This paper explores liberation movement theory from educational and historical standpoints. Liberation movement theory is defined as a theory in which the oppressed seek personal, political, and social development through freedom from domination. In this paper, liberation, non-formal education, and popular education are learning theories that are viewed from the lenses of Paulo Freire and Amílcar Cabral. The more specific focus is Latin American liberation movement theory with emphasis on Guatemala (Latin America) and Guinea-Bissau (Africa). Historically, both Guatemala and Guinea-Bissau have been heavily involved in the liberation movement using various strategies of non-formal learning and popular education. Paulo Freire and Amílcar Cabral operationalized these strategies in the 20th century. This paper further explores the Latin American liberation movement of the twentieth century as it relates to education for liberation in order to deeply engage in how and why marginalized groups learn what they value as an education, and what they constitute as an education that liberates. This paper concludes with a comparison of both Guatemala and Guinea-Bissau to analyze how these nation-states have contemporarily operationalized liberation movement theory, and to explore if the tenets of this theory have promoted contemporary education for democratic participation in Guatemala and Guinea-Bissau. [For the full proceedings, see ED597456.]