The physician and writer Augusto Cury emerged as a surprise in Brazilian electoral polls during a Band debate held on the night of August 23. During the debate, Cury was the champion of internet searches, drawing national attention. The following week, the BTG/Nexus and AtlasIntel/Bloomberg polls confirmed the trend, placing him ahead of all aspirants to the so-called "third way" in the electoral race.
According to the BTG/Nexus poll, Cury obtained 8% of voting intentions, while in the AtlasIntel/Bloomberg poll he scored 7.8%. In the stimulated poll, in which the interviewee receives a card with the candidates' names, the number rose to 11%, compared to only 2% recorded in the previous BTG poll. Although these numbers represent significant growth, the gap from the leaders remains large: Lula appears with 37% and Flávio Bolsonaro with 30% in the BTG poll.
The phenomenon also manifested on social media. In less than a week, Cury saw his follower base jump from 8.3 million to 10.5 million, which was highlighted as one of the largest follower increases on digital platforms in the world. The article was available exclusively to subscribers.
