Neves was born on the island of Santiago in 1960. He became interested in the politics of Cape Verde as a teenager and was the leader of a nationalist youth organization during the country's transition from Portuguese rule to independence and democracy in 1975. Part of his higher education was at the São Paulo School of Business Administration of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation in Brazil.Lobban Jr and Khalil Saucier 2007, p. 167.
