Railway memory in question: reflections on the possibility of recognition of an intangible railway heritage in Law no. 11483 of 2007

Abstract

The present study is a reflection on the potentialities of the interpretation of the expression "railway memory" present in the Brazilian Federal Law no. 11,483 of 2007. Based on an analysis of the legal discourse contained in legislative devices such as the aforementioned law, IPHAN's Decree no. 407 of 2010 and article 216 of the Federal Constitution of 1988, the expression "railway memory" was intended to unveil its possible meanings in the context of railway patrimonialization in Brazil. With the dismantling of the railway modal and, later, with the government's decision to privatize it, the need to protect and preserve railway assets, often scrapped, became evident. This interesting piece of legislation, Law no. 11.483 of 2007, passed the competence for the protection and preservation of railway heritage to IPHAN and, highlighted in its 9th article, the expression "railway memory". the expression "railway memory". However, according to IPHAN itself, through Decree n. 407 of 2010, the railway memory highlights the already consolidated railway heritage in a material perspective. In this sense, we bet on the possibility of a broader interpretation of these provisions, in light of the Federal Constitution itself, to encompass the recognition of intangible railway heritage, unveiling other dimensions such as the knowledge, the doings and the memory of men and women who make up the railway modal, highlighting even more its importance in Brazilian history.

DOI: 10.56238/isevmjv1n2-006