Cury’s Rise Reshapes Strategies in Brazil’s 2026 Presidential Race

Augusto Cury’s rise in Brazil’s presidential race is forcing rival campaigns to adjust their strategies, according to single-source reporting by O Globo. The psychiatrist and writer reached 10% in a new Quaest poll released Wednesday, a result interpreted by campaigns as evidence that voters are opening to alternatives beyond President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro.

Lula, the leader of the center-left Workers’ Party (PT), led the first-round poll with 37%, while Flávio Bolsonaro, a member of the Liberal Party (PL) and son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, received 30%. Ronaldo Caiado and Romeu Zema each recorded 1%.

Cury’s New Momentum

Cury’s campaign viewed the poll as the first sign that he had reached voters who remain undecided or reject the country’s entrenched political polarization. His allies also argued that the result countered accusations that his recent growth had been artificially inflated.

O Globo reported that Cury gained 2.5 million Instagram followers in one week and saw his Quaest Digital Popularity Index rise from 37.8 to 54.5 on a scale of 0 to 100. His visibility increased after television appearances, endorsements from influencers—including Christian content creators—and support from former coach and political figure Pablo Marçal.

The campaign plans to refine Cury’s policy presentation in the coming days. His proposals received criticism after an interview on Jornal Nacional, Brazil’s most-watched evening news program. The campaign also intends to announce the people Cury would choose to lead ministries in a potential government, following a strategy already used by Flávio Bolsonaro and Caiado.

After the poll was released, Cury posted a video presenting himself as the candidate capable of helping Brazil “listen to itself, think and put the country above this endless war.” He said he did not want to become “another side” in the political conflict.

Rival Campaigns Respond

Caiado’s team plans to use the former Goiás governor’s television exposure to emphasize his record as a state administrator. The campaign will focus on policy, public-management experience and authority as ways to distinguish him from Cury. Caiado said voters were still getting to know the candidates and that he respected polling results.

“I am not a man who will learn to govern from the presidential chair,” Caiado said, referring to his experience governing Goiás.

Zema’s campaign intends to intensify its criticism of Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court (STF). It plans to focus on a Federal Police report concerning messages between banker Daniel Vorcaro and STF Justice Alexandre de Moraes. According to O Globo, the report showed Vorcaro appealing for help from authorities and asking how he could reverse his situation. Zema’s team says the issue strengthens the former Minas Gerais governor’s attacks on what he calls political and judicial “untouchables.”

Renan Santos, the leader of the Missão party, chose a more direct confrontation with Cury. In a video, Santos accused Cury of holding interests in Fictor, a group that attempted to buy Banco Master during the bank’s crisis, and questioned Cury’s links to influencers who had worked for Master. The claims were made by Santos and were not independently established in the report.

The latest poll has therefore changed the campaign’s immediate battlefield: experience for Caiado, judicial criticism for Zema and direct attacks for Santos, while Cury seeks to consolidate his position as an alternative to Brazil’s dominant political camps.