Politics of Public Appointments in Latin America

Fernando Nieto-Morales is Professor of Public Administration at the Center for International Studies, El Colegio de México, Mexico.David Gómez-Álvarez is Research Professor at the Institute for Research on Accountability and Corruption Control, University of Guadalajara, Mexico.Calep Pimienta is Doctoral Candidate at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy, University of Erfurt, Germany.

• Introduction: The politics of public appointments in Latin America.- Part I:  Overarching logic: Patronage, merit, and professionalization.- 1. Public administration and public appointments as an institution: The tension between technique and politics in Argentina.- 2. Shaping the streets: The dynamics of political appointees in street-level bureaucracy and service delivery.- 3. Is it possible to balance politics and expertise in a politicized public administration?.- 4. Sub-national public appointments in Mexico.- Part II: Bureaucratic expertise and politics.- 5. Public but not governmental: Implications of public appointments in social participation bodies at the local level.- 6. The Peruvian cabinet formation: Between party weakness and extreme instability.- 7. Recruitment, careers and trajectories of senior officials in Latin American public administration: Insights from Argentina.- 8. Reinforcing the inner circle: The center of government in Argentina, Chile, and Peru.- Part III: Consequences and effects.- 9. Public appointments and governance in developing countries: A comparative analysis in Latin America.- 10. The selling and inheritance of public office in the Mexican public sector.- 11. Senior public management system and its contribution to the professionalization of the bureaucratic elite in Chile.- 12. The appointments in the executive branch of Ecuador: An analysis from the actors.- 13. Conclusion: A research agenda for public appointments in Latin America and beyond.