The Ministry of Cultures is a process that began in 2005
Through the Supreme Decree 001, Evo Morales Ayma, President of the Republic, created inside his new cabinet the Ministry of Cultures, directed by Pablo César Groux Canedo. This event has a historical importance for the country because for the first time there is a ministry dedicated solely to culture.
The minister Pablo Groux, interviewed by network Telesur, stated: “the creation of a Ministry of Cultures, will not be a bureaucratic instrument that will hinder the attainment of the objectives that the national government has established; it will be a Ministry with two Vice-ministries, one dedicated to Decolonisation and the other to Interculturalism”.
The Minister also informed “the Vice-ministry of Decolonisation will be oriented mainly towards decolonising public institutions and the whole country, i.e. a head-on confrontation against racism”.
“The Vice-ministry of Interculturalism will emphasize interculturalism as a tool for unity, harmony and integration among Bolivians; culture, artistic expressions and cultural heritage are potions that will help to heal the wounds left by the difficult process we are currently facing”.
By the end of the interview he stressed: “The Ministry is not the result of the situation created by the new Political Constitution. The process began on December 2005 and was socialized at the Cultural Symposiums that were carried out throughout the country in 2008 that had as a result the conformation of the Regional Culture Councils”.
He also added that they will work hard to identify the country’s native nations and peoples. There is an ongoing research project that aims to classify 36 native nations as well as the cultural heritage, in order to make it an element of development and wealth generation”.
“The State should be an active protagonist in the development of a new conception of cultural heritage understood as a component of development and integration in Bolivia”, concluded the authority that accepted his position past Sunday at the Presidential Palace.
The establishment of this new Ministry happens 33 years after the creation of Bolivia’s Culture Institute (1975), which later became the National Secretariat for Culture. Then it evolved to the Vice-ministry of Culture and subsequently, in 2006, to the Vice-ministry of Cultures Development. Finally, in 2009, through President Morales mandate, it is promoted to the rank of Ministry.