The Latin American countries that will aspire, without being favourites, to preside over the IDB

Five Latin American countries (Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Trinidad and Tobago) hope that their respective candidates chair the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)without any of them sounding like favorites for now.

Although the countries had already made their names public in recent days, it was not until Friday night, November 11, that the IDB confirmed them through a statement, a few minutes after it expired (at 12 am ) the deadline for submission of candidacies.

They are the Brazilian economist Ilan Goldfajn, head of the Western Hemisphere Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); Nicholas Eyzaguirre, former Minister of Finance and Education of Chile; Gerardo Esquivel, deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico (Banxico); Argentina Cecilia Todesca, who was Deputy Chief of Staff and Deputy General Manager of Institutional Relations of the Argentine Central Bank; Y Gerard Johnson, by Trinidad and Tobago.

This Sunday, the candidates formally present themselves in a closed-door session before the Board of Governors of the bank, formed by the ministers of Finance or Economy and other economic authorities of the 48 member countries. and to the next Sunday, November 20, these will be the ones who will vote, secretly, who is your chosen candidate to replace the Honduran Queen Irene Mejia, who has held the presidency of the IDB in recent weeks, after the dismissal of the American of Cuban origin Mauricio Claver-Carone.

The latter lost the confidence of the Assembly after an external investigation confirmed that had a love relationship with a subordinate, who received several salary increases.

The former president was elected in September 2020 and became the first non-Latin American to hold the position. He did it in the midst of controversy since the then US president donald trump He nominated him shortly before the end of his term.

The United States managed to win Claver-Carone then, after obtaining the support of several Latin American countries such as Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia or Uruguay, after the region failed to present a candidate that would generate consensus.

In the vote to be held on Sunday the 20th, the countries vote with different voting capacities. The United States has the largest, 30%; followed by Argentina and Brazil, with 11.3%, respectively; and Mexico, with 7.2%.

The winner, who is elected for a five-year term (and with the possibility of re-election), must also have the support of at least 15 of the 28 countries region of.

The IDB is the main funding source for the development of Latin America and the Caribbean and offers loans, donations and technical assistance to countries. Of the total 48 members, 26 of them are borrowers.

EFE