Who is Ronaldo Caiado?
Ronaldo Caiado, a physician, represented Goiás in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate and was elected Governor of Goiás in 2018. He left the post on 31 March 2026 to run for President for the PSD, after more than seven years in office, and Vice-Governor Daniel Vilela took over. His running mate was PSD president Gilberto Kassab. In the 4 October 2026 first round he received about 2.6 million votes, roughly 2.2 percent of valid votes, in fifth place. He then backed Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff. After Lula won on 25 October he said democrats must bow to the decision of the majority.
Previously: PSD candidate for President (2026), eliminated in the first round · Governor of Goiás (2019-2026) · Senator for Goiás (2015-2019) · Federal deputy for Goiás (1991-1995 and 1999-2015)
Documented positions
- His platform creates a Ministry of Public Security and a law treating factions and militias with territorial control and armed capacity as "domestic terrorism".Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Proposes minimum sentences of 45 years for faction leadership and recruitment, a special prison regime for leaders, and lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16 for serious crimes.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Promised on 28 August 2026 to build 40 maximum-security prisons and to treat factions as domestic terrorists.Source: brasil247.com
- Plans a fiscal adjustment without successive tax increases or across-the-board cuts, a review of subsidies, curbs on mandatory spending and an "Orçamento da Verdade".Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Aims to raise the investment rate from about 17 to 25 percent of GDP, with private investment as the main driver.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Would send a constitutional amendment ending consecutive re-election for President, governors and mayors, and adopt a mixed-district electoral system.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Would keep income transfer programmes tied to training, health and daycare, and restrict online betting, including advertising.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
- Supports ending the six-day working week through a negotiated transition tied to job creation.Source: brasil247.com
- Foreign policy would avoid automatic alignment with any bloc, and foreign investment in rare earths would be tied to processing in Brazil and technology transfer.Source: congressoemfoco.com.br
Record
His final balance as governor cites seven consecutive years of falling crime, with homicides down more than 60 percent and property crimes down more than 90 percent, along with over R$12 billion in infrastructure; these are the state government's own figures. Data from the Brazilian Public Security Forum cited by ABC do ABC show deaths in police operations in Goiás rising from 429 in 2018 to more than 500 a year from 2019, 30.2 percent of violent deaths in 2022. In 2024 he rejected the federal proposal for police body cameras in Goiás, and the state said it investigates every death.
Supporters credit him with the fall in homicides and with tough policing, while critics charge that police lethality rose with it and that the official statistics lack transparency.
