NEOLIBERALISM AND CAPITAL’S STRATEGIES IN THE APPROPRIATION OF THE PUBLIC EDUCATION FUND IN MATO GROSSO

ABSTRACT

This article aims to analyze how the interactions between capital and the government of the state of Mato Grosso, beginning in 2018, have driven processes of privatization in the state’s public education system. Although not an unprecedented phenomenon in the region, these dynamics have notably intensified from 2020 onward, supported by various justifications. The research is based on a documentary analysis of data extracted from the Transparency Portal of the State Department of Education (Seduc-MT), the State Official Gazette, and the Public Education Budget Information System (SIOPE). Through the lens of categories such as neoliberalism and privatization, grounded in critical educational policy scholarship, the study reveals transformations in Mato Grosso’s educational policy. It identifies the replacement of normative frameworks from the 1990s by a multifaceted set of programs, projects, and inputs from the private sector. These changes indicate the capture of public funds by capital, the threat to public schooling as a common good, and the privatization of teaching labor.

Keywords
Privatization; Public funds; Educational governance; Teaching labor; State of Mato Grosso