Who is Simone Tebet?
Simone Tebet was Mayor of Três Lagoas, Vice-Governor and Senator for Mato Grosso do Sul, and finished third in the 2022 presidential election as the MDB candidate. She then backed Lula and became his Minister of Planning and Budget in January 2023. On 21 March 2026 she left the MDB after almost 30 years and joined the PSB, at the request of Lula and Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin, and on 30 March she left the cabinet to run for the Senate in São Paulo. On 4 October 2026 she finished third with 19.23 percent of valid votes, behind Guilherme Derrite (PP) and André do Prado (PL). She holds no public office as of the as-of date.
Previously: Candidate for Senator for São Paulo, third place on 4 October 2026 · Minister of Planning and Budget (2023-2026) · MDB candidate for President (2022) · Senator for Mato Grosso do Sul (until February 2023) · Vice-Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul (2010-2015) · Mayor of Três Lagoas (elected 2004, re-elected 2008)
Documented positions
- Told DCM in May 2026 that Brazil will not go broke from ending the six-day working week, and that some sectors, notably services and small businesses, will need state support in the transition.Source: diariodocentrodomundo.com.br
- Said the central bank was slow to start cutting interest rates, that high rates hurt industrial planning and jobs, and that there is "no fiscalism without a soul".Source: diariodocentrodomundo.com.br
- Said in October 2026 that a constitutional amendment is needed to contain public spending, that fiscal adjustment is necessary and that Brazil may have fewer tax exemptions.Source: cnnbrasil.com.br
- Warned that, if the progressive camp loses the Senate renewal, the chamber could block environmental, human rights and free expression protections.Source: diariodocentrodomundo.com.br
- Supported a fixed 12-year term for Supreme Court justices and said she wants a Senate majority able to pass constitutional changes.Source: portaltela.com
- As a senator she voted in 2016 to open the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff, citing the fiscal target and the need for a change of government.Source: www12.senado.leg.br
- Voted for the spending cap and the labour reform, and as chair of the Senate Constitution and Justice Committee in 2019 steered the pension reform to a vote.Source: moneytimes.com.br
Record
As Planning Minister she defended the fiscal framework, the 2026 primary surplus target and a 25-year national planning project, and she oversaw the multi-year plan. In the Senate she was the first woman to chair the Constitution and Justice Committee, from 2019 to 2020, and lost the 2019 contest for the Senate presidency to Renan Calheiros. In 2022 she was a "third way" presidential candidate. In 2026 she moved her party and electoral base to São Paulo at Lula's request and lost.
Supporters credit her with fiscal credibility inside a left-led government and with her cross-party bridge-building. Critics note that she voted for the Rousseff impeachment, which the Lula government calls a coup, and that her move to São Paulo, a state she had not represented, was controversial.
