Santos was a recipient of the Vautrin Lud Prize, often seen as geography's equivalent of the Nobel Prize,[2] and a posthumous recipient of the Anísio Teixeira Award [pt], given every five years by CAPES (the Brazilian agency for the improvement of higher education personnel) to distinguished contributors to research and development in the country.

Santos taught geography and math to fellow high-school students in order to finance his pre-law in Salvador.

Prior to being exiled by the Brazilian military dictatorship, he was forbidden to leave the country and could do so only after a negotiation between the French ambassador and the government[citation needed].

He lived in Bordeaux and Toulouse, where he met geography student Hélène, who was to become his second wife and give birth to son Rafael.

His works became a reference for those interested in understanding geography from a critical point of view (if not necessarily in a negative light), especially by applying concepts of the Frankfurt School.

[4][7][8] Santos died in São Paulo, on June 24, 2001, at age 75,[9] as a result of prostate cancer diagnosed about seven years earlier.