Public policy and administration for cultural diversity from an decolonial perspective

a different paradigm for Capoeira in Brazil

Abstract

The present article engages with the decolonial thought and its critical reflexions around the contemporary conjuncture of hegemony of the modern-western Eurocentric knowledge, which renders silent and invisible cultures from other origins such as Black and Indigenous. The text starts by questioning the place occupied by cultural diversity in our society, highlighting the quality of attention paid to it by public policies and administration. To this end, the paper problematizes Lula Government’s policies towards cultural diversity, while proposing rethinking such policies from the paradigm of interculturality. The perception of capoeira masters, interviewed through field research, corroborates the qualification of marginality and discrimination which characterizes the treatment given by Brazilian society to this important national intangible heritage, indicating colonial values which still guide the appreciation of the cultural diversity matter in Brazil.