The studies about governmentality offer an interesting framework to understand processes of government's behaviour linked to the power and subjectivity. Within the current stage of new governmental technology, empowerment acquires relevance regarding the constitution of subjective processes. As qualitative methods I analyze the significant differences which the actors of the probation program construct related to control and freedom. The results allow approaching an existing complex relation between both notions, obtaining different meanings according to the places they occupy in the relations of power. While the adolescents construct freedom in practices in everyday life, in contrast to the area of control; on the other hand the experts construct the meaning of freedom within a continued relationship of control dominated for active individual responsibility of last modernity ethos.
social control; empowerment; governmentality; probation; penal justice