This article argues that the strains of educational thought that became the basis for the educational reform projects of the Vargas era were founded upon eugenic theories of the period. These theories defined and proposed solutions to the supposed degeneracy of poor and nonwhite Brazilians. This strain of thought served as an incentive for the expansion of educational programs, at the same time as it made the social mobility of afrodescendants and members of the popular classes more difficult.
race; education; eugenics