Socio-cultural policies

Critical approaches to rethink their sustainability

Abstract

This article raises a set of problems identified in the sector of socio-cultural policies in Uruguay, specifically from the cycle of governments of the Frente Amplio. In this sense, it seeks to make a contribution to critically rethink the sustainability of this area of policies, taking into account the risks of ascribing to a rhetoric of the socioeconomic impacts of culture; the precarious working conditions of those who work daily in these policies; the subordination of cultural policies to the agendas of organizations and institutions of social development and education; and some of the challenges faced by policies based on the participation of popular sectors. The reflections are based on extensive fieldwork carried out in Montevideo and Paysandú between the years 2016- 2020, which includes observations in work spaces and interviews with cultural workers enrolled in socially oriented cultural policies and programs.