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Camilo Santana
Current politicianBrazil

Camilo Santana

Senator for Ceará (since February 2023, back in the seat since April 2026) and chair of the Senate Education Committee (since July 2026) · Workers' Party (PT)

Camilo Santana is a Workers' Party senator from Ceará and former education minister who returned to the Senate in April 2026 and now chairs its Education Committee.

Positions as of 30 October 2026
Profile on 12 axes6 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign

Positions are taken from public statements, voting records and platforms as of 30 October 2026, and may have changed since. Report an inaccuracy.

Where they stand

The 12 axes, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership-20
    PublicPrivate

    He expanded federal institutes and public school construction. No view on state companies was documented, so the score is mild.

  2. 02Markets-30
    PlannedFree

    He said he wanted education taken out of the fiscal framework and defended a larger federal education budget. The score leans toward planning, on a thin basis.

  3. 03Welfare-55
    SharedSelf-reliant

    Pé-de-Meia, a scholarship that pays high-school students to stay in school, was one of his flagship programs, and he argues that education spending is an investment. That puts him clearly toward shared provision.

  4. 04Authority-20
    DemocraticStrong leader

    He stresses cross-party dialogue in the Senate. No direct record on checks and balances was found, so the score is mild and uncertain.

  5. 05SecurityNo clear record
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+15
    LocalCentral

    As minister he tied the federal relief of state debt (Propag) to state investment in technical education. That is a modest tilt toward central steering.

  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious
  9. 09Technology+20
    EmbraceCaution

    He backed a national ban on phones in classrooms, a cautious stance on one technology, while also backing wider school connectivity. The score is mildly cautious.

  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11TradeNo clear record
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policyNo clear record
    CooperationStrength

6 axes have no clear record: no documented statement, vote or platform places Camilo Santana there, so matching leaves them out.

Who is Camilo Santana?

Camilo Santana is an agronomist from Crato, Ceará. He served as state deputy and Secretary of Agrarian Development before governing Ceará for two consecutive terms, from 2015 to 2022. He won a Senate seat in 2022, took leave to become Lula's Minister of Education, and left the ministry in April 2026 to return to the Senate. He did not stand in the October 2026 elections, since his Senate seat dates from 2022. In July 2026 his colleagues elected him chair of the Education Committee.

Previously: Minister of Education (2023 to April 2026) · Governor of Ceará (2015-2022) · State deputy in Ceará · Secretary of Agrarian Development of Ceará · Agronomist

Documented positions

  • Full-time enrolment in basic education rose from about 15 percent when the government started to 25.6 percent by the end of 2025, he said, and high-school dropouts fell from 480,000 to 270,000.Source: itatiaia.com.br
  • He backed Pé-de-Meia, the scholarship for high-school students, as a way to cut dropout, and said an evaluation of its effect on enrolment was being prepared in April 2025.Source: poder360.com.br
  • He says education is not an expense but an investment, and that he argued for taking it out of the fiscal framework.Source: fpabramo.org.br
  • He tied the interest relief on state debts (Propag) to state investment in technical education, and changed Fundeb weights to encourage full-time schools.Source: fpabramo.org.br
  • In October 2024 he called for a single national law banning phones in schools, using bill PL 104/2015.Source: correiobraziliense.com.br
  • He said repeatedly that he would not run for governor of Ceará in 2026 and that Elmano de Freitas would be the candidate for re-election.Source: opovo.com.br
  • Elected chair of the Senate Education Committee on 8 July 2026, he said education is a cross-party issue.Source: www12.senado.leg.br

Record

At the Ministry of Education he said the budget grew from 2022 to over R$ 60 billion, and he reported that Congress cut almost R$ 3 billion from the ministry's 2025 budget, which was later partly restored. He also said work resumed on more than 5,000 unfinished school and daycare projects. Supporters credit him with the rise in full-time schooling, the Pé-de-Meia scholarship and the school phone restrictions that took effect in 2025. Criticism of the education record from opponents was not found in the sources reviewed.

In their words

“Educação, para mim, é um princípio de vida.”
Remarks on being elected chair of the Senate Education Committee, 8 July 2026

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Camilo Santana: questions

Is Camilo Santana still education minister?

No. He left the Ministry of Education in April 2026 and returned to his Senate seat. In July 2026 he was elected chair of the Senate Education Committee.

Was Camilo Santana on the ballot in October 2026?

No. His Senate term comes from the 2022 election, and he said he would not run for governor of Ceará, leaving that race to Elmano de Freitas.

What is Pé-de-Meia?

A federal scholarship program that pays high-school students to stay enrolled and attend classes, which Camilo Santana defended as a way to reduce dropout.

Sources

12axes-test.com is not affiliated with any politician or party. A profile summarises documented positions; it is not an endorsement.

Portrait: Camilo Santana em 2023 (cropped).jpg by Agência Senado, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and converted to grayscale by 12axes-test.com.