This article aims to demonstrate the potential of the Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural educational project. We begin by presenting a theoretical and political critique of development, a concept which has its origins in the logic of economic growth characteristic of the postwar capitalist phase. We then employ this historical and conceptual frame to demonstrate the close relationship between economic growth and formal education, which has its roots in the origins of development as a paradigmatic and political concept. Viewed through the critique of the developmentalist vision of education, we present an alternative theoretical-political frame to aid understanding and analysis of educational projects. Finally, based on this conceptual frame and the analysis of life stories, we discuss the potential contributions of the Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural, in terms of its contribution to a society conceived from the ideal of a good life, conceptualized here as Buen vivir.