Augusto Cury Surges in Brazil Presidential Polls

Brazilian psychiatrist and best-selling author Augusto Cury has emerged as an unexpected contender in the country’s 2026 presidential election, gaining sharply in opinion polls and challenging a race largely dominated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Senator Flavio Bolsonaro.

Cury, 67, has benefited from recent television appearances and a substantial social media following ahead of Brazil’s October election. Polling released Monday showed him in third place in first-round scenarios.

A Nexus survey commissioned by BTG Pactual put Cury at 11% support, up significantly from 2%. An AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll showed him at 7.8%, compared with just 1.6% previously.

The surge introduces a new element into a contest centered on Lula and Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Cury is campaigning as an alternative for Brazilians frustrated with the country’s long-running political divide.

“Millions of Brazilians are discovering that there’s life beyond polarization,” Cury wrote on social media Monday.

Running for the little-known Avante Party under the slogan “Centered on what matters,” Cury has avoided identifying himself with either the political left or right. However, analysts caution that his momentum may not last, particularly because opposition support remains fragmented.

The Nexus poll showed Lula leading Bolsonaro 39% to 33%, while AtlasIntel placed the president at 43.4% against Bolsonaro’s 33.7%. Brazil requires a candidate to receive more than 50% of valid first-round votes to avoid a runoff.

Eurasia Group said an alternative conservative candidate would likely need to reach around 15% by mid-September, while Bolsonaro falls toward 25%, to seriously threaten his position.

Cury enters politics without previous elected-office experience but has spent decades building a national profile as a physician, author and speaker specializing in psychology and emotional well-being. He claims to have sold 42 million books across more than 70 countries, although Reuters could not independently verify the figure.

His digital presence could strengthen his outsider campaign. Cury has 10.7 million Instagram followers, close to Bolsonaro’s 11.4 million and below Lula’s 14.9 million.

Presenting himself as both socially conscious and business-minded, Cury recently summarized his political outlook by saying: “My mind is capitalist, my heart is social.”