This article is the result of a theoretical study that proposes to discuss mathematics education as a social and cultural process built in the historicity of the subjects. Based on a qualitative approach, the procedures used for the study include the bibliographic and document research, with the aim of investigating the power mechanisms present in mathematics, as an institutionalized educational process. In this context, historical constructions of mathematics in schools are explored, considering the instruments that classify and modify the subjects, guided by the mastery of mathematical knowledge and legitimized by the hegemonic class. The results indicate that institutionalized mathematics education in schools is not disconnected from society; on the contrary, it responds to it, reaffirming the need to question ideologies and analyze the role of mathematics education as a social construction, considering the effects of control and power that permeate the educational process.