, must have been born in the United States and have lived in the country for at least fourteen years. His power is restricted to two terms of four years each and his main functions and responsibilities are:
Legislative power. It is made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate, which together form the United States Congress, an institution that has the exclusive power to enact laws and declare war and substantial investigative powers. Its seat is the Capitol in Washington DC.
House of Representatives. It is made up of 435 representatives, appointed proportionally by the states according to their population. Five US territories and possessions also have representation in the House, albeit without voting rights: the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands.
Members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years (with no limit on the number of terms they can serve) and must be at least 25 years of age, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and a resident of the state (but not necessarily the district) they represent.
The President of the Chamber (speaker) is elected by the representatives and is the third in the line of succession to the Presidency after the President and the Vice President.
Some of the exclusive responsibilities of the Chamber are:
Senate. It is made up of 100 senators, two from each state. Members of the Senate serve a six-year term, with no limit on the number of terms they may serve. One third of the Senate is renewed every two years.
Senators must be at least 30 years old, must have been a US citizen for at least nine years, and must reside in the state they represent.
The Vice President of the United States serves as President of the Senate and may cast the deciding vote in the event of a tie in the Senate.
Some of the exclusive powers of the Senate are:
Power of attorney. It is made up of the Supreme Court, appellate courts, federal district courts, and special courts such as the Court of Accounts, the Court of Claims, and the Veterans Court of Appeal.
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