He was born in São Paulo as the son of André de Blois Montoro and Tomásia Alijostes.

[2] Montoro is credited as being one of the key figures in the Diretas Já movement, along with Tancredo Neves and Ulysses Guimarães, which helped to bring about the return of direct elections to Brazil.

Montoro's government decentralized the state into 42 regions, leaving school meals to municipalities.

He built thousands of kilometers of country roads and expanded water and sewage networks, in addition to building (on average) one school a week during his tenure.

[3] In his government, he had the creation of the first secretariat for the environment and the first police station for the defense of women.