This article examines the politics of literacy during the administration of Chilean President Eduardo Frei. Literacy training was an essential part of Christian Democratic efforts to promote agrarian reform and rural unionisation and incorporate the peasantry into the Chilean political system. Paulo Freire, working for the ministries of agriculture and education, was able to employ his innovative ‘consciousness raising’ techniques throughout Chile. In practice, the campaign often blurred the line between creating a critical consciousness and creating a Christian Democratic consciousness, while Freire himself became caught up in political struggles within the administration over the extent and pace of reform.