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Gilberto Kassab
Current politicianBrazil

Gilberto Kassab

National president of the PSD (party founder, 2011); vice-presidential candidate on Ronaldo Caiado's ticket, which finished fifth in October 2026 · Social Democratic Party (PSD)

Gilberto Kassab founded the PSD in 2011 and has led it since. In 2026 he ran for vice-president with Ronaldo Caiado, who finished fifth with 2.19 percent of valid votes.

Positions as of 30 October 2026
Profile on 12 axes6 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign

Positions are taken from public statements, voting records and platforms as of 30 October 2026, and may have changed since. Report an inaccuracy.

Where they stand

The 12 axes, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+25
    PublicPrivate

    He backs an administrative reform and has served in governments of the right and left. The score is slightly toward private ownership, with little direct evidence.

  2. 02Markets+30
    PlannedFree

    He backs administrative and judicial reform, but no market-specific policy statement was found. The score is mildly pro-market and low confidence.

  3. 03Welfare+5
    SharedSelf-reliant

    His public statements concern institutions and party strategy more than redistribution, so the score sits near the centre.

  4. 04Authority-25
    DemocraticStrong leader

    He wants to end mandatory parliamentary amendments, which he called an excrescence, to introduce district voting and to set a minimum age of 60 for ministers of the higher courts. He scores toward checks on power.

  5. 05Security+30
    LibertyOrder

    No direct statement on policing was found; the score follows the centre-right orientation of the governments he served.

  6. 06StructureNo clear record
    LocalCentral
  7. 07Morality+15
    ProgressiveTraditional

    No statement on moral questions was found; the score reflects his centrist positioning and is low confidence.

  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious
  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11TradeNo clear record
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policyNo clear record
    CooperationStrength

6 axes have no clear record: no documented statement, vote or platform places Gilberto Kassab there, so matching leaves them out.

Who is Gilberto Kassab?

Gilberto Kassab, born in 1960, was mayor of São Paulo from 2006 to 2012 and served as Minister of Cities and, later, of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications. He founded the PSD in March 2011, and it grew into one of Brazil's largest parties, winning 891 mayoralties in 2024 and joining governments led by Dilma Rousseff, Michel Temer, Jair Bolsonaro and Lula. From January 2023 he was São Paulo's Secretary of Government and Institutional Relations under Tarcísio de Freitas, and he left on 25 March 2026 to work on the PSD's presidential bid. Ronaldo Caiado, with Kassab as running mate, came fifth on 4 October 2026 with 2.19 percent of valid votes.

Previously: Secretary of Government and Institutional Relations of São Paulo state (January 2023 to March 2026) · Minister of Science, Technology, Innovation and Communications · Minister of Cities · Mayor of São Paulo (2006-2012)

Documented positions

  • In April 2026 he called mandatory parliamentary amendments an excrescence created under Bolsonaro and not ended by Lula, and said only a Caiado government would abolish them.Source: moneytimes.com.br
  • He backs district voting, judicial reform including a minimum age of 60 for ministers of the higher courts, and an administrative reform.Source: moneytimes.com.br
  • In April 2026 he described Caiado as an alternative that is neither right nor left, and said the PT and Bolsonaro's group had not tackled corruption in power.Source: dgabc.com.br
  • In January 2025 he said Lula would lose an election held that day and called Finance Minister Fernando Haddad weak, while his party held three ministries in Lula's cabinet.Source: istoedinheiro.com.br
  • In the same remarks he named Tarcísio de Freitas a strong candidate and said the PSD would support his re-election in São Paulo.Source: istoedinheiro.com.br
  • He left the São Paulo government on 25 March 2026, saying party and electoral work in the election year was incompatible with the post.Source: poder360.com.br
  • He was announced in July 2026 as Caiado's vice-presidential candidate, a move that does not give him personal access to the party's R$421 million campaign fund.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br

Record

Kassab built the PSD as a pragmatic party that supports whoever governs, which analysts have likened to the MDB and one article called physiological. It won 891 mayoralties in 2024, more than any other party, and took five state capitals. Its 2026 presidential bid stayed in low single digits, and Caiado said he would not speak on the runoff before meeting Kassab.

Supporters credit him with turning the PSD into a decisive force in Congress and in town halls. Critics describe the party as transactional, and Bolsonaro's interlocutors said in 2025 that his view of the former president's ineligibility and of an amnesty could keep him off a Tarcísio ticket.

In their words

“É importante que se tenha a alternativa nem que seja para perder”
Remarks at the Bradesco BBI Brazil Investment Forum, São Paulo, April 2026

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Gilberto Kassab: questions

Is Gilberto Kassab left or right?

He presents the PSD as neither left nor right. The party has served governments of Lula, Dilma Rousseff, Temer and Bolsonaro, and he has called for political reform.

Did Gilberto Kassab run in 2026?

He ran for vice-president with Ronaldo Caiado, whose ticket came fifth in the first round on 4 October 2026 with 2.19 percent of valid votes.

Which party does Gilberto Kassab lead?

The Social Democratic Party (PSD), which he founded in March 2011 and which won 891 mayoralties in 2024.

Sources

12axes-test.com is not affiliated with any politician or party. A profile summarises documented positions; it is not an endorsement.

Portrait: Governo do Estado de São Paulo - 52600908378.jpg by Governo do Estado de São Paulo, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and converted to grayscale by 12axes-test.com.