During the course of his musical career, he grew in popularity starting in the 1990s for his work as a vocalist with the group Negritude Júnior.

[7] In the television programs that he hosted, he was depicted as a person that cares about people living in the peripheral areas of major cities.

Due to larger trends of systemic racism, they are disproportionally poorer and Black, and as such, are often the targets of discrimination and often lack opportunities to progress socioeconomically in life.

His efforts to combat these trends were shown on the program Domingo da Gente,[3] on the "Dia de Princesa" segment.

In these segments, he raises the self-esteem of girls who live in these areas with affirming attitudes and deeds, such as a beauty treatment, donating money, professional development courses, and so on.

[7] In November 2005, Netinho founded the station TV da Gente, in partnership with Angolan and Brazilian businesspeople.

[22] During the election, Netinho lost by a small margin for the second senatorial spot to Marta Suplicy, one of the favorites to win.

[22] With the death of Romeu Tuma at the end of the campaign, and an older assault case, allegedly against his ex-wife, coming to light, Netinho finished in third place.

[23] Netinho kept planning for his candidacy until 25 June 2012, when he ended his campaign and the PCdoB decided afterwards to support Fernando Haddad.

Garcia then requested an injunction from district attorney Marcelo Daneluzzi, who accused him of obtaining reimbursements from the Municipal Chamber showing receipts of ghost businesses.

According to him, the change in affiliation occurred due to a "lack of space" in the PCdoB and for the new party to assume the presidency of the municipal chamber.

[7] In 2022, a court in São Paulo had 162,900 reais seized from Netinho for having pressured a woman who appeared on Domingo da Gente to be her sister's kidney donor in 2001.

[33] In February 2005, Netinho was accused of assaulting his wife at the time, Sandra Mendes de Figueiredo, after a dispute.

[35][36] On 20 November 2005, during the award ceremony for the Troféu Raça Negra in São Paulo, Netinho punched comedian Rodrigo Scarpa [pt], from Pânico na TV,[37] after he asked a question with a double meaning.