Curitiba Advances Municipal Policy to Recognize and Support Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Indigenous Communities
Curitiba proposes a municipal bill to formally recognize and support Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Indigenous traditional communities, fostering cultural heritage and anti-racist policies.
- • Councilor Giorgia Prates introduced a bill to recognize Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Indigenous communities as part of Curitiba's cultural heritage.
- • The policy includes simplified administrative procedures for terreiros to gain formal recognition as religious and cultural spaces.
- • Biennial action plans will be developed with community participation covering culture, health, education, and human rights.
- • The bill emphasizes anti-racist education and preservation of cultural expressions including festivals, music, and traditional cuisine.
Key details
Curitiba is moving forward with a significant legislative effort to formally recognize and support Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Indigenous traditional communities within the city. Councilor Giorgia Prates of Mandata Preta (PT) introduced a bill to the Curitiba City Council that aims to establish a Municipal Policy for Traditional Peoples and Communities of Terreiro and Afro-Indigenous Matrix. This bill seeks to institutionalize the recognition of these communities as integral to the city’s cultural, religious, and immaterial heritage.
The proposed law would officially recognize terreiros as religious and cultural spaces and facilitate their inclusion in public policies through a simplified administrative regularization process, allowing these communities to obtain operational permits based on self-declared religious and cultural purposes. The policy also mandates the creation of biennial action plans developed with direct participation from these communities, targeting areas such as culture, human rights, education, health, and territorial identity.
Additionally, the bill emphasizes the importance of anti-racist education and training public servants to combat religious intolerance—the councilor highlights this as a form of ongoing violence against these traditional communities. It also includes curriculum development provisions to incorporate Afro-Brazilian and Afro-Indigenous religions and undertakes actions to preserve cultural expressions like festivals, music, traditional clothing, languages, and ceremonial cuisine.
Prates stated, "By incorporating a specific policy for traditional peoples and communities of terreiro and African matrix into the municipal plan, Curitiba takes a decisive step towards building a fairer, more plural city committed to the dignity and rights of all its citizens." The bill was filed on October 15 and is currently under committee review; if approved and sanctioned, it will take effect upon publication, marking a progressive step for inclusive cultural and religious recognition in Curitiba.
This article was synthesized and translated from native language sources to provide English-speaking readers with local perspectives.
