The article analyzes the double face of popular education in its relation with social movements in Latin America, functioning both as subsidiary and as their promoter. In this sense, one can say that popular education is the pedagogical expression of social movements and, as such, is an ally in the struggle for political and civil rights. At the same time, popular education, as a pedagogical process, fulfils a formative and directive role within society and for the very social movements. In this article, emphasis is placed on analysis of the changes in the relation between popular education and social movements, especially after 1990, when new forms of regulation and control are developed. Two related themes are highlighted in this study: the territories of resistance and their respective pedagogies, and the quest for new forms of governance and their implications for popular education.
popular education; social movements; Paulo Freire; Latin America