Ilan Goldfajn, Brazil's candidate for the IDB: "We must produce more food and improve its distribution"

After a period of turbulence, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) must adopt an independent course, away from politics and in which the great problems of Latin America -poverty, climate change, lack of integration and infrastructure- made with “fact-based” decisions.

This is what Ilan Goldfajn, former governor of the Brazilian central bank and his country's candidate for the presidency of that multilateral institution - one of the most important in the region - believes in the election that will take place next Sunday.

Goldfajn, 56, is facing the candidacies of Argentine Cecilia Todesca Bocco;

the Mexican Gerardo Esquivel Hernández, the Chilean Nicolás Eyzaguirre Guzmán and Gerard Johnson, from Trinidad and Tobago, for a key position in the region.

The IDB last year approved about $23 billion in development loans to projects across Latin America (CAF, the other Latin American development camp, granted about $13.2 billion in financing in 2021).

The former governor, and deputy governor, of the Central Bank of his country assures that his curriculum supports him.

He has extensive experience in the financial sector, both in the public and private sectors.

He has been the chief economist at Itaú bank and has presided over Credit Suisse's operations in Brazil.

He is currently the director of the department for the Western Hemisphere at the International Monetary Fund -a position where personalities such as the Mexican Agustín Carstens have preceded him- and he is on leave until the vote is taken at the IDB.

He wants to make it clear that he speaks exclusively on his own behalf and does not represent the IMF with his views.

He declares himself aware of the challenge of leading the institution, especially at this time when his reputation has been damaged and the morale of his employees has diminished.

In October, the until then president of the IDB, the American Mauricio Claver-Carone, was dismissed after an investigation found that he had had an improper relationship with a subordinate.

The appointment of Claver-Carone in 2020 had broken the bank's decades-long tradition, which dictated that the presidency of the institution correspond to a Latin American, while the vice-presidency would be awarded to the United States, the largest shareholder (30%) of the IDB .

The Cuban-American executive had been proposed by President Donald Trump and his candidacy had been highly criticized.

But the lack of unity between some Latin American governments divided by their ideology between the left and the right meant that he ended up being appointed to the position.

And during his tenure, he tried to impose on the bank an agenda similar to that of the US Administration, which is very critical of countries like Venezuela.

For Goldfajn, it is essential to leave that stage behind in an institution that can "have a great impact on the development of the region."

He offers a "technical, independent" candidacy with exhaustive knowledge of the region.

And he promises to recover the effectiveness of the Bank and the motivation of the staff.

"Two ways.

The first, the leadership of a person who has experience but no political affiliation, neither for one side nor for the other.

That is important.

And the other part is putting the right people in charge, having a good team.

Of course, you have to look for diversity in it.

And work based on data, on evidence” when undertaking projects, he maintains.

Some projects that, if he becomes president of the bank, he assures that they will have as a priority what he considers to be the three main problems in Latin America.

“First, that growth is sustainable.

Fight poverty, inequality.

Produce more food, improve its distribution”.

Secondly, he promises that the IDB will act against climate change, "the impact it has on the region, especially in the Caribbean and Central America, where we must take care of those countries and those islands where the phenomenon is so relevant."

But, in addition, you should also pay attention to steps that allow you to reduce carbon emissions.

“Number three is infrastructure”, which allows the countries of Latin America to connect with each other.

The physical infrastructure, but also the digital one.

“And that we have to bring in private capital to help, because the bank's resources are limited,” she warns.

"The IDB will act together with the private sector."

The economist has warned over the last few months, in his role as director for the Western Hemisphere of the IMF, of the risk to the region that, after the blows of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, the possible contraction of financing represents .

"The IDB has a very important role when interest rates rise" to combat this risk or alleviate it, Goldfajn stresses.

“The IDB [financing] is much more important in loans at a time when it will be much more difficult to obtain financing for social challenges.

I believe that by playing a role that is very faithful to those three priorities that you pointed out, the IDB is going to play a very important role at a very important time, when there is less private financing and high interest rates.”

His candidacy has aroused special attention in Brazil, since it has been proposed by the outgoing government of Jair Bolsonaro.

Members of the transition team of the winner of the presidential elections in the country, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, proposed a postponement of the selection process at the IDB so that the new Administration would be the one to propose a name.

But the future head of state is comfortable with Goldfajn representing the country.

The IDB rules, recalls the senior official, impose a period of 45 days to appoint a new president after the departure of the previous one.

This means that the candidacy process coincided with the Brazilian elections.

“Who is going to vote this Sunday is the Government that leaves in December, and that is the Government that can nominate me.

They chose me because I am a kind of white flag, without affiliation, a technician who can be a representative of the Brazilian State.

I have never participated in the current government, I have never worked in it, and I do not have any obligation to the one that is coming, ”he argues.

The “noises” surrounding his candidacy “are typical of a moment of transition”, he insists, “mine is a State candidacy”.

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