-
A Reform Without Losers: The Symbolic Economy of Civil Service Reform in Uruguay, 1995-96
- Latin American Politics & Society
- University of Miami
- Volume 46, Number 3, Fall 2004
- pp. 1-28
- Article
- Additional Information
This article analyzes the relationship between ideas, interests, and institutions in the 1996 reform of the civil service in Uruguay. Beneath the appearance of a process led by technocratic principles, the reform's agenda and content were shaped by legitimating principles, strongly institutionalized interests, and the political legacy of earlier failed reform attempts. Reformers sought a strategy of a reform "without losers," which, instead of gathering support for adoption and implementation, sought to minimize opposition. This deliberately low-profile strategy left people unaware of the reform's achievements and thereby reinforced a political culture that has made resistance to change both a political virtue and an inescapable condition.