Gabriel Azevedo confirms candidacy for governor of Minas Gerais in 2026.
Former president of the Belo Horizonte City Council says that "national balance needs Minas Gerais" and criticizes Romeu Zema's administration.
247 - The former president of the Belo Horizonte City Council and current leader of the MDB in the capital of Minas Gerais, Gabriel Azevedo, officially announced that he will be a candidate for governor of Minas Gerais in the 2026 elections. The confirmation took place on Monday (3), during an interview given to the newspaper The time.
Azevedo, who had previously stated he had no intention of running for office in the next election, explained that the decision represents a change of plans motivated by "necessity and opportunity." According to him, "people want a balanced candidacy. In fact, that's the key word here. I truly feel that national balance needs Minas Gerais. And I truly believe that Minas Gerais needs balance," the politician stated.
During the conversation, the pre-candidate acknowledged that his entry into the race is "unexpected," but reaffirmed his connection to the capital of Minas Gerais and his willingness to run for mayor again in the future. "Two things are possible in the 2026 elections: either I will be elected governor of Minas Gerais, and obviously I will fulfill this term until the end, because it is my commitment. Or the people of Minas Gerais will prefer another candidate and (in this case) 2028 is just around the corner," he declared.
Gabriel Azevedo also emphasized his appreciation for the city he governed legislatively: “There’s one thing that doesn’t change: the love for Belo Horizonte. The governor works in Belo Horizonte and in the interior. I’m just going to enlarge my heart a little,” he said.
Criticism of Romeu Zema and the political landscape.
In the interview, the former Speaker of the House directly criticized Governor Romeu Zema (Novo) and the behavior of the state's political leaders. According to Azevedo, there is a lack of attention to the real problems of Minas Gerais, and an excess of personal disputes and self-promotion strategies. "I'm not seeing anyone in this race remembering the size of Minas Gerais. I'm seeing people who want to be Bolsonaro's pre-candidate, people who want to be Lula's pre-candidate, and I'm seeing people using social media to gain clicks, but who are neglecting the problems without pointing out concrete solutions," he stated.
Looking back at the municipal election
Commenting on his participation in the 2024 elections, when he came in fourth place in the race for Mayor of Belo Horizonte, Azevedo recalled the challenges he faced and the growth of his campaign. “Many people said I wouldn't be able to run for office, to join a party. Then they said I wouldn't get a running mate, and I had Paulo Brant by my side, who is here in the studio with us, a pre-candidate for federal deputy for the MDB. Then they said we wouldn't make it to the end, that we wouldn't get more than 1%. We finished with 10,55%,” he highlighted.
Race for the government of Minas Gerais
With the announcement, Gabriel Azevedo officially joins the list of pre-candidates for governor of Minas Gerais, alongside vice-governor Mateus Simões (PSD), former mayor Alexandre Kalil (PDT), and senator Cleitinho (Republicanos).
