In 1963, he became chief of staff in the Ministry of Education, but exiled himself after the military took power in the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état.

Sousa died on August 9, 1997, following complications after contracting HIV and Hepatitis C through a blood transfusion.

There are thousands of projects big and small working online around the world that prove that the Internet can be, and is being, used as a powerful tool for development and social justice."

In 2003 and 2005 the Betinho Prize is offered in recognition of outstanding examples of ICT use specifically based in Latin America and the Caribbean.

In a 1994 article, for example, Betinho anticipated one of the main trends of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil: its pauperisation.