First published in 1999, the main theme of this book is the relationship between bureaucracy and politics in Mexico. This examined though a study of the Secretariat of Programming and Budget, which came into existence in 1976 and was abolished in 1992. The book charts the rise and fall of the Secretariat over three presidential terms and gives an explanation of the chain of events that led to its disappearance. In doing so it underlines the significant impact hat institutional and bureaucratic factors have on group politics in contemporary Mexico.