There’s a poll that doesn’t exactly surprise, but rather excites Some discomfort in Buenos Aires justice. It appears that 97% of those consulted, namely 118 employees of the Judicial Administration of La Plata, have at least one family member who also works in this state branch. The number is shocking, and confirms something that has been suspected for decades: family ties appear to be the key to access to justice. Just for justice? Or is it a more structural distortion affecting many public sectors in the province of Buenos Aires? Is it a vice limited to Buenos Aires or does it extend to other provinces and the national state, where public employment has grown significantly between 2003 and 2015?
Results of the survey carried out in the second semester This year by the Argentine Association of Criminal Lawyers (AAAP), it raises questions about transparency and fairness in selection and promotion processes within the judicial system, but also in the country in general. It also calls for an objective debate: not only about systems of access to public employment, but also about the independence, appropriateness and fairness of administrative personnel in state authorities. When access is due to kinship, patronage, struggle, or “adaptation,” the entire system tends to become flawed and, over time, lose not only quality but also authority. An invisible web of commitments and loyalties is woven that pollutes public service, as if everything is tainted by a defect of origin: not entering on the basis of one’s own merit, but rather because one is a “son” or to respond politically to this or that leader.
What would the results be if this same poll were conducted in Congress? And in legislatures, in organizations like AFIP or Anses and in regional agencies that are far from the radar? It is not unreasonable to suspect that the percentages will surprise us as well.
The nation and the provinces owe each other a very deep and broad debate Concerning the quality of human resources in the country and the professional and legal rules governing employment in the executive, legislative and judicial authorities in each jurisdiction. It is, of course, about ensuring equality of opportunity and suitability upon entry, but also about ensuring career promotion based on fair guidelines, professional codes that encourage commitment to work and do not perpetuate privileges or distortions, and reasonable leave systems and appropriate remuneration for different levels of responsibility. Kinship ties should not disqualify a person, but neither should a VIP passport.
As on so much else, Argentina appears to be wavering on this issueBetween extreme simplifications: from the enthronement of the public servant, the central agent of the “current state” and the “comprehensive model”, to “they are all gnocchi and parasites”: “the state must be dismantled”. Between one point and another of this pendulum, the possibility of an effective and professional structure, reliable and with management capacity, qualified to implement transformative initiatives and capable of providing high-quality services and ensuring compliance with regulations, seems to have been lost.
If you think about a modern state, you will find that an amorphous and infirm state is very harmfulwith massive weight gain, such as anemia, weakness and malnutrition. A civil service offering bonuses, daily allowances and perks is as shocking as a salary freeze that results in senior professional and professional staff being pushed out of the administration. The discussion then revolves around how to build a competitive and good-quality country, from the perspective of public employment. Are you considering this shift? Is there anyone studying models from other countries, such as the model presented, for example, by the National School of Administration established by de Gaulle in France?
Argentina have had inspiring formulas in the past. Between the sixties and seventiesFor example, the Central Bank selected economics graduates who financed their graduate studies abroad with a commitment to later join the institution. Thus, but not limited to, technicians of the caliber of José Luis Machina joined, as sociologist Juan Carlos Torre mentions in his memoirs “From the Fifth Floor.”
Specific organizations have been reached, such as National Roads or Health Works Through extremely rigorous and difficult competitions, it ensured, at all levels, a level of excellence and a limit, moreover, on the swagger and corruption of political power.
During the era of the governments of Alphonsine and Menem, there were attempts to guarantee Professionalizing public service. With the return of democracy, a training program for government managers was implemented at the national level. In the 1990s, the National System for Administrative Professions (SINAPAA) was established. None of this has been continued or promoted as state policy.
They have, yes, created their own selection systems in different orbits To fill vacancies. The Ministry of Justice in Buenos Aires, where this extremely high index of “familiarity” was revealed, has been holding an examination for 20 years and establishing a merit system based on scores for access to the job. There is also a rule prohibiting judges or prosecutors from appointing their relatives to bodies under their responsibility. However, the system appears to have holes and cracks. The obstacle is usually overcome by offering cross-services: “I will name my neighbor’s name and I will name yours.”
Some still remember the famous district court case in 2004: Duhalde’s appointed lawyer, María del Carmen Valbo, modified the judicial staff recruitment system to appoint her niece as law editor. The Buenos Aires Court ratified this exception with worthy opposition, albeit a minority, from three of its members: Hector Negri, Juan Carlos Hitres, and Daniel Soria. It was nothing short of a scandal, because he accepted, at the highest jurisdiction of the province, the idea that the rules could be adapted to personal interests and interests. But above all, it set a precedent and, in a way, an endorsement against rivals and in favor of the nephews.
Family affiliations add to political ties. It must be fixedFor example, in a survey conducted this year by Chikido in collaboration with other organizations: 6 out of 10 judges in regional high courts had connections to local political power before reaching those positions. This invalidates it, of course, but the percentage lights up a yellow light and justifies questions about partisan influence in the judicial profession.
Despite everything, until the late 90s, it still existed In living organisms And public companies, which was called the “line” or “career staff”: a professional structure that transcends political ups and downs and enjoys prestige.
All of it It was supposed to be dismantled in recent decades. Stable bureaucracy It was replaced by “political cadres” and hired extremism. It was also normal for the official on duty to descend with his troops at all levels of the state. Even ministry employees are often replaced by “people who trust” the new minister. Thus another distortion of public employment was established: geological stratigraphy. The arrival of the “new” meant that the “old” were left in a kind of limbo, waiting for better times or a safe retirement.
Public employment law offers all kinds of shortcuts, twists and turns To “winter” in the state, from perpetual licenses to reservation of positions and “commission permits.” This year, in a plenary session, an official from the Judicial Council of Buenos Aires, for example, admitted that an employee of that organization had been on “unpaid leave” for 17 years: is this a right or a privilege? An exception or just another case?
The issue of licenses is a taboo topic throughout the state of Buenos Aires. Nobody offers Information, for example, about the number of teachers who are on leave, or about the average duration of that benefit, or about the impact on classrooms and school administration. Something similar happens in the health system and in areas such as the prison service. There are no “smart dashboards” that allow for optimal utilization of the country’s human resources or monitoring of variables such as attendance, compliance with schedules, or productivity levels with accurate data.
The principle of “stagnation of public office” has been established.Whoever enters the state will not leave it again. This has created a culture in which appraisals, results and promotions based on suitability have been weak, to say the least.
Data The “judicial superfamily” may be an appropriate stimulus to foster discussion: it is neither a justice-focused problem nor limited to the courts of Buenos Aires. It is about professionalizing the state at all its levels and jurisdictions. He does not fatten it or break it down; Transparent recruitment policies, strict technical and ethical evaluation criteria, and wages commensurate with the level of responsibility must be prioritized. Ultimately, it is about building a state for citizens; Neither to relatives nor to militants. For that, there is a long way to go.