[5] Cabral became governor at a time of uncertain economic prospects and serious security challenges in his state of Rio de Janeiro.

During the election campaign for governor in 2006, he had praised the "zero tolerance" security model touted by New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and pledged to root out police corruption and improve services in Rio's favelas.

The magazine Brasil de Fato described him in 2007 as a political figure who " relentlessly justifies police violence in poor areas of the city.

"[9] In healthcare, Cabral launched a mobile health unit that travels around the state giving free tests to the public in local areas.

These measures led Rio de Janeiro to become the first Brazilian state to be ranked as "investment grade", by the world's most important risk rating agency, Standard & Poor's.

At the time, the agency announced that "the strong management that has prevailed in the State over the past three years" and the fact that the state was "backed by a strong and diverse economy with an estimated GDP per capita of around 25% above the average in Brazil" made it achieve a global rating of "BBB−" and a "brAAA" credit rating on national scale.

On September 14, 2009, Sérgio Cabral received the Légion d'honneur (National Order of the Legion of Honor), the highest award of the French government.

According to the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper, he was implicated in Operation Car Wash by Benedicto Barbosa da Silva Júnior, the companies' director.

[17] On July 3, 2018, within the scope of the Carwash probe; failed Brazilian businessman Eike Batista was convicted of bribing Cabral for state government contracts, paying him US$16.6 million.