Abstract
Public education played a major role in the legitimation of the political systems and the integration and modernization of the countries of Latin America. Public education systems in the region were all developed as part of the project of liberal states seeking to establish the foundations of the nation and citizenship. Efforts to democratize access to education have appeared at different moments throughout the history of Brazilian public schooling. In its educational policy efforts the Partido dos Trabalhadores (PT) claims that its municipal administration attempted to break from the tradition of a politics of grandiose campaigns, isolated pedagogic experimentalism, or formulaic solutions to the complex problems of public schooling. Given his pre-eminence and his close ties to the PT, Paulo Freire was the logical choice for Municipal Secretary of Education. The experience of the municipality of Sao Paulo with Paulo Freire as Secretary of Education is an illustration of how popular education can develop with a socialist orientation.