The promulgation of the new Constitution and of the new "Lei de Diretrizes e Bases da Educação Nacional" (Brazilian Education Basic Tenets Law) allowed the establishment of City Teaching Systems. The legislation also provided that local councils could either create their own system, make up one system with the Federal Government or keep integrated to their State teaching system. The present study explores the establishment of teaching systems in nine cities in the State of Minas Gerais. Together with questionnaires and interviews, the analyses of documents show that the establishment of city teaching systems represented an option for local councils to assume autonomy and opened up possibilities for a greater social participation in the local political decisions. A study on this reality needs to take into consideration the federative pact, the regional inequalities, and the international relations. Brazil needs to consolidate its system but, at the same time, it is under pressure to decentralize, flexibilize and expand private schooling. Permanent issues are: the federative issue, the disputes for decentralization, autonomy, and the distribution of skills and responsibilities among the States.
Teaching system; Educational policies; Decentralization, autonomy and democratization