The cultural policies field in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in face of changes proposed in the Lula administration

Abstract

This article discusses the cultural policies field in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, having the policies concerning culture proposed by the administration of former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a basis. Focusing on the Living Culture Programme and the National Culture System, we discuss the implications that these policies have generated and their strength in the cultural field of the municipality. For conducting the study, Pierre Bourdieu’s theoretical and methodological concepts were used. Through the concepts of field, capital, habitus, and strategy, the agents involved in the cultural policies of the municipality, their relations, disputes, and strategies were identified within the field. The study has a qualitative nature and the elements for analysis were obtained by means of documentary survey, direct observation, and interviews conducted with various agents in the field and the institutions that make it up. Given the political characteristics of Rio Grande within the last 16 years, the strategy of using other local actors for the insertion of programmes linked to the national policies and a shy participation of the municipal administration in the local cultural policies becomes clear. It is noticed that the policies in the Lula administration have influenced the cultural policies field in the municipality, mobilizing agents and triggering new policies. However, these policies still do not reach most of the population, they are focused on some groups – agents with power in the field.