13 years ago, in an auditorium of the Chamber of Deputies in Brasília, signed the founding minutes of the Social Democratic Party. It was April 13, 2011, a Wednesday. The then mayor of São Paulo – in his second term as head of the country’s largest city, a position he would hold until the end of 2012 – had left the DEM to create his own party with one premise: there was room for a center party in an increasingly polarized politics.
“We understood that Brazilian society is moderate and that there was room for a party to be born. And I think the decision was right, given the growth and consolidation of the PSD in these 13 years”Kassab told Poder360.
Among the first members were the then vice-governor of Paraíba, the then senator and the then governor of Amazonas, . The party’s formal registration date is September 2011, when the Superior Electoral Court granted the request. This is when the party celebrates its anniversary. This Monday (April 13, 2026) is foundation day.
At start
The PSD was born with 55 federal deputies — the 3rd largest group in Congress —, 2 senators and 2 governors: Raimundo Colombo, from Santa Catarina, and Aziz, from Amazonas.
Kassab attracted congressmen from multiple parties even before formal registration. Among them, 17 federal deputies from the DEM, as well as members from the PSDB, MDB and PP such as Guilherme Afif Domingos, Indio da Costa and Cláudio Lembo.
The creation of the PSD was marked by a strong reaction from parties such as DEM and PSDB, which lost important personnel in the migration to the new party. At the time, the political offensive provoked accusations that the party had benefited from a wave of “party change” of congressmen still in office.
There were also questions at the TSE about the registration of the acronym in 2011, on the grounds that the move could violate party loyalty rules. The TSE, however, authorized the new affiliations.
Even in the early years, the party became part of the government base (PT), which reinforced its operating strategy in the center.
The rapprochement with different federal governments was an example of the acronym’s pragmatism, which was often accused of prioritizing institutional space to the detriment of a more defined programmatic identity.
The first electoral test came in the 2012 municipal elections, when the party won in 1 year of life. The MDB, which had dominated the municipal ranking since the 2000s, was still far from being caught up, but the PSD had given the signal.
Election to election
In the 2014 general election, the PSD consolidated itself as the 5th political force in the Chamber, with 36 parliamentarians. In the following municipal elections, growth was constant: 652 city halls in 2016 and.
The leap would come in the 2018 and 2020 elections. The party welcomed politicians from different spectrums who sought pragmatism – among them Ratinho Junior, elected governor of Paraná in 2018, and Eduardo Paes, who returned to Rio’s mayorship in 2020.
In the 2020 municipal election, the PSD won 659 city halls, consolidating itself as the 2nd local force in the country.
In Congress, the trajectory was one of consistent growth. In the 2022 elections, the party elected 42 federal deputies and occupied the 3rd largest bench in the Chamber.
In 2026, Kassab built a network of governors that gave national muscle to the party: Ratinho Junior in Paraná, Eduardo Leite in Rio Grande do Sul and Ronaldo Caiado in Goiás — all from the party. “Today, unquestionably, the PSD has consolidated itself as one of the most important parties in Brazilian democracy“, said the leader.
The PSD today
In 2024, the PSD electeddisplacing MDB, which had led the ranking since 1988.
The victory was broad: the party also elected — Eduardo Paes in Rio (RJ), Eduardo Pimentel in Curitiba (PR), Fuad Noman in Belo Horizonte (MG), Eduardo Braide in São Luís (MA) and Topázio Neto in Florianópolis (SC).
“The PSDB has a lot to show in the public administrations it carries out or in which it participates, and this is shown once again in today’s election”said Kassab.
The growth strategy remains focused on expanding the regional presence and consolidating local leaders.
Kassab cited advances in the South and Southeast as the main expansion vectors, with emphasis on Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. “We are going to grow a lot in practically all States”these.
In April 2026, the party hasrepresentatives from all regions of the country.
Kassab highlights the density of the structure: “In the municipalist field, we elected approximately 900 mayors in the last elections. Today there are approximately 1,300, there are thousands of councilors and we have surpassed the number of thousands of vice-mayors. The municipalist base was born strong and today it is even denser.”
The party will also have the largest number of candidates for governor in its history: 12 names, in states such as Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, Santa Catarina, Minas Gerais and Maranhão.
The leader stated that the PSD maintains its identity as a pragmatic center, combining a liberal agenda in the economy with structuring social policies. “We are liberal in the economy, but with great care in social issues”he declared, citing defense of the SUS, public education and transparency policies.
Kassab also stated that he aims to defend institutional reforms, such as administrative reforms and mixed district voting, which, according to him, remain at the center of the party’s agenda.
The Caiado candidate
in 2026, the PSD will have, for the first time, a candidate for the Presidency of the Republic: the governor of Goiás, . For Kassab, the candidacy is the synthesis of 13 years. “Not every party has the conditions to launch a presidential candidate with a chance of winning. This, unquestionably, will help the party move forward“, these.
Kassab stated that not many parties have the capacity to launch their own candidate for the Presidency with competitiveness, an assessment that, according to him, reinforces the evolution of the party since its founding.
The numbers support optimism. Datafolha survey released on Saturday (April 11, 2026) in the 2nd round for the 1st time: 45% to 42%, within the margin of error of 2 percentage points.
Caiado also records the lowest rejection rate among the candidates tested: 16%, compared to Lula’s 48%. The research is registered with the TSE (Superior Electoral Court) with code BR-03770/2026.
For Kassab, the most relevant data is the growth potential. “It is clear, unquestionably, that he will grow. In the 2nd round, he will beat Lula and he will win well. Now he will start to grow because he will present himself. He still has a very high level of ignorance, which is very positive”, these.
