There are only a few hours left until the deadline, this Friday, for the appointment to the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and, as you have learned Clarin, the government will present a woman as a candidate and with it it will try to impose itself on Mexico and Brazil.
The race for the presidency of the IDB is a topic that is talked about throughout Washington because here are the headquarters of the regional organization, with thousands of officials and employees. The firing of Mauricio Claver Carone for a relationship with a bank official – whose salary was increased by 40% – sparked a regional competition for his succession.
This Friday is the deadline for countries to submit candidates, while the final vote will be entrusted to the Board of Governors on November 20. This council, which is the highest authority of the organization, is made up of the ministers of the economy or senior officials from the bank’s member countries.
Argentina’s move comes later the government was frustrated by its desire to present a regional consensus person to the body, preferably Argentine. The first Brazil was cut only with Ilan Goldfajn and then Mexico joined, which demoted the candidate Alicia Barcena (which is not sympathetic to the US) to appoint the deputy governor of the central bank on Wednesday Gerard Esquivela move that did not go well for the Rosada.
It has not yet been leaked who would be the Argentine candidate, who will be presented tomorrow at the end of the legislature. If chosen, She would be the first female president of the IDB, a strong card the government tries to play with.
Weeks earlier, the economist seemed like a possible candidate Cecilia Todesca Bocco, the current Secretary for International Economic Relations, appointed by the Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero. She had previously been Deputy Head of the Cabinet of Ministers, close to Alberto Fernández.
Another name that circulated was that of the economist Mercedes Marco del Pontcurrent Secretary for Strategic Affairs, who was President of the Central Bank and Vice President.
According to an IDB source a Clarione, the future president or president should have a certain profile, after the scandal with Claver Carone. “The academic background, the knowledge of the development world, those who know how to entertain civil dialogues with countries, interact with the board, have empathic characteristics. After Claver, someone is needed to rebuild the bond with the Bank’s staff, who are very down, and to start establishing relations with countries, ”she said.
Argentina is looking for that listed position, that of the largest lender in the region, because a compatriot has never presided over the body. But neither is Brazilian. During his visit to Washington in the framework of the IMF Assembly, Minister Sergio Massa met his Brazilian counterpart Paulo Guedes and they decided to look for a candidate for regional consensus along with Mexico.
But Bolsonaro anticipated and named Goldfajn and Lula supported him. Andrés Manuel López Obrador launched Alicia Barcena, former ECLAC president, but did not get the necessary consensus and then, instead of agreeing on a candidate as Argentina expected, he replaced her with Esquivel, with better ties to the United States .
So, the candidates in the race so far are the Brazilian Goldfajn, who is an old acquaintance of Argentina because he is the director for the western hemisphere of the International Monetary Fund and is the one who has piloted the renegotiation of the 55,000 US dollars. million program with Martín Guzmán and then continued with Massa. Since he announced his candidacy, he has been on leave from that position.
Goldfajn, who was director of the Central Bank of Brazil, was introduced by Jair Bolsonaro, but it is estimated that – as he had anticipated Clarione– He will keep his candidacy because he is an old acquaintance of many of his officials.
The other is the Mexican Esquivel, economist and academic, now deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico. He has been a visiting researcher at the IMF, an advisor to the World Bank and the IDB, as well as to ECLAC, OECD and UNDP (UNDP).
Chile presented itself to Nicholas Eyzaguirre, former Minister of Economy and Education and Minister General of the Presidency during the administration of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet. He was also an IMF official.
It is estimated that Caribbean countries will also present a candidate. The vote will take place on September 20, but next week the candidates will have to present their projects to the governors.
To win the presidency, the applicant must obtain a majority of the voting powers of the Member States, which varies according to the number of shares owned by each country. Brazil and Argentina each have 11.35% of the Bank’s voting power, while Mexico has 7.29%. The winning candidate must also have the support of at least 15 countries in the region.
Source: Clarin
