São Miguel das Missões na gestão Aloísio Magalhães : políticas de memória e de gestão do patrimônio no Brasil (1979-1982)

Abstract

In the last century, the National Historic and Artistic Heritage Institute (IPHAN), whose function was to be responsible for the historic heritage in Brazil, adopted new guidelines for the construction of national identity, thus initiating the institution's so-called "modernizing phase" in the 1970s and changing its cultural policies. In consideration of these events, the main purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the heritage-protection policies dedicated to the ruins of São Miguel das Missões (RS) by IPHAN during the administration of Aloísio Magalhães, from 1979 to 1982. Regarding this figure, it is worth noting that Magalhães was the one responsible for the process of institutional renewal and for the renewal of the cultural-heritage policy, so that we recognize its role in bringing a new breath to the aforementioned institution. For that, we investigated which cultural policies were adopted by the Brazilian State in the defense of the heritage thus instituted, evaluating how in that period certain political actions and guidelines impacted and brought about new notions of heritage, as well as multiple uses. Moreover, we analyzed the actions promoted by the institute in São Miguel das Missões related to the important names of the national and regional scene which had the help of either National Historic and Artistic Heritage Secretariat’s (SPHAN) technicians or intellectuals from different areas who participated in the formulation of the management and policy guidelines of that institution. Lastly but not least, we seek to understand how also the policies had become to align themselves with the conservative-modernization process underway, observing this case along points of dialogue between the policies of memory/heritage and the general guidelines of the Executive Power in the final years of the civil-military dictatorship, which still allowed us to verify the ambivalences that existed in this sector. This all shows us how the adoption of new concepts expanded the country's social imaginary, coming up with the notion of “cultural assets” from which it was possible to elevate regional symbols to the status of an important memory of the national identity. To carry out this research, official documents and publications from IPHAN itself were used as sources. Therefore, we explored the political trajectory of Aloísio Magalhães associated with actions carried out in the cultural heritage of São Miguel das Missões from the notions that this figure brought to public heritage policies. In this sense, through the aforementioned events, we built a perspective bringing together themes that have been researched separately hitherto.