The popular struggles that have been unleashed in Brazil from the 1960s until today can be characterized by two major paradigms: "liberation" and "hegemony". "Liberation" was the dominant theme throughout the 1960s and 1970s. "Hegemony" was the word of order throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The first, represented primarily by Paulo Freire, and the second, associated fundamentally with Antonio Gramsci, became inseparably linked in the designing of an alternative project for society. This article presents a critical analysis of their meanings on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of Freire's death and the 70th since Gramsci's passing. The following text, in addition to perusing the meanings, differences and interconnections between "liberation" and "hegemony" in their historical context, presents a reinterpretation of the two paradigms in the face of the political and cultural changes that are currently underway in Brazil and Latin America.
Paulo Freire; Antonio Gramsci; liberation; hegemony; politics