Archeology of the narrative about voucher for culture in Brazil: political performance in formulating the program’s legal framework

Abstract

The Program of Culture for the Worker (Programa de Cultura do Trabalhador), launched in 2012 by the Federal Government of Brazil, is a public policy established to encourage cultural consumption by offering a voucher to access cultural events called – Vale-Cultura. From the bill to its publication (Law 12761 of 27 December 2012), it was handled between Goverment and Congress for four years, incorporating signification from both. This article aims to historicize the Vale-Cultura’s narrative during the period the program’s legal framework was being formulated. For this, an archive of 47 documents was analyzed using NVivo qualitative research software. The archaeological method of discursive analysis attributed to Michel Foucault was performed. Two discursive formations emerged from this analysis: “Culture’s Commerce” and “Social Inclusion”. Conclusions were presented and what was at first understood as contradictory, was later perceived as complementary. Finally, suggestions are proposed, considering the current performance of the program.