This research makes an analysis of the continuities and changes in budget execution for cultural policies from the adoption of widened conceptions about culture. The research excerpt is the governments of Gilberto Kassab (DEM) from 2009 to 2012 and Fernando Haddad (PT). From the theoretical point of view, the approaches adopted in this study are the incremental model, the Institutional Theory and the models and paradigms of culture as an object of public policy. From the empirical point of view, the object of study is the reports "Quadro Detalhado de Despesas" of the Secretaria Municipal de Cultura de São Paulo, from the year 2009 to 2016. The study raised the hypotheses (H) that institutionalized policies and cultural actors historically legitimized by the state tend to maintain their gains, even though the administrations assume widened conceptions about culture that incite changes in the profile of policies (H1), and that even governments that adopt widened conceptions about culture have little margin of discretion to attend local groups less strengthened in the field and (H2). The study shows that even if governments take on broader conceptions of culture, maintaining the budget base and benefits to actors and legitimized policies of margin of discretion, limit the strengthening of cultural citizenship policies.