Cultural policies, political disputes and the development of the cultural field in Brazil

Abstract

This article follows the trajectory of cultural policies in Brazil from its initial configurations to the present moment. The starting point is a brief discussion on the delimitation of the concept of cultural policies, whose distinctive aspects represent relevant theoretical-methodological assumptions for the proposed path. In addition to this conceptual discussion, and an extensive literature review, document analysis is used as a resource, in order to exemplify the decisive role of the interpretive activity of policy protagonists through speeches, official documents, interviews, letters and other primary sources. Given the relevance of the role of the State, the outlined itinerary emphasizes public policies for culture, without losing sight of their necessary interactions with the market of symbolic goods in the country over the years.