Augusto Cury, Brazil’s Surprise Candidate: Polls and Wealth
Updated 2 times · Latest: 16 October 2026
Key Facts · In short · 16 October 2026
- —Who he is Augusto Jorge Cury, 68, is a psychiatrist and one of Brazil’s best-selling self-help authors, born in Colina, São Paulo state, on 2 October 1958.
- —2026 result He ran for president for the small Avante party in his first election and finished third on 4 October with 3,448,569 votes, or 2.89% of valid votes.
- —Latest On 8 October he endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro for the 25 October runoff against President Lula, but said he will not join a government.
- —Known for He is known for his “Multifocal Intelligence” theory, more than 70 books and a platform of education, mental health and “pacification”.
- —Prediction markets Polymarket puts Flávio Bolsonaro’s chance of winning at 79% and Kalshi at 79% (Lula: 22% and 22%), as of 22 October, 6:40 am ET; prices are bets, not polls.
Runoff · Sunday, 25 October
Brazil Runoff 2026: Lula vs Flávio
Date, polls, debates, odds and how the runoff works, updated every day.
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Prediction markets · who wins the runoff
Implied chance of winning Brazil’s presidency on 25 October, from traders’ prices.
Polymarket
Flávio Bolsonaro 78.6% · Lula 21.5% (US$191 million traded)
Kalshi (regulated in the US by the CFTC)
Flávio Bolsonaro 79% · Lula 22%
As of 22 October, 6:40 am ET (11:40 Lisbon), updated every 20 minutes. Prices are bets, not polls, and can move fast.
Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.
Augusto Cury, 68, is a Brazilian psychiatrist and best-selling author who ran for president in 2026 for the Avante party and finished third with 2.89% of the vote. On 8 October he endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro for the runoff on Sunday, 25 October, against President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
This profile covers who he is, how his campaign rose and fell, and why his 3.4 million voters matter in the runoff. It is updated as the campaign develops, and our Brazil runoff guide covers the full race.
Who Is Augusto Cury?
Augusto Jorge Cury was born on 2 October 1958 in Colina, a small town in the interior of São Paulo state. He graduated in medicine at the regional medical school of São José do Rio Preto and specialised in psychiatry.
He developed what he calls the Theory of Multifocal Intelligence, a framework about how thoughts are built and emotions managed, and turned it into more than 70 books. His novel O Vendedor de Sonhos (The Dream Seller) became a film in 2016.
Career and Positions
The 2026 Candidacy
Cury joined the small Avante party in 2026 and was formally nominated at its national convention on 3 August in São Paulo. It was his first election.
Avante ran in a coalition called Brasil dos Nossos Sonhos with the party Agir, and his running mate was Júlio Delgado, a former federal deputy from Minas Gerais. His platform mixed education built on critical thinking, mental-health policy and fiscal balance with a proposed shift toward semi-presidentialism, a system in which a president shares power with a prime minister.
The Surge and the Result
Cury’s support was 1.6% in late July in an AtlasIntel poll, then jumped in August after the first televised debate, on 23 August, which Lula, Flávio Bolsonaro and Romeu Zema skipped. Late-August polls put him at 7.8% (AtlasIntel) and 11% (BTG Pactual/Nexus and Real Time Big Data).
The surge did not last, and on 4 October he finished third with 3,448,569 votes, or 2.89% of valid votes, according to the Superior Electoral Court (TSE). Flávio Bolsonaro won 47.03% and Lula 45.16%, so the two went to the runoff.
Key Controversies and Rulings
Critics questioned his lack of public experience and the academic grounding of his Multifocal Intelligence theory, which specialists have debated. Cury answered that he would form a government of notables, with governors, technical names and politicians without a corruption record.
He declared assets of about R$242 million (about US$48 million at R$5.01 per dollar) to the electoral court, the most of any candidate on the first-round ballot. Most of it is a R$121 million loan to his own company, plus company stakes and shares, InfoMoney reported, and the exchange rate is the Central Bank of Brazil rate for 13 October 2026.
What Augusto Cury Said and Did Recently
On 8 October Cury announced he would back Flávio Bolsonaro in the runoff after a conversation with him and after Flávio signed a public commitment to proposals Cury defended in the campaign. The commitment lists eight points, including ending presidential re-election, expanding telemedicine, protecting women, valuing teachers, financing micro-enterprises and “national pacification”.
Cury said his support “is not a blank check” and that he will not take part in a government. A poll by the firm Quaest found that 34% of Cury’s voters planned to vote for Lula in the runoff and 30% for Flávio Bolsonaro.
Why Augusto Cury Matters for Brazil
Flávio Bolsonaro led Lula by 1.87 percentage points in the first round, so the 7.81% of valid votes won by the other candidates could decide the runoff. Cury’s 2.89% was the largest slice among them.
For US readers, the runoff decides who leads Latin America’s largest economy and a major supplier of oil, iron ore and soy to world markets. Cury’s endorsement and the way his voters split are early signals of where voters who backed neither finalist may land.
What to Watch
Watch the runoff polls for any move among former Cury voters, who were split between the two finalists in the Quaest survey. Watch also whether Flávio Bolsonaro keeps the commitments he signed and how Cury responds if he does not.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Augusto Cury?
Augusto Cury is a 68-year-old Brazilian psychiatrist and best-selling author, born in Colina, São Paulo. He ran for president in 2026 for the Avante party and finished third with 2.89% of valid votes.
What party is Augusto Cury in?
He ran for the Avante party, ballot number 70, in a coalition with the party Agir. His running mate was former federal deputy Júlio Delgado.
Did Augusto Cury make the runoff?
No. He finished third on 4 October 2026 with 3,448,569 votes, or 2.89%, while Flávio Bolsonaro and President Lula advanced to the runoff on 25 October.
Who does Augusto Cury support in the runoff?
On 8 October he endorsed Flávio Bolsonaro after Flávio signed a public commitment to eight proposals. Cury said the support is not a blank check and that he will not join a government.
How old is Augusto Cury?
He is 68. Augusto Jorge Cury was born on 2 October 1958 in Colina, São Paulo state.
How rich is Augusto Cury?
He declared about R$242 million (about US$48 million) in assets to the electoral court, the most of any candidate on the first-round ballot. Most of it is a loan to his own company, plus company stakes and shares.
Sources: Superior Electoral Court (TSE) first-round results, 5 October 2026; Jornal do Comércio on the Quaest poll (October 2026); DGABC and O Povo on the 8 October endorsement; AtlasIntel, BTG Pactual/Nexus and Real Time Big Data polls (August 2026); Central Bank of Brazil PTAX rate, 13 October 2026.
Follow the numbers in our runoff poll tracker, the live election results page and our analysis of the Cury surge.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief