Mauricio Claver-Carone.
Credit: Gabriel Aponte / Getty Images for Concordia Summit
(CNN Spanish) -
A little over four months after his arrival at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Mauricio Claver-Carone reflects on the scenario that will come after the covid-19 pandemic, talks about his plans to make a mark younger to the institution and recalls what it was like to work as an advisor to former President Donald Trump in the United States.
In an interview with Marcelo Longobardi, the IDB president said that as happened in Europe after the bubonic plague, after the current health crisis there will be a "renaissance with labor mobility, innovation and consumption."
He assured that the role of his organization will be to accompany the opportunities that arise after this stage.
In addition, he said that they plan to provide financing for the vaccination plans of several partner countries.
“We launched a US $ 1 billion program to do it.
It has been one of the priorities in my first 100 days, ”he said.
So far, the countries that have accessed these funds are Belize, Bahamas, Nicaragua, Honduras, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic.
Prior to working at the IDB, Claver-Carone was legal advisor in the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency of the US Department of the Treasury and executive director of that country before the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as deputy assistant to the Former US President Donald Trump and Senior Director for Western Hemisphere Affairs at the National Security Council.
His nomination to the IDB was promoted by Trump himself and generated criticism from several South American leaders, both for his career and for being the first American to be nominated for the position.
Claver-Carone defines his imprint on the IDB 1:05
With regard to this controversy, Claver-Carone stated that he knows that it is not made of "gold or chocolate so that everyone will like it", but stressed that it has managed to generate a consensus and maintains a fluid dialogue with the representatives of all countries member.
In addition, he stressed that at 45 years of age he is the youngest president of an international financial institution and that is important along the way to "generate a new IDB for new generations."
Longobardi asked him about what it was like to work with Donald Trump.
Claver-Carone said that “almost 90% of my conversations with the president were on the subject of Venezuela.
He had a very clear mandate at that time to be able to help in the democratic transition, the recognition of Juan Guaidó and the creation of the largest coalition of modern democracy ”.
Claver-Carone recalls what it was like to work with Trump 1:07
He also referred to the process of government transition in the US and the assault on the Capitol on January 6.
The IDB president said that for him "the reaction of Trump after the election was very unfortunate."
He added that he was the first leader of a global financial body to "immediately recognize in November and congratulate then-president-elect Joe Biden."
Regarding Biden, he noted that “he is a person who is very attentive to Latin America and the Caribbean” and believes that he has a “frankly unique opportunity to present a cohesive and bipartisan vision of the United States in favor of economic recovery and development in the region".
The complete interview with Mauricio Claver-Crone is this Sunday, January 31, "In Dialogue with Longobardi", at 9 PM in Miami, 11 PM in Buenos Aires, on CNN en Español.