Abstract
This article is based on municipal reports signed by Mayor Graciliano Ramos of the municipality of Palmeira dos Índios, Alagoas, Brazil, and discusses his public performance through the perspective of contemporary paradigms. The discussion refers to 1) the concept of transfer of ideas along time and how they may be considered as adequate in distinct times and 2) the fact that researchers take their object of investigation in myths, somewhat justifying the recurrence of the image of Graciliano as a model for those who struggle for decency and fight corruption in public management. Sources used for developing this research were theoretical reviews, the reports themselves, a bibliometric study and surveys. Analyses are qualitative. Conclusions suggest, still preliminarily, that the importance of Graciliano´s work as a mayor should be restricted to his own time; if scrutinized by urban management or public policies contemporary parameters, it deserves a higher skepticism.
Keywords:
Graciliano Ramos; transfer of ideas; cities; literature; urban management