The rise of Javier Milei has sparked in Latin America not only an at times extreme fervour for his eccentric persona, but also interest—and why not, interest in exporting—his ideas to other countries in the region. The reason is easy to understand faced with the perceived inability of states in the region to satisfactorily provide public services, the argument goes that it is better to reduce the state, and therefore its capacities, to an absolute minimum. However, it takes little thought to realise that this is not only a bad idea, but also a very dangerous one. That said, the populist argument of the Argentine president is not without basis; we do need better states in the region. That sometimes means having better politicians, without a doubt, but that is only part of the exercise. In Latin America we above all need to professionalise and strengthen a technical, high-quality public service. This is neither an easy nor a short-term task, but in a region that in the coming months will face electoral processes in Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Colombia, reforms and improvements in each country’s public service should not go unnoticed by campaign teams or by voters.

    The fundamental reason for the existence of a public bureaucracy—which is itself the heart of any state—is to provide the public, the citizens, with stability and predictability. Politics, by its very nature, is perpetually unstable. This means that citizens cannot project in the long term what they might expect from politics, since it changes—sometimes radically—whenever there are elections. It is precisely in this chaos that public bureaucracy emerges, since it is able, despite the political direction a government may give the state, to maintain a series of essential aspects for continuity in the many roles states perform, whether in security, service provision, public policy design, or other areas.

    Moreover, the bureaucrat plays an essential role in every action the state may take. Given the natural complexity of policy issues, it is logical to have a highly specialised bureaucracy capable of addressing the diversity of matters the state might face. In this way, behind every intention and action from the political layer, there must always be a body of specialised technicians ready to take up the initiatives of any presidents, parliamentarians or mayors, and translate political proposals into concrete, financially and legally viable actions that, above all, do not endanger the stability of either the state or the society it serves.

    From this, it follows to ask: how can we ensure that the state actually functions in this way? The most important factor will always be that it is protected by a legal system designed to avoid regulatory capture—that is, to shield decision-making bodies in the public administration from all kinds of external interference, whether from political actors, the private sector, foreign entities, or even civil society itself. In addition, it is important to maintain not only a strict hierarchical order but also merit-based admission processes, and to ensure that, as long as this exists, the public servant keeps their individual beliefs and opinions separate from the task at hand. This is known as the principle of impersonality and is one of the six principles of bureaucracy identified by Max Weber—a list I strongly recommend anyone interested in politics to know by heart. Finally, as in any job, it is essential that the state be able to offer competitive salaries and benefits to its bureaucrats, to prevent brain drain to the private sector, something unfortunately common in our region.

    In conclusion, in the upcoming electoral processes, it is essential to steer away from ideas that are sometimes more emotional than sensible, and to consider not reducing the state but rather rethinking it, redesigning it, and above all, strengthening it. Only through a modern and solid state will we in the region be able to see sustained and sustainable changes that can truly help us all improve the quality of life in our countries, always ensuring this opportunity for the most vulnerable in society, who are always the first to benefit from an efficient state, and the greatest victims of absent ones.