Entre ensejos e resistências: debates para uma política do patrimônio histórico em Mossoró-RN

Abstract

On a brief walk trough downtown Mossoró – RN one can observe distinctive buildings from past historical moments losing space to contemporary constructions. This finding refers to the scope of the management of heritage aspects, which demands knowledge and debate about propositions and interference of public authorities. When reflecting on the scope not restricted to the municipality, the management of assets is contradictory, now being based on the classic clash between progress and conservation, now resting on the inefficiency of instruments for its application. In this context, the starting point is: how are actions to protect the built legacy of past eras inserted in the instrumentalization of systematized actions in the city of Mossoró? It is assumed that the city's urban planning laws incorporated guidelines on heritage late and restricted to a fraction (a slice of Downtown). This reflects a regional context of small and medium-sized cities, in which, associated with a deficient and slow legislative, rests a rarefied historical asset that, due to its nature, makes it difficult to manage in a way to mitigate the process of decharacterization. By focusing on this discussion, the general objective is to understand the scope of the Urban Legislation tools in safeguarding historical heritage, helping to indicate points relating to guidelines for a preservation policy. It is based on the listing of empirical material based on bibliographical and documentary research and information gathering in the field through on-site observation, with the main data sources being maps, historical photographs, official government documents, news and historical newspapers. The analysis showed that, despite being the stage of several important events for the construction of the collective memory of the region, Mossoró, over time, dealt in an ineffective way with the preservation and maintenance of its historical legacy. What remains today are few units of a fragmented heritage, without continuity or a set of buildings, presenting a challenge to their safeguard. Furthermore, it was found that the current laws that provide or should provide some guidance regarding the treatment given to these assets are contradictory, ineffective and are out of line with the current theoretical approaches. In the end, the reflections pointed out directions for the management given to historical assets.