Mathematics education nuestramericana: creative insurbordinations in the Brazil-East-Timor connection

Abstract

This article investigates creative insubordinations in mathematics education based on the intercultural dialogue between Brazil and Timor-Leste, situating the discussion within the context of decolonial and anti-imperialist pedagogies. Using the metaphor of “neneik maun” (“wait, brother”), the text reflects on the temporal, epistemological, and ethical dimensions that challenge the linearity of Western time and the universalization of Eurocentric pedagogical models. The research draws on experiences in Timor-Leste and Latin American educational movements, highlighting the importance of orality, ancestral traditions, and spiral temporality in the construction of knowledge. The article analyzes the impacts of neoliberal and colonial policies on the curriculum and teacher training in Timor, while also highlighting the creative resistances that emerge in the processes of constructing a national and plurinational identity. It articulates references from Latin American critical pedagogies, such as those of Simón Rodríguez, José Martí, Mariátegui, and Jesualdo Sosa, to propose a Nuestraamericana Mathematics Education that is anti-colonial, anti-imperialist, anti-patriarchal, anti-welfare, and creative. The study concludes that the sustainability of creative insubordinations depends on the collective transformation of material conditions and the recognition of multiple epistemologies and temporalities, reaffirming the need for constant vigilance against the assimilation mechanisms of neoliberal policies and the coloniality of knowledge.