Título en español.

Abstract

The supremacy of the public service principleover the "merit" ando "career" principies needs to be stressed. The'la:fter' two are rneans ofattracting and retaining the bestqualified candídates; but in certain' situations undue emphasis given to them may' .actually undermine' administr.ative efficiency, guaranteeing tenure to inept employees, and shielding party or group efforts to insure special advantages for their members. As an over-reaction to the spoils system, an unqualified separation between politics and personne1 management has frequently been postulated in theory and practice. The rnerit system, however, cannot be carried into efect if it lacks sincere support from the political authorities. On the other hand, the party that comes to power needs a loyal and capable administration of its programo The danger exists, too, of consolidating a bureaucracy inmune, and therefore irresponsible, to the electoral decisions. If the behavior of the civil servants is patterned after the more basic norms and values of the politícal constitution and of the culture, the continuity of the administrative services through succesive changes of parties in power will be insured. What is essential, firstly, is to achieve consensus on fundamental issues. Then, to proceed with more specific instrumentation. Each society must adhere elosely to its own socio-psycho-cultural outline. Since 1907 Cuba has a Civil Service Law, patterned after the United States. Its aim: to guarantee the merit system. Its achievement: notorious cynicism, corruption and inefficiency. Colombia's 1938 Administratíve Career Law is almost inoperative, although it ineludes many , progressive and worthwhile elements. In Ecuador a law to establish the administrative career on the basic of rnerit failed, because no effort was made toeducate either citizens or leaders. Since 1950 El Salvador keeps up, in paper, a merit system which cannot be put into practioe because the basic law has not been passed. In 1907 Puerto Rico enacted a Civil Service Law, which specified procedures, norms and penalties. In 1931 a training program, a classi-fication scheme.and a salary plan were drawn, but not until 1947 were the basic principles achieved. After all these years, the Office of Personne1 stands today upon firm political support and has attained high levels of honesty, efficiency and dernocratic responsibility. These different Latin American case histories point to certain conclusions. The systematization of legal precepts, institutional structures and techniques, should be firrnly based on political support and on the capacity of those who are to administer the Civil Service. The role of the principal political leaders will be decisive in this respecto The examples cited iUustrate the errors incurred .when, without making the necessaryadaptations, a culture borrows indiscriminately from the techniques developed by others