What has the Argentine government achieved in the distribution of power, positions and budget at the IDB?

Secretary of International Economic Relations and former Vice President of Argentina, Cecilia Todesca BoccoToday he met the Brazilian who was elected as the head of the organization Ilan KolfajanThe current Director of the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department congratulated him and wished him good governance.

After the Argentine government withdrew Todesca Bocco’s candidacy at the last moment, Goldfjörn won the final four candidates, in which he played the “gender card” and supported the Brazilian candidate, thus winning without any problems over the other contenders: Chile. Nicholas IssaguierMexican Gerardo Esquivel Y Gerard JohnsonFrom Trinidad & Tobago.

In a meeting with Golffajn, Todesca Bocco noted that the Argentine will head the position of Vice-President for Sectors and Knowledge, in addition to the new Institute for Infrastructure and Energy Management and Gender and Equality, which he promised will be one of the new administration. One of the “strategic issues” presented by Argentina was the IDP’s axes and Argentina nominating a woman to the highest position in the IDP.

The IDB is a major source of development financing in Latin America and the Caribbean through loans, grants, and technical assistance. In addition, it develops studies and research on social inclusion and equity, productivity, innovation and economic integration in the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Regarding the substantial nature of the disbursement, the Argentine Embassy in the United States noted that “the country will participate in the new IDB administration with two key positions managing 40% of the budget.”

“We always look for consensus. The region needs to work together, challenges and opportunities are shared, and we also agreed on a work agenda with a perspective and issues that seem strategic to us,” they said from Washington, the credit institution’s headquarters. “It’s a good arrangement for the country,” they concluded. .

Todesca’s application had one original weakness: According to data on the IDB website, Argentina’s current receivables totaled US$12,686 million, making the country the institution’s largest creditor.

The “IDB Group Strategy with Argentina 2021-2023” is structured around four strategic pillars: 1) poverty reduction and social protection for the most vulnerable; 2) Economic Recovery and Productivity Development 4.0; 3) macroeconomic stability and effectiveness of public policies; and 4) digital transformation as a cross-cutting axis of development. Each axis includes a diversity and gender approach; and environmental sustainability”, the bank’s website indicates, which the North American headed until he was fired last September. Mauricio Claver-Caron.

Indeed, recently Claver Caron, who was fired after an investigation concluded that he had violated the company’s code of ethics, described the government. Alberto Fernandez From “The Gang of Three Friends”. The former official said that in his meetings with him as head of the IDP, the Argentine president’s concern was “always about finding a job”. Gustavo Belize”. In addition, Claver Caron warned of the risk of the IDB becoming a “Bank of Selac” by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, founded in 2010 while the then Venezuelan president was still alive. Hugo Chavez. Made up of 32 countries, SELAC is an “OAS without the US” (which in turn includes Cuba), viewed with suspicion from Washington.

The arithmetic of power in the organism is very revealing. The United States, Brazil and the European Union alone received 51% of the body’s votes. The United States has 30%, Argentina and Brazil have 11% each, the European Union (10%), Mexico (7%), Japan (5%) and Venezuela and Canada (4% each).

Since “Inter-American” includes one bloc (the European Union) and one country (Japan), the calculation seems odd. The IDB, with its membership in the majority of developing countries, has sought to expand its capital base by adding additional regional partners interested in the region. The organism’s agenda. So there are 16 European countries, 3 Asian countries (China, Japan and South Korea) and Israel. Of the organization’s 48 members, 26 are “borrowers” (ie borrowers like Argentina) and 22 are “lenders”.

The relative weighting of countries is also striking: Argentina is more equal than Brazil and Mexico, and more regional members such as the European Union and Japan in addition to the balance between Venezuela and Canada. Once again, the explanation is historical: the IDB was created in 1959, in the midst of the Cold War, as the “evolutionary” leg of the “Inter-American Organization,” on top of which the OAS was created in 1947. World at the end of World War II. In 1959, the Argentine economy was, in fact, as large or larger than the Brazilian economy, and the Venezuelan economy matched the Canadian economy.

Alberto Fernández’s government did not manage Totesca as he wanted to put him in the presidency, but as they pointed out from the embassy in Washington, it managed positions in areas that spent 40% of the organization’s budget.

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