Fapesp: Campos had a "remarkable performance" as Minister of Science and Technology.

FAPESP Agency – Eduardo Campos, the presidential candidate for the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB), who died on Wednesday (August 13) in a plane crash in Santos (SP), played an important role in national science policy as Minister of Science and Technology.

Campos was head of the then MCT – which in 2011 became the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) – from January 2004 to July 2005, during the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

During Campos's tenure, the ministry underwent a reworking of its strategic plan, with revisions to the Brazilian space program and the national nuclear program. Important regulatory frameworks for Brazil's science policy were also created.

The then-minister advocated for the approval of the Biosafety Law, enacted on March 24, 2005, which increased research possibilities in the field by authorizing and regulating the use of human embryonic stem cells and permitting the planting and commercialization of genetically modified organisms.

The law enabled farmers across the country to access genetically modified soybean seeds developed by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the private sector, resulting in increased productivity and income.

Campos's actions were also important in the unanimous approval by the National Congress of the Technological Innovation Law, a milestone for companies, universities, and research institutions.

The Innovation Law guarantees authorizations for the incubation of companies in the public sector and the possibility of sharing public and private infrastructure, equipment, and human resources for technological development and the generation of innovative processes and products. The regulation also established rules for public researchers to develop applied studies and technological advancements.

Campos also participated in the creation of the Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools, considered the largest competition in the field in the world in terms of the number of participants.

The minister was at FAPESP in 2004 for the launch ceremony of that year's Conrado Wessel Prize. In an interview with Agência FAPESP in 2005, before leaving the ministry, he gave an assessment of his work at the head of the MCT.

"Increasing dialogue with partners, obtaining important regulatory milestones with the help of the National Congress, and advancing in the construction of a large strategic plan (...). I have the feeling that we did almost the impossible. If the year (2004) had a few more days, we would have done more," he assessed.

The candidate was an economist and governed the state of Pernambuco for two terms, being elected in 2006 and 2010. Born in the Pernambuco capital in 1965, he died at the age of 49, leaving behind a wife and five children.