Abstract

The development of this paper is presented in two moments. In the first, the analysis of the literacy method of master Paulo Freire is made. However, he ceases to be approached as a simple set of reading and writing techniques to highlight the “anthropological, ethical and political proposal to rescue the ontological vocation of men and women, which, among others, materializes in the right to read world. In the second, the focus is on the relationships between Freire's pedagogical thinking and the theory of Brazilian nationalism-developmentalism developed within the ISEB in the period between 1959 and 1964. The central argument is that Paulo Freire's position is opposed to that of the elites, to the closed society and identified with the nuances of conservative populism that massifies, fanatizes and prevents the simple men from being participants and agents of the transformation process that they consider fundamental; the education proposed was essentially transformative and liberating. Throughout the development of the text, the importance of Paulo Freire and the reasons for occupying this prominent place in the history of Brazilian and world education are always emphasized.