Representative Bureaucracy: Exploring the Factors that Inhibit Active Representation in Indigenous Managers from a Latin American Case

Abstract

ABSTRACT Today is important that public bureaucracies represent the needs of those citizens considered diverse, being relevant the contribution of the Theory of Representative Bureaucracy. To ensure pluralism and legitimacy in public policies is necessary that public managers activate their sense of representation, making decisions on behalf of those citizens diverse. This article identifies and analyses the main factors that inhibit the emergence of an active representation in indigenous public managers from a Latin American case, considering three levels of analysis: individual, organizational and socio-political context. The main information arises from in-depth interviews applied to 25 key actors who have played a role at different stages in the indigenous policy process, along with press analysis and official documents. The evidence shows important differences in the Chilean case regarding other experiences in Europe and the United States, based principally on political and administrative characteristics, that apply to other Latin American cases.