Lessons from 30 Years of Administrative Streamlining in Peru

In an effort to improve the quality and efficiency of administrative processes, Peru has implemented various de-bureaucratization reforms over the past 30 years. These were carried out with the aim of achieving an agile and transparent state. On May 20, CAF—development bank of Latin America—with the support of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers (PCM) organized a seminar focusing on the policy brief prepared by the Innovation Directorate of the State of CAF, “Agile states in Latin America: Results and challenges of Peru’s administrative streamlining strategy,” which describes the process of reforms rolled out by Peru, lessons learned and future challenges.

The seminar was attended by the president of the Council of Ministers, Violeta Bermúdez Valdivia, who thanked CAF for preparing the report and noted that “coordinating a public administration and ensuring that it is at the service of the people is one of the greatest challenges of modern states. Administrative streamlining is basically avoiding unnecessarily complex regulations or procedures, since they involve unjustified barriers, burdens and costs to the detriment of administrative processes. It means, in sum, a fair administration, an efficient action of the state for the benefit of citizens”

In the same vein, CAF’s representative in Peru, Manuel Malaret thanked the PCM for its support in the preparation of the report, and added: “One of CAF’s strategic lines of action is to reduce the large productivity gap between our countries and developed nations. The good quality of public policies and regulatory standards is a must to achieve this goal. Peru’s government has made significant and measurable strides in the design of public policies, as well as in the improvement and streamlining of rules and procedures that have benefited millions of citizens. At CAF we are proud to be able to support the PCM in this very important effort,”

The meeting was also attended by Sara Arobes Escobar, Peru’s Secretary of Public Management; Carlos Santiso, director of Digital Innovation of the State at CAF; Sebastián López Azumendi, Chief Executive of CAF’s Directorate of Digital Innovation of the State; and Mario Emilio Gutiérrez, former commissioner of Mexico’s National Commission for Regulatory Improvement (CONAMER). Sara Arobes highlighted the importance of streamlining to improve citizens’ access to different services provided by the state, while Santiso and López Azumendi emphasized the relevance of the use of technologies to improve the streamlining agenda. In addition, Mario Emilio Gutierreza analyzed the Peruvian experience and compared it with the steps taken by Mexico in the same direction.

Policy Briefs is a series of public policy documents produced by the Directorate of Digital Innovation of the State, whose purpose is to document good practices and disseminate them among the governments of the region. For more information on Policy Briefs click here.