Paula lugones
09/12/2020 - 14:25
Clarín.com
Economy
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) elected
Mauricio Claver Carone
as its president for the next five years on
Saturday
and, amid strong controversy,
Donald Trump's candidate has become the first American in the 60-year history of the body to occupy that position
by breaking an unwritten rule that establishes that this position must be for a Latin American.
Mauricio Claver Carone, 44, of Cuban origin and current Trump special adviser for Latin America, was
the only candidate who had remained in the race
, after the former president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, and the Argentina's Secretary for Strategic Affairs, Gustavo Béliz, and
amid protests from former presidents, officials and personalities from across the region
who openly expressed disgust at the unexpected candidacy of an American.
Trump's man broke an unwritten historical rule of the IDB, which establishes that the presidency must be occupied by a Latin American, (despite the fact that he contributes 30% of the Bank's share capital) since the helm of the other international organizations of Credit (IMF and World Bank) are shared between the United States and Europe.
Experts such as Eugenio Díaz Bonilla point out that, even though it is not a documented rule, it
acquires legal force by customary law.
As Clarín learned, Claver Carone obtained 66.8% of the votes and there were 31.23% abstentions. China withdrew from the race.
The government had tried for several weeks to stop
Claver Carone from
coming to power
with a maneuver together with Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica and the EU, to avoid the quorum and postpone the election, which ultimately failed and left the Trump official with the free way to replace the Colombian Luis Alberto Moreno in the presidency.
The Governors, who met in a virtual Assembly in the morning, gave the quorum immediately and listened to the Argentine argument that it was not in the hands of Béliz (the Governor who represents our country), but by
a lower-ranking official,
a gesture that was interpreted as a protest.
Christian Asinelli, Undersecretary of International Financial Relations of the Strategic Affairs portfolio, outlined before the online audience the Argentine position, which was in line with what was expressed in the statement on Thursday, when he announced that Argentina would abstain in the vote.
Thus, he expressed the inconvenience for Latin America and the Caribbean of violating a tradition of regional governance of the institution, which has existed for 60 years, as a plural sphere, at the service of the interest of Latin Americans and the Caribbean and without becoming “a tool for interventionism. diplomatic".
He also referred to the inopportunity of holding the Assembly, in the midst of a pandemic that did not allow "an adequate and calm debate on the future of the IDB," and that runs the risk of deepening the division in the region.
There was an intermission room, then Claver Carone presented his ideas and finally a 45 minute session of questions to the candidate.
At the time of the vote, which was secret, Claver Carone overcame a complex counting mechanism established in the Bank: he was elected by the majority of the total voting power of the member countries (the voting power of the member countries varies according to with the number of shares of each nation) and by at least 15 of the 28 member countries of the region.
Claver already had the declared backing of 21 countries, including Brazil (possibly winning the vice presidency), Colombia, Paraguay, Japan.
Argentina kept Béliz until the last minute but in the end lowered its candidacy to
"not buy an unnecessary confrontation"
with the United States, sources told
Clarín
, at a time when it is negotiating the debt with the International Monetary Fund, where the US Treasury it carries enormous weight.
In voting, he abstained.
Claver Carone, a Miami-born Cuban-born lawyer, is known for his hard line toward Cuba and Venezuela and is an ally of Republican Senator Marco Rubio.
Before becoming Trump's main adviser for Latin America, he was known for his blog "Capitol Hill Cubans", where he strongly criticized the opening of the previous Barack Obama administration with Havana.
He highlights his experience in credit organizations since he was also the United States director for the International Monetary Fund.
The Trump official said that the United States had been interested this time in the presidency of the IDB because "Latin America and the Caribbean is the region that suffers the greatest lack of financing in the world, something that has worsened with the crisis and the pandemic." and that no capital was injected and that
"China filled those gaps in recent years with its state banks and began to lend money to the region."
Claver Carone seeks to get companies to invest in the region again.
He also proposes that the United States contribute more capital to the Bank.
"Our candidacy could bring more confidence from the United States Government, which has not had the confidence for a long time to contribute more capital," he said.
But there are doubts because it is not yet known whether Trump will remain in the White House after the November 3 elections.
And, in addition, he is a man who arouses a lot of distrust within the Democratic ranks and even some Republicans, and could be very weakened if Joe Biden wins.
For
Carlos Vegh,
former World Bank Chief Economist for Latin America and the Caribbean, the election of Claver Carone is
"bad news"
for the region for three reasons, as he told
Clarín
: "First, a political agreement of 60 years that establishes that the IDB president would be from the region and the headquarters would be in the United States.
Second, by appointing a candidate clearly aligned with the ideology of the US administration, Trump has
unnecessarily politicized a process
that should be focused exclusively on helping a region facing one of the worst economic and humanitarian crises in the 60-year existence of the US government. IDB.
Third, because once again it confirms how difficult it is for Latin America to unite behind common causes.
It is a dysfunctional family ”.
Vegh also believes that, “in principle, Claver Carone could contribute his knowledge and commitment to the region in order to continue and strengthen the role of the IDB, particularly in these difficult times.
To avoid conflicts,
the President of the IDB must feel and not the man Trump put there.
The huge con is that the United States broke with a healthy tradition and has already provoked all kinds of palace intrigues that the IDB - a serious institution committed to the region - did not deserve ”.
Pablo Guerron,
professor of Economics at Boston College, told
Clarín
that it is “
a nomination made by a populist president”
and that “it can only be expected that personal interests (not even the Republican Party) prevail when it comes to decisions made. for Trump's candidate. "
The expert warned that "from an economic point of view, it is to be expected that the IDB will
lose its neutrality at a critical moment
in which technical principles have to prevail over political and personal interests."
He added that “in the medium term this nomination may have consequences not only for Argentina but for all of Latin America.
As experience has shown us, it is very easy to fall into the displeasure of a populist like Trump.
There will be countries that will temporarily benefit from this election, but I have no doubt that luck will change.
The result will be the loss of a key economic partner for the development of the region ”.
Claver Carone will be the fifth president of the Bank.
Before that, there were Luis Alberto Moreno (2005-2020), Enrique Iglesias (1988-2005) and Felipe Herrera (1960-1971).
The American, who promised to be in office for only a 5-year term, will take office on October 1.
Washington. Correspondent