The Centre Pompidou's planned Brazilian outpost has slipped again. The Centre Pompidou Parana, to be built in Foz do Iguacu in the southern state of Parana, was originally scheduled to open in 2027, then pushed to 2028, and is now expected to open in 2029, a museum spokesperson has told The Art Newspaper. Construction has not yet started, and the tender process for the project has not been launched either.

The delay comes amid a change of government in Parana. The partnership with the French institution was negotiated under governor Carlos Massa Ratinho Junior, but the project will now pass to Sergio Moro, elected governor on 4 October. Moro, the former federal judge best known for the Lava Jato corruption investigation that led to the imprisonment of current president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva before his conviction was annulled, pledged during his campaign to complete the museum.

According to the report, a call for construction bids originally expected in November has also been pushed back, and the phase planned for later this year will cover only the basic design. The Pompidou spokesperson said the project is working toward a 2029 opening and is in the technical preparatory stages of the bidding process, adding that the aim is to establish the museum as a state cultural policy rather than an initiative tied to a single administration.

The satellite would be the Centre Pompidou's first in the Americas, extending a global expansion programme that already includes branches in Shanghai, Malaga and Metz, with further outposts planned in Seoul and Brussels. The repeated delays in Parana underline how vulnerable such flagship projects are to local political cycles.