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Copyright of Revista de Ciencias Sociales (0797-5538) is the property of Universidad de la Republica, Faculdad de Ciencias Sociales, Departmento de Sociologica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista del CLAD Reforma y Democracia is the property of Centro Latinoamericano de Administracion para el Desarrollo (CLAD) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article explores the problem of administrative autonomy at the level of public enterprises from an institutional perspective. The «industrial and commercial domain» was the main tool for State intervention in the economy during the first three decades of the Twentieth Century in Uruguay. Administrative autonomy was conceived as the shield used to separate the administration of complex issues from the political and financial anguishes of governments. Allegedly, through this mechanism, rational State intervention in the economy would rely on technical rather than on political considerations. However, administrative autonomy was not forseen in the 1830's Constitution. The proposed solution stated in Art. 100 of 1919's Constitution provided that legislation was to regulate on the administrative autonomy of each public enterprise. However, all governments' attempts to regulate on administrative autonomy would steadily face opposition from public enterprises during 1920s. A strong cohesion between Directors and high civil servants had been formed in the majority of public enterprises, especially in the Banco de la República Oriental del Uruguay (brou), which was the oldest public enterprise. Governments had to face a new agent, the bureaucratic actor who fought hard to keep autonomy untouched during the years leading to the instauration of 1919's Constitution. A review of these conflicts sheds light on the present, since many of the problems in relation to State intervention have a long history in Uruguay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]