Miriam Leitão

Miriam Azevedo de Almeida Leitão (born 7 April 1953) is a Brazilian journalist and television presenter. She has a program at GloboNews and is a commentator on economics at TV Globo's Bom Dia Brasil and writes the column Panorama Econômico in the newspaper O Globo. She is the mother of two sons, Vladimir Netto (1973) and Matheus Leitão (1977).

Life and career

Leitão was born in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, to Dona Mariana and Reverendo Uriel de Almeida Leitão. She has a degree in journalism from Universidade de Brasília. She started her career in Vitória, Espírito Santo, and worked at several news outlets, on print, radio and television, such as Gazeta Mercantil, Jornal do Brasil, Veja, O Estado de S. Paulo, O Globo, Rádio CBN, Globo News and Rede Globo. She was reporter on diplomatic affairs at Gazeta Mercantil and editor of the economics desk at Jornal do Brasil. Leitão is the mother of two sons, Vladimir Netto, born in 1973 and a journalist, as well as Matheus Leitão, born in 1977 and also a journalist.

Since 1991 she works at Organizações Globo, first writing a column at the economy section of O Globo. In 1996, Leitão became the commentator on economics at Jornal Hoje together with Fátima Bernardes. After leaving Jornal Hoje, Leitão became Bom Dia Brasil's economics commentator, substituting Ana Paula Padrão. In 2003, she became the host of GloboNews' Espaço Aberto Economia, in place of Joelmir Beting.

Leitão was active in the student movement and was a member of the Communist Party of Brazil in the early 1970 decade, during the military dictatorship in Brazil. In 1972, she was imprisoned and tortured by military agents; Leitão was pregnant at the time.

On 30 April 2025, she was elected to occupy the Chair number 7 at the Brazilian Academy of Letters, in succession to Carlos Diegues.