This article analyzes the bureaucratic machination that took place in the province and city of Popayan between 1830 and 1853. It is showing that in order to hold a bureaucratic position, theywere fundamental the social-familiar references of the power, the bureaucratic family path and the curriculum, precisely, in this last aspect, the republicanism introduce a detail about the school’s director professing, which was holded trought the oposition. Equally, we got as conclution that the bureaucratic machination didn’t depend of the governors only or the useless liberal/conservingdichotomy, but it influenced a series of aspects such as reciprocity, the power’s relationships and thefrequent negociations between the local and executive power.

Popayan; bureaucratic machination; social-family network; power; State