World Heritage in distinct national contexts: building parallels between Brazil and Portugal through the cases of São Miguel das Missões and the Historical Centre of Évora

Abstract

The ruins of Jesuit Missions of the Guaranis in São Miguel das Missões, in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, and the Historic Centre of Évora, Portugal, were inscribed in the World Heritage List in 1983 and 1986, respectively. This article analyzes and draws parallels between the heritagization processes of Évora and São Miguel, since both locations were already considered references in terms of heritage policies in their countries for decades. However, this article focuses on the context that led to the inscription of the material elements of these cities in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization list, considering the 1980s and its specificities. There are challenges in common in regard to the management of both heritages, which go beyond failures or examples of good practices, but represent the conflicts between the two distinct paths of building heritage processes within the country and in worldwide scale.