The Porto Maravilha Project and the 450 years of the city of Rio: on highlights and silences

Abstract

This paper discusses certain political uses that the Administration of Eduardo Paes has undertaken concerning the Rio de Janeiro past during his two consecutive terms in charge of the city hall (2009-2016). To this end, anchored in the problematization of different places of memory and their relationship with what is made and taught by historians in their historiographic operations, it focuses on the Porto Maravilha Project that emerged within the celebrations of the city's 450th anniversary, celebrated in 2015. This event contributed both to erasing dimensions and public works related to the military dictatorship and the emergence of other (hi)stories for the city and its people.