Gobierno y Administración Pública

The Abolition of the Provincial Governor: Former Officials Assess Its Impact on Governance Quality in the Region

Christian Quinteros Flores — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This article presents the perceptions of former provincial governors in Chile regarding the impact that the elimination of this intermediate political-administrative position has had on regional governance. Using an interpretive epistemological approach and qualitative methodology, ten interviews were conducted with former provincial authorities of different political affiliations and territorial origins. Subjects were selected through an initial convenience sample and then a snowball sampling technique. The results were grouped according to emerging categories. As a result, it is interpreted that the former authorities value the important managerial and negotiating role that all subjects exercised at their discretion, as well as the diverse participatory spaces they convened. They also predict the low sustainability of the current political design of the regional government and coincidentally point to the poor quality of the decentralizing reforms implemented in Chile since 2018. The conclusion is that this type of institutional redesign measure requires pre- and post-modification evaluations, contributing through successive scientific approaches to reviews of theories of the State and its approach to territorial asymmetries.

The evolution of e-government in Mozambique: progress, challenges, and future prospects

Cremildo Cau. — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, e-Government has established itself as a key tool for modernizing public management and improving service delivery. Mozambique began its journey in this area in the late 1990s, with the development of policies and strategies focused on the use of Information and Communication Technologies to strengthen state administration. However, studies on this development remain limited and fragmented. The objective of this research is to analyze the evolution of e-Government in Mozambique, identifying the progress made, the persistent challenges, and future prospects. To this end, a mixed approach was adopted, based on a bibliographic and documentary review of official, regulatory, and academic sources, complemented by an interview with a national expert on the subject. The results show that Mozambique has made significant progress in the institutionalization of e-Government, particularly in the development of a regulatory framework in areas such as the information society, legal infrastructure, digital governance, and cybersecurity, as well as in the implementation of digital platforms with administrative and social impact. However, structural challenges persist, including limited technological infrastructure, low digital literacy, poor interoperability between systems, and a lack of qualified human resources. It is concluded that the success of e-Government in Mozambique depends on an integrated vision, sustainable investments, and strengthening of technical and institutional capacities. This research provides an unprecedented systematization of this topic in the country, useful for future research and public policies.

Internal Control as a generator of Public Value: Diagnosis and improvements in the Housing and Urban Development Service of the Biobío Region, Chile

Daniel Rodríguez Tapia, Grace Hsieh Herrera, Claudia Mendoza Alarcón — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This article aims to assess the maturity of the internal control system of Serviu Biobío and propose an integrated matrix—risk, quality, and supervision—to optimize control planning. The method used is a mixed approach, involving a review of 98 procedures, 60 audits between 2019 and 2023, 26 meetings, and risk bases/SQMS; descriptive statistical analysis and thematic coding. The main results are: (i) imbalance between control (408 controls) and supervision (60 audits) with an overemphasis on operational processes; (ii) absence of risk management in 32% of procedures; (iii) control culture limited to ex-ante reviews. The Total Control Matrix (MCT) is presented, which integrates Control Level, Control Density, and Supervision Activities, allowing interventions to be focused on poorly audited support processes. In conclusion, we can point out that the TCM aligns internal control with the strategic objectives of Minvu (2022-26 Housing Emergency Plan) and contributes to the creation of public value by allocating control resources where the institution’s management lacks information. The main limitations were that the analysis was limited to 2019-23 and lacked longitudinal validation.

E-Government in Mexico: Continuity and Completion. Analysis from a Public Policy Perspective

Christian Cruz-Meléndez — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Since 1996, the Mexican government has implemented public policies on electronic government (EGov), including websites, mobile applications, social media, and specialized platforms. Throughout this time, the country has experienced political and administrative changes, marked by both continuities and breaks in partisan and ideological lines. These changes have influenced the implementation of EG policies, some of which have continued, while others have been discontinued or modified. The goal is to analyze the continuity of EGov in Mexico from 1996 to 2025, using a qualitative methodology that includes a historical review of its evolution and an analysis of its termination or continuity within the framework of public policies. It concludes that EGov in Mexico, in general terms, is a state policy that has persisted across five presidential terms, although it has undergone transformations that have led to the partial or total discontinuation of some specific policies.

Relevance of social programs in Chile to address the needs and demands of elderly people

María Paz Barrales — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The aging population has been on the rise since the end of the last century, highlighting the specific needs of this growing population. In this context, institutions such as the National Service for the Elderly (SENAMA), the Social Security Institute (IPS), the Ministry of Health (MINSAL), the National Training and Employment Service (SENCE), among others, have included programs to serve this age group. With this, this article seeks to analyze the results derived from the research carried out during the year 2024 to access the degree in Public Administration and Political Science, on the relevance of the designs of social programs of national coverage in force to meet the demands of the elderly, through a qualitative documentary analysis of official sources of information, governmental diagnoses and international agreements that express the needs of the elderly, and the documents where the design of the selected social programs is established.

Among the findings, there is an effective relevance between the design of the programs and the needs they are intended to satisfy, while at the same time, important challenges are evidenced both in the studies and presentation of information on the elderly, as well as in the compliance with international recommendations and commitments.

nte Citizen oversight in Colombia. A discussion on transparency and accountability

Andrés Roncancio Bedoya, John Restrepo, Luis Amaya — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The article analyzes the role of citizen oversight committees in supervising public management in Colombia and the effectiveness of these entities in ensuring transparency and accountability. Despite their potential, from a social control perspective, oversight committees face challenges related to a lack of resources, training, and institutional support. Using a qualitative methodology with an analytical approach, based on documentary collection techniques, the review of different sources, the analysis of legislation, activity reports from information reported in the RUES, and academic literature, both the legal framework and the operational performance of oversight committees in different regions of Colombia are evaluated. The results indicate that effectiveness varies according to their organizational structure and the support they receive; some have an impact, while others have limitations, as the records in the RUES show that in some cases they are only formally constituted, while in others they exercise real political control, demonstrating structural differences depending on the sector and region where they carry out social control. The conclusions underscore the need to strengthen the legal framework, provide ongoing training, and encourage citizen participation. It is recommended that technological tools be integrated to optimize the operations of oversight bodies and expand their reach, allowing those who seek to exercise social control to do so by addressing the difficulties identified. This study highlights the relevance of these entities for democratic governance in Colombia.

Gender Agendas and Development Plans. Medellín 2004-2019

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

his article describes the inclusion of gender agendas in the Municipal Development Plans (PDM) of the
city of Medellín during four administrations, spanning
the period 2004-2019, and responds to the question
of how these agendas have been addressed in the
PDM of Medellín, emphasizing on the changes and
continuities in this regard. Initially, it is stated that
the gender agendas in the city are an expression of
the evolution and advances at the national and international level that reach institutional materialization,
which is evidenced in the increase of programs and
resources destined to them. The methodology was
descriptive and exploratory through a literature review focused on the Plans. Among the main findings,
it is evidenced an increase in the budget assigned to
gender issues with each new Administration, as well
as the expansion of the conception of gender from an
exclusively female issue to other population groups
such as the LGBTIQ+ population. Among the conclusions, the significant advance in the establishment of
Gender Agendas (ADG) in the PDM stands out as a
central instrument for the construction of the city and
the need to increase the amount of resources and the
percentage of the total budget of the PDM awarded
to programs related to ADG.

Territorial Development Project PDT- Nariño: Approach, Commitments, and Lessons Learned for building Peace

Harvey Criollo — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This article analyzes the contribution of the Territorial Development Project in Conditions of Peace PDT- Nariño to the process of territorialization of peace in an area historically affected by the armed conflict in the southwest of Colombia. This project was implemented between 2016-2023 with the technical and financial support of the Spanish Cooperation Agency (AECID) and the European Union in alliance with the Governorate of Nariño and the Mayors’ Offices of Pasto, Ipiales, and Tumaco. The theoretical review articulates the category of territorial peacebuilding from the perspective of governance. The research adopts a qualitative methodological approach based on the systematization of experiences and is supported by an inductive thematic analysis, assisted by NVivo, which allowed codifying and categorizing units of meaning to configure an integrating macro narrative in three aspects: 1) The intervention approach of the project, alignment, and agreement of the territorialized international cooperation strategy, 2) The forms of territorial and community management as integral alternatives of life and lasting wellbeing and 3) The identification of lessons learned with potential for replication. The thesis is that the PDT-Nariño contributed to territorializing peace by strengthening local capacities, proposing the articulation of actors from public agendas, and promoting sustainable technical cultures with a differential approach. The conclusions highlight the main findings and suggest new research agendas for transformative action (praxeology of peace).

Editorial

Editor GYAP — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Editorial of GYAP Journal N° 9

Academic program offerings for training in the health field in the Metropolitan Region

Alonso Peña Baeza — Tue, 29 Jul 2025 00:00:00 -0400

The report analyzes health education in the Metropolitan Region of Chile, highlighting its importance as the country's main educational hub. With a population of over 7 million, the region accounts for 50.9% of national enrollment in higher education, distributed across 80 institutions. Technical and university training includes programs in medicine, nursing, kinesiology, and other disciplines, although inequalities in access, educational quality, and employability persist.

The region's school education system comprises 2,893 establishments, with subsidized private schools being the majority. At the higher education level, enrollment in health-related programs reached 106,971 students by 2023. The current regulatory framework, based on the Health Code, governs traditional professions but excludes emerging roles such as occupational therapists and physical therapist, underscoring the need for modernization.

The report also highlights critical challenges, including low employability in certain careers, mismatches between educational supply and demand, and high tuition costs, which affect the sustainability of graduates. Additionally, population aging and a decline in the youth population pose significant challenges for the healthcare and education systems, requiring forward-looking planning.

In conclusion, the Metropolitan Region leads health education but faces challenges that demand inclusive public policies, regulatory updates, and efforts to strengthen educational quality to ensure the sustainability and equity of health professional training.