[High school and professional education in nursing: some reflections].

Analyzing the politics of professional education and questioning the changes that have been introduced in the Brazilian high school system are the main objectives of this study. In general, the approved legislation expresses the interests of the neo-liberal policies, of multilateral organisms, and of the implications of the worldwide productive reorganization and of the reduction of State participation in social policies. It also mirrors the manner in which Brazil inserts itself in the globalization process, in a dependent role, more as a knowledge consumer than a producer of it, thus missing the opportunity for achieving its autonomy, including in the area of professional formation.