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Felipe Calderón's Office of the Presidency, Mexico, 2006—2012

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Felipe Calderón's Office of the Presidency, Mexico, 2006—2012 WEATHERING THE STORM: FELIPE CALDERÓN’S OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENCY, MEXICO, 2006—2012 SYNOPSIS In 2006, incoming Mexican president Felipe Calderón had to work quickly to deliver on ambitious campaign promises that included improving infrastructure and confronting organized crime. Limited by his country’s constitution to one six-year term, Calderón, a hands-on manager, sought to ensure coordination and follow-through among members of his Cabinet by creating a strong Office of the Presidency. At first, he appointed Juan Camilo Mouriño, a close aide and political adviser, to head a centralized office that combined political and policy responsibilities in his chief-of-staff role. Later, Calderón moved Mouriño to the Cabinet, shifting political responsibilities out of the office, flattening the structure, and assuming more-direct management responsibility than he had exercised as president earlier. Mouriño’s untimely death later the same year coincided with twin crises that tested the office and the presidency. Although Calderón’s tenure demonstrated successful planning and coordination, his experience also illustrated the limitations of an organizational structure that relied too heavily on the chief executive’s participation. Robert Joyce drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Mexico City in January 2015. Case published in June, 2015. INTRODUCTION or PAN), he had received 36.7% of the vote, Gerardo Ruiz Mateos, head of the Office of barely beating Democratic Revolution Party the Presidency and secretary of economy under candidate Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who Mexican president Felipe Calderón, compared the garnered 36.1%. A third major candidate, Roberto presidency to the captain of a ship in treacherous Madrazo Pintado of the Institutional seas. “You have to manage the chaos and keep the Revolutionary Party, captured 22.7%. ship on the right course,” Ruiz said. “You need to Calderón took office amid uproar in the move the ship sometimes because there’s a storm. streets. Unwilling to concede, López Obrador You can change course, but you cannot change the protested the results for weeks and staged his own destination.” mock inauguration. His allies in Congress Calderón, 44, won Mexico’s 2006 temporarily blocked Calderón’s way into the presidential election by a razor-thin margin. legislature building for the oath of office.1 Running as the candidate of the incumbent For the new president and his team, the National Action Party (Partido Acción Nacional, chaos of those early days foreshadowed the years ISS is a joint program of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the Bobst Center for Peace and Justice: successfulsocieties.princeton.edu. ISS invites readers to share feedback and information on how these cases are being used: [email protected]. © 2015, Trustees of Princeton University Robert Joyce Innovations for Successful Societies ahead, when unanticipated challenges would arise said he held strong views, had a reputation for in rapid succession. During the campaign, being stubborn, and was wary of people outside Calderón had made bold promises to Mexican his small inner circle.3 He told the San Francisco voters. For example, he aimed to expand Seguro Chronicle in 2006 that he was “firm and Popular, a health-care program aimed at low- demanding,” possibly to a fault.4 income citizens, which had been established by his According to some of his aides, Calderón predecessor, Vicente Fox, who was from the same believed administration-wide coordination had political party. He set a goal of universal coverage weakened under the Fox administration, and he by the end of his administration. He also favored wanted to ensure his Cabinet concentrated on heavy investment in transportation infrastructure achieving his vision during his six-year term. to improve mobility and open markets—a step Mouriño and Ruiz aimed to create an Office that could reduce the vulnerability of inaccessible of the Presidency that could operate effectively towns to capture by drug cartels. Finally, Calderón amid day-to-day strains on its focus and capacity. focused on addressing the country’s worsening They had some flexibility, because Mexican law security situation. He had pledged to increase the gave presidents broad leeway to shape the office as capacity of security forces and improve their they saw fit and because newly established civil employment conditions in order to better confront services rules did not extend to the office’s increasingly bold criminal organizations. political posts. Calderón and his team needed a way to Priority setting and planning were crucial deliver on those lofty goals and respond to functions, and Mouriño and Ruiz had to decide unanticipated challenges. From the start, the whether the functions would be handled within question was how to balance the immediate with the Office of the Presidency or by a government the strategic. Implementing an ambitious agenda secretariat (also called a ministry). Mexican law and managing the chaos required an effective required new presidents to submit a governing Office of the Presidency. After the July election, plan to Congress within six months of taking Calderón tapped two top aides—Juan Camilo office. Mouriño, his former undersecretary of energy, and The Office of the Presidency also had to Ruiz, a major campaign fund-raiser with private- advise Calderón on emerging issues and problems, sector management experience—to design and as well as provide specific kinds of information the organize an office that would enable him to president needed to make key decisions. José Luis deliver on his priorities. Méndez, a Mexican presidency scholar and former Fox speechwriter, said he considered this function THE CHALLENGE the most important. “The success of the Office of Colleagues described Calderón as a hands-on the Presidency has to do with controlling the manager. A lawyer with a master’s degree in government,” he said. “But that is not the most economics, Calderón had won election to Mexico important criterion. The most important criterion City’s municipal assembly at the age of 26 and is the capacity of the Office of the Presidency to served as PAN’s national party president in the help the president make good decisions, to think late 1990s before earning a second master’s degree and act strategically.” from the Kennedy School of Government at Communications and Cabinet coordination Harvard University. He then served as head of the were two other crucial functions. The Office of national development bank and as secretary of the Presidency had to communicate the energy during Fox’s administration.2 The media administration’s strategy and progress to © 2015, Trustees of Princeton University 2 Terms of use and citation format appear at the end of this document and at successfulsocieties.princeton.edu/about/terms-conditions. Robert Joyce Innovations for Successful Societies Congress, where Calderón had to work with two “There was a feeling that in President Fox’s opposition parties; to Mexico’s citizens broadly; Cabinet, everyone did whatever they wanted,” said and finally to the world. To be effective, the new Ernesto Cordero, who headed policy development president had to persuade Congress and the public for Calderón’s campaign. “It was like a Montessori that government policies would be not only Cabinet, as the press called it. Calderón didn’t carefully considered but also well implemented. A want that.” (Montessori is an educational strong communications effort would bolster the approach based on giving young students administration’s relations with Congress, keep independence in their decision making.) political opponents at bay, and foster public Calderón’s Office of the Presidency had to strike a support. “Communication is everything,” said balance between central control and delegation. Sofía Frech, who headed planning early in the Calderón’s staff “wanted a design to make Calderón administration. things happen,” said Cordero, who served as In coordinating Calderón’s Cabinet, the secretary of social development and, later, finance. Office of the Presidency would be responsible for “The office had to be designed to be strong managing Cabinet secretaries who had their own enough so that the Cabinet [secretaries] paid goals and for helping them deliver on the attention to the president’s guidelines but at the president’s priorities. “The president will always same time assumed responsibility for their own have problems trying to control and trying to get jobs.” the Cabinet secretaries to do what he wants,” said Méndez. “Even if in Mexico the president FRAMING A RESPONSE appoints a secretary close to him, the secretary to Alejandro Poiré, a political adviser and, later, some extent or another will play his own game.” secretary of governance, outlined the decisions the The design of the office also had to Calderón administration worked through while accommodate Calderón’s aptitudes and style. Past designing the Office of the Presidency. “At the presidents had molded the office to reflect their beginning of the administration, it was crucial personal approaches to government. Carlos that we clarify our goals,” he said. “What do you Salinas (1988–94) had a powerful chief of staff want to do? How do you want to go about it? and an expanded Office of the Presidency. What is the role of the Office of the Presidency?” Ernesto Zedillo (1994–2000) had eliminated the Calderón assigned Frech to draft the chief of staff position, reduced the profile of the administration’s governing plan and set priorities Office of the Presidency, and relied on several top ahead of the December inauguration. Mouriño aides for support. and Ruiz worked with other advisers to organize Vicente Fox, the first president in more than the Office of the Presidency and decide on its 70 years who was not a member of the responsibilities. Institutional Revolutionary Party, had structured his presidential office along thematic lines, Setting goals concentrating on high-visibility priorities such as Although law required him to submit a government innovation and relations with National Development Plan for his term, indigenous communities.
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