Participation or representation: heritage choices in Rio Grande do Sul

Abstract

The field of cultural heritage preservation is built by choices about what will be protected for the enjoyment of current and future generations. It is discussed the need for participation of civil society in these choices, either directly or by means of representatives. It was revised landmarking processes at the national level regarding Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state in Brazil, and requests for municipal landmarking in the capital city, Porto Alegre. The research emphasis covered the end of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century. In both scopes, it is noticed that many manifestations for preservation of heritage were sent through participatory processes to public entities. However, it is suggested that there is a mismatch between the choices of technicians and those of social groups; the former is more easily legitimized by institutional preservation instruments and the latter, almost never. The results of the processes at the national and municipal levels are relevant and contribute to the reflection on the preservation of cultural heritage. The intention was to verify if society and its representatives participate or collaborate to build the idea of heritage preservation.