Bandeiras ao alto: panorama econômico-financeiro do Congado ituiutabano

Abstract

In this descriptive study with a qualitative approach, the knowledge of the managers of the Congado suits of the city of Ituiutaba (MG) was investigated and their use of instruments of financial management in the administration of the own resources and public expended for the accomplishment of the festivities of the Congado. From the definition of four categories of analysis - planning, budgeting, controls and accountability -, semi-structured interviews were conducted with representatives of the seven suits participating in the festivities, all of them affiliated to the Brotherhood of St. Benedict. The interpretative analysis of the categories, through the confrontation and triangulation of the oral reports of the congadeiros with documentary information provided by the suits themselves and other oral information collected from representatives of the Municipal Foundation Zumbi dos Palmares (FUMZUP) - manager of public resources - confirmed the practice, in all Congado suits, of planning, budget, control and accountability. It was found that managers' knowledge about financial management, while existing, replicates ancestral practices and, there is no record-keeping culture for comparison between planned and executed activities.