  An alternative way of introducing the supersymmetric cosmological term in a
supergravity theory is presented. We show that the $AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra
allows to construct a geometrical formulation of supergravity containing a
generalized supersymmetric cosmological constant. The $N=1$, $D=4$ supergravity
action is built only from the curvatures of the $AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra and
corresponds to a MacDowell-Mansouri like action. The extension to a generalized
$AdS$-Lorentz superalgebra is also analyzed.
