São Paulo's Ibirapuera Park Concession Raises Concerns Over Brazilian Cultures Pavilion

A concession plan for São Paulo's public parks, including Ibirapuera, has sparked significant concern regarding the future of the Pavilhão das Culturas Brasileiras. The municipal proposal, republished in January after being postponed by former mayor Bruno Covas in July 2018, aims to create a mixed-use institution within the pavilion. A formal representation sent to the São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office on March 1st argues this would weaken the pavilion's institutional strength and potentially endanger its valuable municipal art collection. The document, led by former São Paulo Culture Secretary Carlos Augusto Calil and signed by prominent figures including curator Adélia Borges, architect Pedro Mendes da Rocha, and cultural manager Regina Ponte, contends the plan would distort the building's original purpose. It clarifies the objection is not to the park's privatization but to safeguarding the pavilion's unique cultural project, noting that other Ibirapuara institutions like the Museu Afro Brasil and MAM are excluded from the concession. The bidding includes parks Ibirapuera, Lajeado, Eucaliptos, Jacintho Alberto, Tenente Brigadeiro Faria Lima, and Jardim da Felicidade.