There is a need to understand culture as a primary and essential right of citizens, as well as a fundamental pillar of sustainable development of society, which indicates the urgency of strengthening its institutionality through the distribution of the budget according to the cultural potential of the population. and sector.

The tendency to view culture in our country as an activity that is not related to development leads to an increasing budgetary weakening of the sector, which makes it difficult to meet the needs of the population. Understanding that culture is not just entertainment, aesthetics and industry is a fundamental step.

A mobilizing illusion

Likewise, the lack of an inclusive and decentralized vision of cultural policy by the Ministry of Culture and Heritage as the administrative body of the national culture system, causes the fragmentation and reduction of the mentioned budget, instead of being strengthened in institutional cooperation schemes. It is necessary to demand that budget allocations be aligned with cultural needs that are currently invisible.

Shades of the concept

According to PDOT 2019-2023, Guayas has approximately 4,500,000 inhabitants and the budget allocation for the culture of the Casa de la Cultura Núcleo del Guayas in relation to its inhabitants is only 0.16 USD. Something ridiculous that is not enough to cover the needs of its cultural infrastructure, both spatially and programmatically and equipped. Perhaps the government’s ignorance of the importance of art, culture and its frequency in building human connections, social prevention in the face of insecurity, healing, building the importance of community that repairs the social fabric and consolidates inclusive, safe spaces, is resilient and sustainable.

Understanding that culture is not just entertainment, aesthetics and industry is a fundamental step.

The result is a society that is weak, violent and severely underachieving. For example, there is an urgent need to implement cultural prevention and intervention programs in Guayas. If there is no sectoral public policy to promote the cultural sector with an adequate budget, a gradual increase for sustainable financing of cultural and artistic production and circulation; as well as maintaining our infrastructure, with work and social protection frameworks that respect the peculiarities of artistic and cultural work, guarantee rights and appropriate working conditions, we will continue even in worse conditions.

budget and culture

I consider it necessary to translate the historical lack of dialogue between different levels of government, recognition and attention in cultural matters, such as the great absence of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, into joint work. It is necessary to face the difficult task of legal and regulatory harmonization that will avoid the current contradictions, it is urgently necessary to approve the reforms of the Law on Culture, as well as to guarantee the promotion of the funding of culture for all its institutions and its transversal projects, with the conviction that there is no better use of public resources to deal with the extraordinary social situation we are experiencing in our country from the promotion of culture, and thus peace, well-being and development. (OR)