The purpose of this study is to dicuss the autonomy and financing process of the Federal Higher Education Institutions (IFES) in recent years, especially in the period 1995-2006, which comprises Fernando Henrique Cardoso's two governments and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's first government. It analyzes the origins of the IFES financing, the paths followed by the proposals to define the autonomy of the institutions, the limits imposed by social inequality on the expansion of the private sector, the financing sources of higher education, the existing challenges in this field, and the possible actions to be implemented in this important set of institutions that play a fundamental role in correcting Brazilian regional inequalities.
Autonomy; Financing; Higher education; Expansion; Social inequality
