The Pressures and Strains on the Alta Dirección Pública System

Abstract

The system was launched in 2003 to ensure that professional merit, rather than political partisanship, would govern senior management positions in the State. But everyone knew that the greatest test would come when the governing political coalition changed. The test has arrived. And the system is not being strengthened. Do we or do we not believe in a Civil Service for Chile? In 2003, as the result of a broad political agreement, competitive selection was established by law for a set of positions that had previously been filled at the discretion of the political authorities. This set in motion one of the most far-reaching changes in the management of strategic personnel within the State: the introduction of merit and of professional administration for a group of first- and second-tier positions. Continue reading...