Celina Leão

A former district and federal deputy, she was vice-governor of the Federal District from 2023 and has been its governor since 30 March 2026. She is the Progressistas candidate for Governor of the Federal District in the 2026 election, which went to a runoff on 25 October 2026.

Career

Leão is listed as a business administrator. She sat in the Legislative Chamber of the Federal District from 2011 to 2019 and presided over it from 2015 to 2017. She was a federal deputy from 2019 to 2023, and served as the district's secretary of sport and leisure in 2020–2021. Elected vice-governor on Ibaneis Rocha's ticket in 2022, she was acting governor from January to March 2023 while Rocha was suspended by the Supreme Federal Court. She became governor on 30 March 2026 when Rocha resigned to run for the Senate. Her parties have included PSDB, PMN, PSD, PDT and PPS before PP in 2018. In the first round on 4 October 2026 she took 49.93% of the valid votes, just under the majority needed, and faces Leandro Grass (PT) in the runoff.

Positions

Wikipedia's Portuguese article associates her with public security, economic development, administrative management and support for sport and public services, and says her positions follow the orientation of the Progressistas. Wikipedia describes that party as centre-right, with conservative liberalism as its ideology and a more nationally conservative turn in recent years. The party is part of the Centrão bloc and has generally backed Bolsonarismo. She has said, according to Congresso em Foco's reporting, that messages seized in the Banco Master inquiry show she was always against the Banco de Brasília (BRB) buying Banco Master.

Controversies

In Operação Drácon, prosecutors of the Federal District (MPDFT) allege that in 2015 district deputies asked for bribes from companies providing intensive-care services to the public health network, in return for releasing R$30 million of overdue payments. In February 2019 the 7th Public Finance Court made Leão and seven others defendants in an administrative-misconduct action, the judge finding the complaint described conduct that could amount to it. Her lawyers said they would answer at the proper time, and her defence has appealed to the Superior Court of Justice. The sources consulted report no final judgment. Messages seized by the Federal Police from banker Daniel Vorcaro's phone, made public in 2026, show him discussing how to respond to her criticism of the BRB–Master deal. Reporting notes they contain no exchanges between them.

Summarised automatically from the linked sources. Wikipedia · Wikipédia · Wikipedia · Correio Braziliense · Congresso em Foco

Photo: Agência Brasília, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons (cropped)