I have communicated with the President @lopezobrador_ who has welcomed with affection and understanding my personal reasons for which I have asked him to withdraw my candidacy for the @el_IDB I appreciate the support received by @R_Ramirez_O @m_ebrard and their teams in this process.
— Alicia Barcena (@aliciabarcena)
November 9, 2022
US concern over Bárcena’s political stance is part of the reason the Mexican government chose another candidate, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing private conversations.
Esquivel, whose term at the country’s central bank expires at the end of the year, has already been presented to the IDB, one of the people said.
Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador proposed Bárcena, a former United Nations ECLAC executive secretary, to lead the IDB at a press conference in September.
Candidates for the Washington-based post, one of the most prestigious in Latin American finance, must be officially presented by member countries before Friday night.
Mexico’s presidential office and the finance and public credit ministry (SHCP), which is in charge of relations with the bank, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the IDB’s strategy.
Esquivel declined to comment on the information, saying Banxico is in a quiet period ahead of Thursday’s rate decision.
The bank’s assembly of governors, mostly finance ministers from the IDB’s 48 member countries, is scheduled to interview the candidates next week and make a decision on November 20.
