The study analyses the limits and possibilities for the democratization of the right to education through the construction of the public sphere in Brazil, and the deadlocks in the relationship with the private sector since the 1930s. The methodology used is based on bibliographic, historical and legal analyses. The relationship between the public and private sectors is placed in its context in the history of education, throughout the political and social formation of Brazil. We conclude that historically, Brazilian education has suffered the consequences of periods of social and political instability.