Cultural heritage in times of crisis: Memory, politics, and the pandemic in Latin America

Memória, política e pandemia na América Latina

Abstract

The article examines how the COVID-19 pandemic served as a catalyst for a broader crisis in Latin America, marked by economic stagnation, institutional instability, and political polarization, shaping a “post-democratic” landscape. In this context, collective memory becomes a contested arena: monuments and official narratives are challenged, reinterpreted, or removed—exemplified by the Chilean case—revealing dissonant heritages and tensions over belonging and recognition. In the field of heritage policy, the study notes budget cuts, institutional dismantling, and capture by opportunistic agendas; Brazil exemplifies this trend through administrative changes and attempts to curtail the technical role of heritage authorities. It concludes that confronting the crisis requires going beyond material preservation by incorporating social, participatory, and digital dimensions, and it calls for inclusive governance frameworks, transnational cooperation, and skilled conflict mediation, reaffirming heritage as a public good and an instrument of solidarity in times of uncertainty.