Far-right activist Renan Santos, the fourth most-voted candidate in the first round of Brazil's presidential election, announced on Thursday that he will not back either incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the October 25 runoff. The former candidate of the Mission party stated that he will not vote and will not advise his followers on a choice between the incumbent president and the opposition senator.
"I am not going to vote. Last time I asked for a null vote. This time what I am recommending is that people vote for whomever they want," he said in an interview with the UOL channel. The leader obtained 2.24% of the votes in the first round. The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro led that vote with 47.03%, while Lula reached 45.16%.
The first polls for the second round place the senator at 46% of voting intention and Lula at 44%.
Santos argued that he considers Bolsonaro a "greater danger" due to the concentration of power that, in his view, he could achieve with the backing of a legislative majority. Despite that assessment, he ruled out supporting Lula. "Either I build my own political camp or I leave politics," he said. The candidate linked that decision to his intention to preserve the autonomy of his space and prevent his party from being identified with other alliances.
The founder of Free Brazil Movement (MBL) stated that both contenders concentrate risks of power accumulation. However, he…
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Renan Santos, the former presidential candidate and leader of the Mission Party, attends a meeting with representatives of trade and service entities during the Brazilian presidential campaign, in Brasilia, Brazil, on August 18, 2026 (REUTERS/Adriano Machado)Far-right activist Renan Santos, the fourth most-voted candidate in Brazil's first round of the presidential election, announced on Thursday that he will not back either incumbent president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva or Senator Flávio Bolsonaro in the October 25 runoff. The former Mission Party candidate said he will not vote and will not advise his followers on a choice between the incumbent president and the opposition senator.
"I am not going to vote. Last time I called for a null vote. This time what I am recommending is that people vote for whomever they want," he said in an interview with UOL. The leader obtained 2.24% of the votes in the first round. The son of former president Jair Bolsonaro led that vote with 47.03%, while Lula reached 45.16%. The first polls for the second round place the senator at 46% of voting intention and Lula at 44%.
Santos argued that he considers Bolsonaro a "greater danger" because of the concentration of power that, in his view, he could achieve with the backing of a legislative majority. Despite that assessment, he ruled out supporting Lula. "Either I create my own political camp or I leave politics," he said. The candidate linked that decision to his intention to preserve the autonomy of his space and prevent his party from being identified with other alliances.
The founder of Free Brazil Movement (MBL) said that both contenders pose risks of power accumulation. However, he noted that the legislator would have greater possibilities of expanding his influence due to the support obtained by conservative sectors in Congress.
Brazilian presidential candidate Renan Santos speaks during a presidential debate ahead of the national primary elections in São Paulo, Brazil, on August 23, 2026 (REUTERS/Jean Carniel)
After contesting the first round with only the backing of his own party, Flávio Bolsonaro brought together a large part of the right-wing and center-right parties for the runoff. Lula, for his part, added to his alliance the minority left-wing parties that fielded their own candidates in the first round.
Writer and psychiatrist Augusto Cury, who finished third in the first round of the presidential election, announced last week his backing of the senator for the runoff, after a video call lasting more than an hour with the candidate. Cury obtained 3,448,569 votes, equivalent to 2.89% of the valid votes. After remaining silent in the days following the election, he communicated his decision through a press release issued by his team.
"I had a long conversation with Flávio, face to face, without filters or beating around the bush. I told him clearly that I would not participate in his government and that my independence of judgment would be non-negotiable," Cury said in the statement. The contact between the two began with a video call conversation on the morning of Thursday, October 8. The author asked Bolsonaro to publicly assume certain commitments as a condition for his support, a demand the candidate accepted in a signed letter.
Brazilian former presidential candidate Augusto Cury, of the Avante party, speaks at an electoral campaign event in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on September 7, 2026 (REUTERS/Tita Barros)
The writer's endorsement adds to those of former president Michel Temer, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), and former presidential candidates Romeu Zema, of Novo, and Ronaldo Caiado, of the Social Democratic Party (PSD). Both were governors of Minas Gerais and Goiás, respectively.
Lula has so far not secured the support of any of the main candidates eliminated in the first round and is seeking to expand his backing beyond the forces already part of his coalition.
(With information from EFE)