Romeu Zema, the former governor of Minas Gerais, is set to become the Novo party’s candidate for president in Brazil’s 2026 election at a national convention in Brasília on Monday, July 27. The 61-year-old businessman would be running for the Planalto Palace, the seat of Brazil’s executive branch, for the first time after serving two consecutive terms as governor.
Zema was born in Araxá, in Minas Gerais, Brazil’s second-most populous state, and holds a business administration degree from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV), one of the country’s leading universities. He is the great-grandson of Domingos Zema, who founded the Zema Group, a family conglomerate active in retail, fuel distribution, vehicle dealerships and financial services.
He took over management of the group in 1991 and remained in the private sector until entering politics. Zema joined Novo in 2018 and that year won the Minas Gerais governorship without having previously held elected office, defeating former governors Fernando Pimentel of the Workers’ Party (PT) and Antonio Anastasia of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).
From Minas Gerais to Brasília
As governor, Zema promoted an agenda focused on public-finance adjustment, spending cuts, a smaller administrative structure and privatization. His re-election in 2022 increased his national profile, and he has since traveled to other states while preparing for a presidential campaign.
Zema is seeking to portray himself as an alternative to the political polarization between the PT and the Liberal Party (PL), the party associated with former President Jair Bolsonaro. Zema supported Bolsonaro in the 2018 and 2022 elections but has tried to distance himself from Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, the PL’s likely presidential contender.
The rupture became more visible after documents disclosed a reported R$134 million (roughly USD 24 million at recent rates; approximate conversion) negotiation involving former banker Daniel Vorcaro and Flávio Bolsonaro. Zema called the episode “a slap in the face of the Brazilian people” and said the senator’s explanations were not convincing enough, according to CNN Brasil. He also said he had never been close to Flávio, although the two exchanged public praise earlier this year and Zema had reportedly been considered as a possible running mate.
Attacks on the Supreme Court
Zema has also made criticism of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF) a central part of his campaign. He has accused the court of moving from a role of institutional pacification toward what he called an “incendiary” political role.
He has described the justices as “untouchable” and said some could fall like “rotten trees.” Novo proposes changing the criteria for appointing STF justices, expanding the rules for holding them accountable, ending individual injunctions with broad political effects, and making impeachment proceedings against members of higher courts easier to initiate.
Economic agenda and running mate
Zema supports a liberal economic program that includes a smaller state, lower public spending, privatization and structural reforms involving the civil service and pensions. He has said he would privatize Petrobras by transforming the state-controlled oil company into a “corporation” owned by dispersed shareholders, which he argues would reduce political influence over the company.
He also supports limiting high salaries in the public sector and changing social programs to encourage beneficiaries to enter the labor market.
The identity of his vice-presidential candidate remains undecided. Zema has said Novo is considering former STF President Joaquim Barbosa, a native of northern Minas Gerais whom he praised for his work against corruption. The party must define its ticket by August 5, the deadline for Brazil’s parties to hold their nominating conventions. This article is based on single-source reporting from CNN Brasil.