THE HUMAN RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN BRAZIL AND LATIN AMERICA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE STRUCTURING ROLE OF THE NATIONAL FUND FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (FNDE)
The human right to education is a fundamental pillar for building democratic and egalitarian societies committed to social justice. Recognized in various international instruments—such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), and the Protocol of San Salvador (1988)—this right obliges states to guarantee effective access to education, as well as retention, quality and equity. In Latin America, although most countries have incorporated these principles into their legal systems, deep territorial, social and economic inequalities persist, limiting their effective implementation.
Within this context, this Thematic Symposium aims to bring together research analyzing the human right to education from the perspective of public policy, educational financing, state management, and international cooperation, taking the Brazilian experience—and specifically the structuring role of the National Fund for Educational Development (FNDE)—as the central focus of analysis. Throughout its history, the FNDE has established itself as a key institution in implementing redistributive policies for basic education, coordinating programs covering school meals, student transportation, textbooks, infrastructure, technical assistance, and educational financing. Its work offers valuable elements for understanding the potential and limitations of state capacity to guarantee the right to education.
In addition, the Symposium seeks to promote comparative analyses between Brazil and other Latin American countries, making it possible to identify various institutional models, financing mechanisms, decentralization strategies, intergovernmental cooperation processes, and policies aimed at reducing educational inequalities. The objective is to understand how different institutional architectures respond to contemporary challenges related to the universalization of the right to education—particularly in contexts of fiscal austerity, demographic change, economic crises, climate change, migratory flows, and deepening social inequalities.
Submissions addressing topics such as human rights and education; educational financing and fiscal justice; federalism and intergovernmental relations; equity policies; school meals; school transportation; educational infrastructure; public policy evaluation; educational governance; international organizations and policy circulation; comparative law; democratic management; inclusion; diversity; sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals; as well as studies on programs implemented by the FNDE and by similar institutions in other Latin American countries, are welcome.
By fostering dialogue among researchers from various fields of knowledge and different national contexts, this Thematic Symposium aims to serve as a space for critical reflection on the contemporary challenges to realizing the human right to education in Latin America. It seeks to encourage the presentation of empirical research, comparative studies, documentary analyses, theoretical reviews, and accounts of experiences that contribute to broadening the debate on the role of public institutions, financing policies, and state capacities in building more democratic, inclusive, and socially just educational systems.
