Who is Fernando Haddad?
Fernando Haddad is a Workers' Party (PT) politician from São Paulo. He served as Minister of Finance from January 2023, and in March 2026 Lula replaced him with his deputy Dario Durigan so that he could run for governor of São Paulo. Earlier he was Minister of Education, Mayor of São Paulo and the PT's candidate for President in 2018. On 4 October 2026 he lost the governor race in the first round: Governor Tarcísio de Freitas was re-elected with roughly 63 percent of valid votes against about 36 percent for Haddad. He holds no public office as of the as-of date.
Previously: Candidate for Governor of São Paulo, defeated in the 4 October 2026 first round · Minister of Finance (2023-2026) · PT candidate for President (2018) · Mayor of São Paulo (2013-2016) · Minister of Education (2005-2012)
Documented positions
- Said in June 2026 that he would review Tarcísio's contracts, citing a "haze" over the Sabesp privatization and promising to revisit abusive clauses in free-flow toll contracts.Source: brasildefato.com.br
- Wants stronger oversight of concessions and privatizations, with contracts monitored by government and society, and a public "Placar de Gestão" with goals updated every three months.Source: dgabc.com.br
- Proposed a state anti-faction agency, continuous-recording police body cameras, phone tracking by IMEI and artificial intelligence to identify crime patterns.Source: dgabc.com.br
- Said he has no prejudice against support from centre and centre-right parties, provided core principles are respected.Source: mais.opovo.com.br
- As Finance Minister he put in place the fiscal framework that replaced the spending cap in 2023, which links spending growth to revenue.Source: timesbrasil.com.br
- Led the consumption tax reform approved in December 2023 and the Desenrola Brasil programme to renegotiate small personal debts.Source: timesbrasil.com.br
- Backed the law, signed on 26 November 2025, that exempts incomes up to R$5,000 a month from income tax from January 2026 and sets a minimum tax on high earners.Source: exame.com
Record
At the Finance Ministry he saw the fiscal framework take effect in 2023 and the consumption tax reform pass in December 2023. Desenrola reached over 15 million people before it ended in May 2024, and the income tax exemption took effect in 2026. His campaign for governor centred on public security, a review of Tarcísio's concession contracts and public goal-setting, and ended in a first-round defeat.
Supporters credit him with the tax reform and with a fairer income tax. Critics quoted by Times Brasil, including analysts from investment firms, say the reform may not lower the overall tax burden, that the government raised taxes instead of cutting spending, and that the tax on small international purchases, known as the "taxa das blusinhas", was unpopular.
