Más allá del partido: empresarios, tecnócratas y agentes políticos en los gabinetes ministeriales dominicanos

Abstract

Objective/context: This study analyzes the partisan connections of individuals who attain ministerial positions in the Dominican Republic, identifying the influence of political parties, economic elites, and technical profiles in the formation of presidential cabinets. Methodology: Following the typology proposed by Camerlo and Castaldo, we categorize the partisan profiles of the governments of the Dominican Liberation Party (PLD) from 2016 to 2020, and the Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) from 2020 to 2024. This aims to characterize their internal variation in scenarios of low formal institutionalization that are not captured by traditional dichotomous classifications. Conclusions: The heterogeneity in the influence of party leadership illustrates how Dominican parties diverge from the party government model. The predominance of non-partisan profiles in the core planning ministries, along with the presence of politician-businessmen in the rest of the portfolios, highlights the risk of political capture in this country. Originality: These results call into question the influence of the party as the center of power in dominant presidentialism.

Keywords

• dominican republic
• governmental partisanship
• ministerial cabinets
• political capture