Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Augusto Cury, writer, businessman and political newcomer, presents himself as an alternative to the polarization between Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro. His spectacular growth on social networks - in one week he went from electoral anonymity to 11% of voting intention for the October presidential elections - is surrounded by suspicions of manipulation, something that Cury denies. What options do you have for October?

First modification: 09/04/2026 - 00:54Last modification: 09/04/2026 - 00:57

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There is something paradoxical about the rise of Augusto Cury, 67, in the Brazilian presidential race. This candidate, who presents himself as the man capable of pacifying a politically sick country, has become in a matter of days one of the most controversial phenomena of the 2026 elections in Brazil.

Psychiatrist, writer of personal development books, lecturer and businessman, Cury had never held elected office. Until a few weeks ago he was practically unknown to the general public. He now appears third in some polls, behind President Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, son of convicted former president Jair Bolsonaro.

His projection has been dizzying. In the BTG/Nexus survey, released on August 31, Cury went from 2% to 11% in voting intentions in just one week. In the AtlasIntel/Bloomberg survey it also advanced strongly: from 1.6% to 7.8%.

This psychiatrist tries to position himself as the Brazilian third way. The question that analysts and journalists are now asking is how someone with no political experience could grow so quickly.

Read alsoBrazil prepares for the polls: how is the campaign moving?

Who is Augusto Cury?

The answer begins long before Cury entered politics. His name was already known by millions of people for his career as a psychiatrist, consolidated for decades around books, conferences and courses on emotions, anxiety, human relationships and personal development.

Cury says he has published more than 70 titles, such as 'The Dream Seller' and 'Anxiety: How to Face the Evil of the Century'. The candidate also claims that he has sold some 42 million volumes in nearly 70 countries, a figure that the Reuters agency could not verify.

One of the peculiarities of this candidacy is that Cury does not need to build national recognition from scratch. For more than 20 years, he has been a well-known figure on television shows and business events. Before asking for votes, Cury had already created an audience and built a considerable fortune.

The now presidential candidate declared before the Electoral Justice the greatest assets among the candidates: 242.3 million reais (about 44 million dollars). Cury attributes his wealth to his business, publishing, investments, and education-related businesses.

From debate on TV to digital phenomenon

His rise to fame came after the first televised presidential debate of the campaign, held on the 'TV Band' on August 23.

Only three of the six invited candidates attended. The two favorites, Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, and Romeu Zema, former governor of the state of Minas Gerais, decided not to confront each other. Cury took advantage of this atypical situation to play a role that he would repeat in interviews and on social networks: that of the calm candidate who tries to position himself above the fight between right and left.

The contrast was particularly evident against Renan Santos, an anti-establishment candidate who uses more aggressive language against Lula and against traditional politics. In one of the most talked-about moments of the debate, Cury reproached him for his tone: “You have a level of aggressiveness that amazes me.” This phrase became his calling card. Cury chose not to be the candidate who was going to shout the loudest, but rather the one who tried to restore balance to a discussion dominated by confrontations between Luluism and Bolsonarism.

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But the debate had another consequence. Searches for Cury began to skyrocket on Google, and then his social media exploded. Between August 16 and 29, he gained almost 2.5 million followers on Instagram, according to the Instituto Democracia em Xeque. In a single day it reached 1.2 million. The comparison with his rivals is striking: during that same period, Flávio Bolsonaro added around 280,000 followers, Renan Santos around 158,000 and Lula around 100,000. Cury surpassed 10 million followers on Instagram, approaching Flávio Bolsonaro's numbers and becoming one of the Brazilian politicians with the largest digital audience.

Read also "Arrest or kill”: Renan Santos, the anti-system candidate who confronts Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro

A spontaneous phenomenon?

His spectacular growth on social media has raised suspicions among his adversaries and social media analysts. A study published by the magazine 'Veja' found a series of anomalies. Cury added 1.6 million followers in 24 hours and 2.4 million in 72 hours. According to the report, the curve is compatible with possible irregularities in the acquisition of followers and points to atypical patterns in comments. However, these signs do not in themselves constitute proof of purchasing followers or using 'bots'.

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Cury's campaign denies wrongdoing. His explanation is much simpler: millions of Brazilians, tired of polarization, would have suddenly found an alternative.

“It has been a totally silent revolution,” says Cury to explain the phenomenon.

The 'Veja' investigation suggests, however, that there are also indications of coordinated action by influencers. Brazilian electoral legislation prohibits paying people or companies to carry out electoral propaganda on the internet, although it does allow spontaneous demonstrations of support.

The Pablo Marçal factor

At the center of this digital explosion appears another well-known figure from the Brazilian elections: Pablo Marçal. Businessman, influencer and former coach, Marçal was one of the great phenomena of the networks in the 2024 municipal elections. His figure is associated with an incident during an electoral debate, when another candidate attacked him with a chair because he considered that he was being unfairly accused of sexual harassment.

Subsequently, Marçal ran as a presidential candidate, but was politically disqualified after a conviction for misuse of the media and abuse of political and economic power during his campaign for mayor of São Paulo in 2024. The Electoral Justice considered illegal his strategy of encouraging collaborators and followers to spread fragments of their videos on social networks in exchange for financial remuneration, prizes and raffles.

However, its influence among young people and social media users remains considerable. True to his provocative style, this year Marçal registered his candidacy for the Presidency before the Superior Electoral Court and is now trying to maintain a certain prominence despite the fact that Justice has not recognized his candidacy.

Marçal supported Cury in a live broadcast shortly before the Band debate. According to several analysts, it helped connect the writer with a broader digital audience.

Center or third way (from the right)?

Cury defines himself as a centrist candidate. He sums up his strategy as “a capitalist mind and a heart that cares for the helpless.” His speech mixes contradictory elements. He wants to reduce the size of the state, but proposes new government structures, such as a ministry dedicated to artificial intelligence. He criticizes the polarization of the right, but some of his proposals on public security and the economy find echo among conservative voters.

Political scientist Jorge Chaloub, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, describes Cury as a figure located in the right-wing camp, but capable of maintaining a certain ideological ambiguity. His pacification speech and self-help style allow him to occupy a space that other centrist candidates were unable to reach.

Christian and technology lover

Cury began his interview with the 'Jornal Nacional' on August 29 in an unusual way. He dedicated his first words to Jesus Christ, whom he described as someone who had influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi and Martin Luther King.

“I really appreciate the fact that he also inspired me,” he said. The psychiatrist, who was an atheist, became a “Christian without borders” after studying the personality of Jesus from psychology. That history connects him with Brazil's powerful Christian electorate.

On the other hand, it defends the use of technology to solve historical problems of Brazilian society, such as access to healthcare. He proposed that 80% of SUS consultations, the Brazilian public system, be carried out with telemedicine. Asked about the feasibility of implementing this change, he could not answer how he would carry it out. He also suggested combating domestic violence through a mobile phone application connected to drones capable of going to a woman who activates an emergency signal. The idea was ridiculed on social networks.

Cury is also listed for demonstrating ignorance about public debt. He stated that each Brazilian child is born owing at least 50,000 reais ($9,700), but more than one expert questioned this calculation of dividing the total amount of debt by the number of inhabitants of Brazil, something considered a superficial reading of macroeconomic dynamics. His proposal to reduce freely appointed positions and ministries to try to balance public accounts also generated perplexity.

Read alsoBrazil's electoral spoils: how is the evangelical vote being disputed heading into the elections?

The temptation to be an 'outsider'

Augusto Cury is a political novice, but an expert at building an audience. Thanks to his work as a writer and speaker, he already had something that many candidates take years to build: a personal brand. Television and social media exposure has done the rest. Now his campaign is trying to occupy a very specific space: that of the voter who rejects both Lula and Flávio Bolsonaro, who is tired of insults and political confrontations and who, at the same time, does not necessarily want a traditional centrist candidate.

This formula includes spirituality, self-help, entrepreneurship, technology, business discourse and the promise of a less aggressive policy. The big question is whether this cocktail can be transformed into a competitive presidential candidacy or whether it is a digital bubble. For now, this psychiatrist has come to politics saying that Brazil needs to take care of its emotions and has already achieved something that seemed unlikely just a few weeks ago: becoming one of the main novelties of an election dominated by Lula and Bolsonaro.

Read alsoThe rivalry between the US and China plans on Brazil's electoral pre-campaign

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