Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn was elected as the new president of the IDB economy

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Brazil Ilan Goldfajan The new president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was elected this Sunday, easily securing the necessary votes in the first round of voting. Goldfajn, 56, received 80.08% of the vote and the support of 17 regional governors, two more than needed to clinch the nomination.

“Ilan Goldfajan was elected chairman of IDB at a special meeting of the bank’s board of governors held this Sunday. The meeting was held at the IDB headquarters in Washington DC and representatives attended virtually or in person,” the agency confirmed in a statement. liberation.

To achieve nomination, the winning candidate must receive a majority of the vote and the support of at least fifteen of the 28 regional member states of this multilateral organization to promote development.

Director for the Western Hemisphere of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) until now won over the remaining three candidates, Buenos Aires threw its support behind the Brazilian candidate after Argentine candidate Cecilia Todesca Bocco withdrew at the last minute. The nomination process moved faster than expected, backed by Argentina, the United States and Canada, three of the most heavily weighted countries in the bank’s voting shares (the United States, the main shareholder, accumulates 30%). It was expected in recent days and there was no need to go to a second round of voting.

Chile’s Nicolás Eyzaguirre was second in Sunday’s contest with 9.93% of the vote and the support of two regional governors. Mexican candidate Gerardo Esquivel received 8.21% of the vote and received the green light from three regional governors. Trinidad and Tobago’s candidate Gerard Johnson, backed by the Caribbean island nation, received the Yes votes of six territorial governors, but only 1.61% of the vote.

This Sunday’s vote was held after the governors of the IDB Last month, the then president, American Mauricio Claver-Carron, was oustedThe investigation found that she was responsible for an improper relationship with a deputy who was nominated for the position by the Donald Trump administration in 2020 and gave her favorable treatment.

The new president of the IDB will have an initial term of five years at the helm of the multilateral institution. Broad technical profile and long experience In public and private finance sector. Born in Haifa (Israel) and educated in Rio de Janeiro and the American MIT, he has served twice as President (2016-2019) and Vice President of the Central Bank of Brazil. He has been responsible for Credit Suisse’s operations in Brazil and Chief Economist at Itaú Unibanco.

A Interview with El País, pledged this week that once he takes over, the bank will operate independently and not move for ideological reasons. He says decisions will be made based on “facts” and data. Their priorities, in this order, include the fight against poverty and inequality, better distribution and production of food; the fight against climate change, which is already being felt with dramatic consequences in the islands of the Caribbean and Central America; and improving physical and digital infrastructure to improve connectivity among the various countries of the region.

In officially announcing his candidacy on October 24, the Brazilian government highlighted that Goldfajn is a professional who combines “extensive and successful experience in the public sector, multilateral organizations and the private sector, as well as a solid academic background”.

Although he was the candidate with the highest technical profile and extensive knowledge of the region, his nomination created some controversy in his country. His name was proposed by the outgoing government of Jair Bolsonaro, and members of the transition team of the country’s presidential winner, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, proposed postponing the selection process at the IDB so that the new administration could propose a candidate. But the future head of state was comfortable with Goldfajn representing Brazil. “There is no objection,” asserted the former central bank governor.

Goldfjn will be the seventh president of the IDB, where he will take over from interim president Reina Irene Mejia Sacon. Previously, in addition to Claver-Caron, Luis Alberto Moreno (2005–2020), Enrique Iglesias (1988–2005), Antonio Ortiz Mena (1971–1988) and Felipe Herrera (1960), they held this position. The bank, founded in 1959, disbursed nearly $23 billion in development projects last year.