After conversations with Lula and Alckmin, Minister of Planning announces that she will run for election in São Paulo and will leave the government by the end of March
The Minister of Planning, Simone Tebet, confirmed this Thursday (12) that it will be candidate for the Senate for São Paulo in this year’s elections. The announcement was made during an event in Mato Grosso do Sul, the state where he began his political career.
According to her, the decision was made after conversations with President Lula (PT) and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin (PSB)who encouraged her to compete for the seat in the largest electoral college in the country.
Tebet stated that he accepted the request after reflecting on the political scenario e receive family approval. “After explaining the situation to my mother, and this happened yesterday, I decided to carry out the mission,” he said.
The minister stated that she had strong vote in São Paulo when he ran for Presidency of the Republic – in 2022 – and said he had a close relationship with the statewhere he completed his master’s degree and where his daughters live.
To run for office, Tebet will have to transfer his electoral domicile to São Paulo within the deadline set by electoral legislation – until May 6th –. Her political trajectory was built in Mato Grosso do Sul, where she was mayor (in the city of Três Lagoas, in 2004), state deputy (2002), vice-governor (2010) and senator (2014).
She also announced that she should leave the Ministry of Planning by the end of March to meet the exit deadline required for ministers who intend to contest elections.
Tebet said that the candidacy is part of a political project given the polarization scenario in the country. “Politics is a mission. I will very calmly compete in an electoral process that I believe is very important for Brazil”, he declared.
Conversation with PSB
A Young Pan reported on the 4th that, a party led nationally by João Campos. According to sources heard by the report, the minister considers leaving the MDB amidst arrangements for the 2026 elections. Tebet’s current party supports the candidacy of governor Tarcísio de Freitas (Republicans) in the dispute for Palácio dos Bandeirantes.
Despite the rumors, the national president of MDB, Baleia Rossi, told the reporter that, for now, Simone Tebet remains affiliated to the party and that there is nothing official yet. The statement, however, does not rule out speculation about a possible change of party, given the progress in talks with the PSB.
If the departure of the MDB is confirmed, allies believe that the movement can strengthen the construction of a majority ticket in São Paulo involving President Lula and the Minister of Finance, Fernando Haddad, as the government camp’s main bet to face Tarcísio in São Paulo.
National president of MDB, Baleia Rossi
Tebet’s party against Lula
The columnist for Young Pan Bruno Pinheiro reported, on the 3rd, that Tebet’s current party, the MDB, formalized its . In a movement articulated by leaders from at least 16 states, the party delivered to the party’s president, deputy Baleia Rossi, a manifesto calling for neutrality in the 2026 presidential race e repudiating any alliance with the PT.
In a video published on his social networks, federal deputy Rafael Pezenti (MDB-SC), one of the signatories of the document, was categorical: “The MDB will not be with Lula in this year’s election. We have just delivered to the national president of our party, Baleia Rossi, a document signed by 16 state presidents of the MDB, from populous and economically strong states, repudiating any conversation that signals a rapprochement with the PT.”
Pezenti highlighted that the movement goes beyond state directorates. According to him, The mayor of São Paulo, Ricardo Nunes, also signed the documentthe president of the Ulisses Guimarães Foundation, Alceu Moreira, and the mayor of Porto Alegre, Sebastião Mello — important names that increase internal pressure on the party’s national leadership.
