Elite and legitimation at the Vale do Paraíba Law School

Abstract: This work aims to discuss the creation of the Faculty of Law in the Vale do Paraíba in 1954, in the city of São José dos Campos. Through testimony from people who lived in this period and newspaper publications, it was possible to conclude that the Faculty was created as a consequence of the will of the local elite to create a private educational institution that would improve the image of the city and the local actors.