This thesis examines the inability of the Brazilian State to accomplish effectively its constitutional duty to deliver elementary education to all children of 7 to 14 years of age. The overall argument in this thesis is that there is a lack of "political will- on the part of the Brazilian State to resolve this problem. The concept of "lack of political will is theorised as "lack of conditions existing in the State enabling it to be an actor in elementary education". The thesis has six chapters. Chapter One introduces the problem, the arguments, and the structure of the thesis, and discusses the theoretical basis of the thesis. Chapter Two tests the arguments against data on the relationship of the State to elementary education in the Vargas Era (1930-1945). Chapter Three tests the arguments against data on the relationship of the State to elementary education during the Redemocratisation Period (1946-1964). Chapter Four compares the arguments with data on the State's relationship to elementary education during the Military Regime (1964-1985). Chapter Five examines the arguments in relation to data on the relationship of the State with elementary education in the period of the New Republic and the Collor Government (1985-1992). Finally, Chapter Six presents the Conclusions and Recommendations of the thesis. The main conclusion of the thesis is that it is possible to create the necessary conditions for the State to function as an actor in elementary education.