Ricardo Rio

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Ricardo Bruno Antunes Machado Rio (born 21 November 1972 in Braga, Portugal) is a Portuguese economist and politician who serves as the mayor of Braga. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

Rio was first elected mayor in 2013 in coalition with the CDS – People's Party and the People's Monarchist Party, taking over from Mesquita Machado, who could not run due to term limits. He has held local government roles since 2001, including the Braga Municipal Assembly (2001–2005) and the Braga City Council (since 2005).

In April 2017, the PSD unanimously backed him as their mayoral candidate. One of his goals has been to turn Braga into a smart city. He won a second term with 53% of the votes in the coalition. In 2021, his coalition—now including the Alliance—won a third absolute majority in the city council, which he described as occurring in a very different political landscape with rival right-wing parties Chega and the Liberal Initiative.

He has served as deputy mayor under Firmino Marques (2013–2021) and, since 2021, under Sameiro Araújo. Rio studied economics at the University of Porto and has three children.