[4]: 194 Da Costa Gomez was, like John Horris Sprockel, a member of the Roman Catholic Party.

[5] Da Costa Gomez was president of the first Governing Council (Regeringsraad) at the head of a coalition government with the Aruban People's Party (AVP) from 1951 to 1954,[4]: 196  and is often referred to as the first Prime Minister of the Netherlands Antilles.

[6][7] His party negotiated full autonomy at the 1954 Roundtable Conference, involving the Netherlands and Suriname.

[5] Da Costa Gomez remained the leader of the National People's Party; he was succeeded in leadership by Juan Evertsz after his death in 1966.

[5] Da Costa Gomez's doctoral thesis called for self-government and universal suffrage and inspired his followers as well as the Roman Catholic Party.