La designación de gabinetes en Uruguay: estrategia legislativa, jerarquía de los ministerios y afiliación partidaria de los ministros

Abstract

The article analyzes the formation and change of presidential cabinets in Uruguay during the period 1985-2010. In the first section we present the institutional and political features of the process of appointment and resignation of the ministers. The second section describes the cabinets formed in this period and shows that presidents have exchanged seats in cabinet by legislative support. The third section analyzes the political attributes of the ministers appointed (party affiliation, previous experience) and the type of linkage that they keep with the president. The fourth analyze the relationship between the time survival of the individuals in office, the political responsibility in front of congress and the existence of a legislative majority that support the president. The last section describes the Uruguayan pattern of ministerial designation based in (i) the establishment of an order of importance of portfolios, (ii) the nomination of individuals with party affiliation (weather insider or adherent politicians) and (iii) the influence of the legislative support in defining the ministerial team.