Inspired by that philosophy, Teixeira came back to Brazil, where he went to be Rio de Janeiro (then Federal District) Director of Education.

[3] Teixeira founded the Universidade do Distrito Federal in 1935, with basis on the New School tenets, which was met with a strong opposition of religious educators and sectors of the Getúlio Vargas government.

After the Brazilian capital moving from Rio to Brasilia, Teixeira, together with Darcy Ribeiro and other people, planned a new university for the city.

[1] After the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état, Teixeira left office and went to the United States, teaching at the Universities of Columbia and California.

Despite the accidental death report, there are suspicions that he was a victim of the repression forces of General Emílio Garrastazu Médici's government.