# Meritocracy in the selection of public executives (_An earlier Portuguese [version](https://exame.com/colunistas/instituto-millenium/meritocracia-na-selecao-de-dirigentes-licoes-para-reformar-a-alta-direcao-publica-no-brasil/) of this text appeared on April 2, 2024, in Instituto Millenium’s column for Exame magazine_) Brazil faces a critical challenge in public administration: the absence of a robust institutional mechanism for recruiting public-sector executives. This shortcoming undermines the effectiveness of government and hinders the implementation of priority policies - especially in times of fiscal constraints. Both sporadic domestic experiences and successful international practices reveal efficient recruitment methods that have provided governments with remarkable managerial talent, capable of overcoming the complex challenges faced daily by the public administration. The discrepancy between the current recruitment approach in Brazil and evidence-based best practices highlights the urgent need for reform in the Brazilian state. Although public civil service examinations (concursos públicos) play a vital role in ensuring transparency and impartiality in personnel selection, critics argue that they are insufficient for identifying managerial talent for the government. As a rule, these examinations serve to neutralize political influence and nepotism, but often rely on highly specialized knowledge tests while neglecting essential leadership skills. Currently, the absence of an institution dedicated to identifying and nurturing senior talent in the civil service severely compromises the country’s administrative capacity. While the [[Escola Nacional de Administração Pública (ENAP)|National School of Public Administration (ENAP)]] has a mandate to train senior federal managers, its effectiveness is threatened by an identity crisis - should it be a government school, a think tank, or a higher education institution? - and by a mission spread thin across multiple responsibilities. Lacking concrete evaluations of its courses’ impact, it remains uncertain whether ENAP is truly contributing to improving the managerial quality of the federal senior public service. France serves as a reference for [[Public Sector Reform in France|reform]] by restructuring its system for developing and selecting public leaders, [replacing](https://insp.gouv.fr/transformation) the traditional _École Nationale d’Administration_ (ENA) with a model focused on the practical development of leadership skills. This [innovative system](https://www.diese.gouv.fr/) prioritizes targeted training and executive coaching, emphasizing the identification and enhancement of individuals with leadership potential in the public sector. The reform of the ENA into structures better aligned with contemporary public-administration demands signifies a major step forward in the country’s management tradition, attuned to shifts in the state and labor markets, and becoming more dynamic and adaptable. A clear example of the confusion arising from the absence of a coherent plan to reform Brazil’s senior public management can be seen in recent debates concerning the recruitment of leaders for federal universities. A bill under discussion in the Chamber of Deputies proposes abolishing the three-candidate list (lista tríplice) used for the appointment of university presidents, suggesting instead that the President of the Republic appoint the candidate who receives the most votes from faculty, staff, and students. In an [interview](https://valor.globo.com/politica/noticia/2023/10/19/reacao-a-ingerencia-de-bolsonaro-nas-universidades-avanca-na-camara.ghtml) with the newspaper Valor Econômico, the bill’s rapporteur on the Education Committee, Congressman Patrus Ananias (PT-MG), stated: “This is a bill of the State, not of the government. The Executive supports the project, with the agreement and encouragement of President Lula, who is relinquishing a power.” Cynically, this statement seems to overlook that university communities often possess an ideological leaning aligned with the governing administration, thereby facilitating the appointment of leaders attuned to the agendas of the Workers’ Party. How would government officials react if a similar proposal were made for selecting the chiefs of state military police forces? Evidently, the sole purpose of this proposal is to entrench the corporatist tendencies in federal universities. By making the appointment of university presidents dependent solely on the votes of the academic community, this approach signals that these institutions should be administered purely on local interests at the expense of academic excellence. Ideally, more transparent and merit-based selection procedures- akin to those used at leading global universities abroad and in Brazil’s own top research institutions, such as the Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics (IMPA) - should be adopted. Such methods involve [search committees](https://impa.br/noticias/edital-de-selecao-para-diretor-geral-do-impa/) composed of specialists tasked with actively identifying candidates, evaluating their credentials, and conducting interviews, with the goal of selecting the most qualified individuals and fostering leadership grounded in competence and strategic vision. It is intriguing to see the government take a stance against three-candidate lists when convenient, especially given that, at the beginning of the current administration, the President’s appointment of a new Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) from outside the shortlist proposed by the members of the Prosecutor’s Office led multiple government representatives and supporters to declare publicly that delegating the selection of the Chief Prosecutor to the prosecutors themselves neither democratizes the process nor guarantees higher quality. This posture stands in striking contrast to the approach taken toward federal universities, suggesting a selective application of principles depending on political expediency. Another vivid example of the managerial crisis produced by the lack of a structured system for recruiting and selecting leaders for high-complexity and high-responsibility roles is the administration of federal hospitals in Rio de Janeiro. The absence of a structured method for identifying and appointing leaders with the requisite technical competencies led to the nomination of a union leader who lacked the essential expertise to manage a network of highly complex hospitals operating with a multibillion-real budget ([it was not for lack of warning](https://www.poder360.com.br/brasil/paes-ironiza-indicado-para-comandar-hospitais-federais-no-rio/)). This decision aggravated the already precarious management of these hospitals and precipitated a decline in service quality, ultimately resulting in the [belated dismissal](https://www.poder360.com.br/governo/com-crise-em-hospitais-no-rio-ministerio-da-saude-demite-diretor/) of the aforementioned leader in the face of a glaring administrative crisis. The experience of other countries, [[Sistema de Alta Dirección Pública (SADP)|such as Chile]], sheds light on how such practices might be successfully implemented. Since 2003, Chile has adopted a [recruitment and selection policy](https://exame.com/revista-exame/no-chile-cargo-publico-e-coisa-seria/) for senior public executives - including hospital managers - that relies on technical, competency-based processes. An impact evaluation published in December 2023 found that this system contributed significantly to improving the management of Chile’s healthcare system, as evidenced by [reduced mortality](https://mipp.cl/es/2023/04/11/estudio-sistema-de-alta-direccion-publica-ha-reducido-en-8-la-tasa-de-mortalidad-hospitalaria/) rates in hospitals managed under this framework. This simply confirms what residents of Rio de Janeiro witness firsthand: appointing leaders exclusively for political convenience can be lethal. When confronted by the mirror of administrative reform, Brazil finds itself at a crossroads between holding on to an antiquated legacy and adapting belatedly to the future. While there is growing consensus that the country needs to strengthen its state capacity to effectively implement the policies the current administration deems essential - such as industrial policy - it is imperative to move forward and find common ground on changes to the current system for recruiting public-sector leaders. All reforms undoubtedly carry a political cost; however, the cost of inertia - of relentlessly seeking late solutions to worsening problems - greatly surpasses the burden of necessary change.