Políticas culturais e o branqueamento do território na Zona Portuária do Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

This study analyzes the alignment between the cultural policies developed by the Municipal Secretariat of Culture of Rio de Janeiro and the preservation of Black territorialities in the Pequena África region, located in the city’s port area. The research is based on the understanding that the implementation of the Porto Maravilha Project reflects a process of urban entrepreneurialism, embedded in the logic of the entrepreneurial city and in public-private partnerships (PPPs), which puts pressure on the permanence of Black cultural expressions and social groups in the territory. Through the analysis of institutional documents, public calls for proposals, and interviews with cultural agents active in the region, the study identifies the contradictions and limitations of cultural policies aimed at Pequena África between 2009 and 2023. The findings reveal that, although some initiatives address racial issues — such as the “Zonas de Cultura – Porto e Pequena África” program — the actions implemented are fragmented and shaped by a managerial logic that treats culture as a marketable asset, detaching it from its role as public policy. These cultural policies contribute to the whitening of the territory, understood as the symbolic and material erasure of Black presence, driven by urban reconfiguration and the repurposing of cultural space in favor of redevelopment and market interests. The study concludes that, within the current configuration of urban governance, cultural policy functions more as a mechanism of control and legitimation of urban projects than as a means of historical reparation or assurance of permanence for Black territorialities in the city.