Restoration Funds for National Museum to be Reduced by R$11.9 Million

By  Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The budget contingency announced by the federal government for education will, according to the Brazilian Association of Rectors of Higher Education Institutions (Andifes), adversely  affect funds for the reconstruction of the National Museum, destroyed by a fire in September 2018.

According to the association, the R$55 million allocated to the museum’s renovation work – guaranteed by a legislative rider sponsored by federal deputies from Rio de Janeiro – will be cut by R$11.9 million, a reduction 21.63 percent.

The rider had been proposed to the Rio legislators by the director of the National Museum, Alexander Kellner.

As a result, the final amount allocated to the museum’s reconstruction, scheduled for completion by 2021, will be R$43.1 million, rather than the original R$55 million.

The reduction in funds earmarked for the museum’s reconstruction is linked to the contingency of R$5.8 billion made by the Ministry of Education (MEC) at the end of April.

The ministry has blocked part of the budget of 63 universities and 38 federal teaching institutes – among them the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), which is responsible for the museum.

According to the government, the cut was only imposed on non-compulsory expenses, such as water, electricity, outsourced workers, construction work, equipment, and research.

Mandatory expenses, such as student assistance and payment of salaries and pensions, were not affected.

In a note, the Ministry of Education reported having released R$10 million for emergency actions to rehabilitate the National Museum in 2018.

“Among the funded actions are the shoring up of the building’s structure, clearing of debris, salvaging collections and installation of temporary roofing, in addition to acquiring modules for safekeeping and preservation of the salvaged collections. These actions are still in progress.”

The text states that, also in 2018, R$5 million were transferred to Unesco “for the project to develop the conceptual and technical foundations for the reconstruction of the National Museum”.

The National Historical Museum of Brazil is one of the most important museums in Latin America and was created in 1922. Before the fire, it possessed over 287,000 items, including the largest numismatic collection of Latin America.