Revista de Administración Pública Carlos Hernández Los gabinetes en México: 1821-2012 293 Quijano, M. Los gabinetes en México: 1821-2012. Tomo III, Colección 200 años de Administración Pública en México. Carrillo, A. (2012). (Coord.). Mexico: Instituto Nacional de Administración Pública. Carlos Hernández Alcántara* Volume III entitled: The cabinets in Mexico: 1821-2012 is part of the Two-hundred years of Public Administration in Mexico books which was coordinated by Alejandro Carrillo Castro to commemorate the Bicentennial of Independence and Centennial of the Mexican Revolution. The cabinets in Mexico: 1821-2012 written by Manuel Quijano Torres has seven chapters. Each one of them is the result of an arduous and detailed documentary research on the presidential power circle, -identified as cabinet- of a 200 year period of our country s history. In chapter 1, Cabinets raison d être, the author mentions that a cabinet exists and has a raison d être because in every regime or political system the head of the government requires an effective team of collaborators to help him fulfill his tasks. The complexity of government actions determine the head s political needs to select his closest collaborators, based on three criteria: 1) trust, 2) loyalty and 3) ability. After a brief but precise description of cabinets of courts of absolute monarchy and of modern democracies, there is a description of the importance and transcendence of this elite group which can determine the course of a government. In Chapter 2, the Formalization of the Organization, deals with the need to institutionalize the cabinet, as an organization of power which * Doctor of Political and Social Sciences and Professor of the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences at UNAM.
294 Revista de Administración Pública XLVII 3 addresses several strategic government tasks. The development of the cabinet is directly related to the emergence of basic areas of government, it can expand or contract; the first case is the expanded cabinet which complements public administration tasks: Federal Public Administration, central and public-sector, is the universe which houses, addresses and monitors basic and complementary functions, and sometimes circumstantial ones which society needs to work adequately. Page 41 According to this idea, the strategic action areas of the government machinery in which the cabinet contributes: Basic areas. Of substantive character which directly affect the State s goals: alleviate economic distress and social conflict police, finances, public security, justice, internal and international relationships and safeguard of sovereignty-. This section mentions the difference between a State Ministry and Ministerial Office, the first one has to do with legitimacy and function s legality and the second one with consensus and the use of function; both are complementary. Complementary areas. These are areas parallel to the cabinet, auxiliary and autonomous which work as comptrollers and monitor the cabinet s tasks. They are fund in democratic regimes which institutionalize them. Circumstantial areas. Unlike areas which are considered essential for the cabinet s job, circumstantial events affect the agenda of the government in a temporary way and require quick and adequate answers under an institutional figure, depending on the duration of said event this figure can prevail or disappear from administrative organization. Once the main categories of analysis of this research have been developed, Manuel Quijano examines in chapter three Typology for the Designation of Cabinet Members the reasons why rulers appoint members of their cabinet, concisely: Political benefit: the ruler achieves two main political aspects: legality and legitimacy, preserves social-political organization, gives power to the group with greatest political hegemony and keeps a good relationship with its political party, power sphere and the elite.
Carlos Hernández Los gabinetes en México: 1821-2012 295 Ideological reasons: the ruler answers according to an ideological framework which determines him; the members of the cabinet need t share values and ideas on government and its action. Entrenched powers: the ruler is influenced by entrenched powers political and economic powers to impose members of the cabinet to maintain their power through opinions, persuasion and pressure. Economic reasons: the ruler s main concern is the economy, which also decides the election of a cabinet member who must come from an economically powerful group, benefiting each other. For being a member of the elite: the ruler chooses the members of its cabinet from a select group that has held economic and political power, and have influenced government issues, for generations Professional achievements: the ruler elects the members of its cabinet because of their government activity, capable of implementing necessary strategies to fulfill the goals of the government. Affectionate and friendly reasons: the ruler chooses some of the members of its cabinet because of their friendship which is an important aspect in the formation of governments and its cabinets. Family ties (nepotism): the ruler follows a very ancient practice, hereditary power, which is not always rational, based on the first authority: family. Religious reasons: the ruler includes in his cabinet people who share the same spiritual or mystical inclinations which will help him justify political actions under a divine investiture. In chapter 4 The Cabinet in Mexico, Manuel Quijano deals with the theoretical conception and the legal nature of the cabinet in our country since the establishment of the first presidential regime as an independent nation. The President, as chief of State, needs select
296 Revista de Administración Pública XLVII 3 and close collaborators -cabinet- to help him with multiple tasks and responsibilities imposed by his position: The highest figure of the government and society is the President of the Republic. His unquestionable superiority, observed over time, derived from the very ample powers, constitutional and metaconstitutional, which have been reserved for his investiture Within the intricate tangle of officials who populate the entire government structure, only a few stand out, usually the heads of the most important ministries which hold greater privileges and influence. It is a small circle of collaborators which surround the ruler; the latter is advised on the country s problems in an atmosphere of trust and privacy. Said group is colloquially known as the cabinet. page 57 The Cabinet is not a synonym for government or public administration, even though their tasks affect these spheres; their scope is based on the ruler s political force. Thus, the author establishes an important difference between the cabinet, the political class and the ruling class. By conducting an analysis of legal basis which upholds the existence of cabinets we find that it lacks legal basis and it is also not an administrative authority; this is paradoxical, because in practice the following figures are mentioned: legal cabinet, expanded cabinet, presidential cabinet, sectorial cabinet and specialized cabinet. All of them under presidential power and its particular form of government, as can be seen throughout the history of our country. Chapter 5 Correlation between curricular review of the members of the cabinet and typologies for their appointment : (matrix 1), poses the most important question of this work: how do we build political effectiveness in cabinets in Mexico? The answer can be found in two dimensions: 1) values and political rationality which define political promotion profiles of the responsible ones to elite positions; that is, the heads of Cabinets and 2) political function played by the Cabinet in the institutional process of presidential power. Values and political rationality are the premises which allow members of the cabinet enter and stay close to the closest circle of presidential power. The important value of friendship, professional experience in the management of public affairs and results in political negotiation are important factors in political advancement.
Carlos Hernández Los gabinetes en México: 1821-2012 297 Entering the circle of presidential power can be seen as political recruitment, the ruler carries out a series of objective and subjective evaluations to elect those who will accompany him as the elite body of their government actions. A set of characters, some of them objective ones like studies and experience and some of them subjective ones like affection and trust which define the sense of selection. Evaluations which rulers and their closest advisors carry out when they appoint someone. And even though there are unexpected effects, nothing is left to chance Recruitment is a practice which cannot be separated from any political system without running the risk of having a headless government. Its exercises establishes the guidelines to appoint the leadership positions of various offices, legislative bodies, jurisdictional authorities, political party leaders, and all of the political universe page 93. In this sense, the reader can amply read about the way the Mexican President recruits the main members of his cabinet, based on a political scheme of selection of leaders according to a series of variables: place of birth, academic training, being member of an elite group and results of their professional performance, etc. Thus, institutionalization of the cabinet has followed a political logic of balance of powers and gradually it has acquired an authority which has been delegated to the presidential regime as can be seen in the long list of cabinets between 1821 and 2012, included in this chapter. The complementary analysis of the aforementioned facts can be found in chapter 6 Members of the cabinet s ministry and period of functions (matrix 2) which carries out a chronological review of the transformation the cabinets have continually undergone during that period. An ample and general description of ministries which had greater importance during certain transcendental episodes of the history of Mexico, in independent, porfirian, post revolutionary and neo liberal times, explaining the political, economic and social trends of the regime in turn through the functioning of this ministries and the cabinet. It is worth mentioning that the author establishes that based on the functions carried out by the members of the presidential cabinets between 2000 and 2012 it can be inferred that their inexperience and deficits in political agreements between the President and political parties and the Congress of the Union was
298 Revista de Administración Pública XLVII 3 due to the ineffective implementation of Government Program by the presidential power. Finally, to top it off, chapter 7 Alphabetical List and Members of the Cabinet s Government (matrix 30) completes the analysis of the continuous transformation of the cabinet in Mexico through the reading of the charts of the members of the cabinet in different presidential periods which stresses the importance of the political function this figure has had in the institutionalization of presidential power. Without a doubt, The cabinets in Mexico: 1821-2012, gives us new elements of analysis and explains the raison d être of cabinets, formal and informal rules to control the power of the members of the cabinet and the construction of a special democratic structure of the presidential government. Thus, this work analyzes the political function of the cabinet through the theory of the elite s perspective. And even though the cabinets of democratic presidencies have a political nature, their operation is based on the articulation and balance of interests which guide public affairs. This is why the negotiation and fulfilling of political agreements are tasks which should be guaranteed by the members of the Cabinet. In Mexico, this perspective is innovative because it explains how power, responsibility regarding decision making processes of the cabinet and the monitoring and fulfillment of political agreements between actors and the presidential government in turn are shared processes. The author states that the integration and organization of its Cabinet is based on the presidential power s ability to govern respectfully and in accordance with the commitments made with political parties, private sector mass media, and professional groups of political, economic and religious elites. This work also offers a theoretical perspective and substantial historical empirical heritage to be incorporated into the political debate on the integration of the coalition of government in Mexico nowadays: Government coalitions are pending issues in the discussion of the national political agenda, where cabinets can perform a role of the highest order. [ ]., an electoral spectrum with highly competitive actors is a viable option to transcend the signs of lawlessness and improve the
Carlos Hernández Los gabinetes en México: 1821-2012 299 effectiveness of government s proposals; the President along with his natural political force could receive the support of other political parties that participate in government issues. page 86 This is a highly recommended book for all scholars and people interested in the analysis of cabinets which result from power networks and political commitments to be included in the exercise of presidential power in our country s government s tasks.