Education globally has become increasingly political. As the promises of capitalism have failed a majority of the most marginalized people, groups have organized to promote decolonizing education projects. Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST) has spent the past 30 years waging ideological warfare against the capitalist, urban-centric elite that has controlled Brazil’s socio-economic landscape. This thesis first reflects on Brazil’s 500-year land tenure history, which emphasizes the longevity of hegemonic control by the wealthy elite. It then examines the formation of the MST, a social movement that promotes rural life and opportunity to the landless peasants in Brazil’s countryside. It then examines other movements that have prioritized education and the exchange of knowledge that exists outside the dominant discourse. This paper concludes with the MST’s emphasis on education, and research conducted in Rio Grande do Sul specific to education and their efforts to continue inspiring the youngest generations of the movement. The implications are broad as more indigenous and subaltern groups seek knowledge outside the dominant discourse that perpetuates their oppression.
