The Paraná model: militarization, platformization, and hypotheses regarding a neo-fascist project for education

Abstract

The present study analyzes the Paraná model of basic education implemented between 2019 and 2026—spanning the two terms of Governor Ratinho Jr.—which is characterized by the coordination between the contracting of educational platforms and the militarization of state public schools. Far from being contradictory agendas, militarization and neoliberal reforms operate as complementary dimensions of a single project to reorganize public schooling. Our sources include legislation and regulatory documents regarding the reorganization of the state school network, as well as recent academic literature on transformations in Brazilian education and in Paraná. Drawing on theoretical contributions from structural Marxism—specifically the distinction between institution, apparatus, and structure within the school system proposed by Décio Saes—we examine the effects of these institutional changes within the context of class disputes in Brazil. We argue that the Paraná Model embodies a neo-fascist educational project by combining the advancement of neoliberal measures with an emphasis on military hierarchy and discipline, thereby facilitating the channeling of public resources toward the educational/technological services bourgeoisie and the military bureaucracy. This model gains legitimacy by prioritizing metrics such as the Ideb over the actual teaching-learning process; furthermore, it aligns with the interests of the middle class—the main class which composes the Brazilian neo-fascist movement—by reinforcing the individualism and school-based meritocracy that secure the reproduction of its social space as an intermediate class.