The book examines the historical period during which the mechanisms of state intervention in the Uruguayan economy were consolidated. These mechanisms emerged in the late 19th century, and their most notable feature was the attempt to segment the operations of public bureaucracies. On the one hand, the state’s industrial and commercial sector would have administrative autonomy and serve as a guarantee of rational intervention, free from patronage-based dealings and guided primarily by technical criteria. On the other hand, the rest of the administration would remain, maintaining the traditional patronage system. This idea of segmentation gradually faded over time, and partisan political objectives came to take precedence in the management of the bureaucracy. Consequently, not only was the state’s rational intervention in the economic process affected, but so was the corporate coherence of the state’s actions. The book delves into a period rich in insights for understanding the development of the state bureaucracy’s competencies in the Río de la Plata region.