Juanson World

At 10AM this morning, the Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will elect the successor to the Uruguayan-Spaniard Enrique Iglesias, who is stepping down after an illustrious 17 years at the helm of the hemisphere's largest development institution. In order to be elected, the candidate must be supported by over 50 percent of the Bank's shareholders as well as a majority of the member countries from the Americas: 15 out of the 28 hemispheric nations. As in all hemispheric bodies, the US carries the most influence - 30 percent of the vote - which reflects the level of American capital invested in the bank.

There are five official candidates for the position, and I will briefly profile each below:


Mario Alonso - Nicaragua
President of the Central Bank of Nicaragua

Unfortunately, representing the region's second-poorest nation does not bode well for the candidacy of Alonso, a respected economist. While he has managed to remain above the fray in terms of Nicaragua's recent corruption and political instability, Alonso's chances are slim to none.

Pedro Pablo Kuczynski - Peru
Minister of Finance, Peru

Kuczynski, educated at Princeton and Oxford, is a Peruvian version of Robert Rubin/Jon Corzine: a career spent leveraging between the highest levels of government and Wall Street. In addition to ten years as Vice President at First Boston, Kuczynski was Minister of Mines in the 1980s as well as his current post at the Ministry of Finance. I talked to a former Bolivian Minister of Finance a couple of months ago who described Kuczynski as the "classic gregarious Peruvian." Kuczynski appears to be the third place candidate who would come into play should there be a deadlock between Colombia and Brazil.

Luis Alberto Moreno - Colombia
Colombian Ambassador to the United States

A skilled and savvy diplomat, "Baby Face" Moreno is the overwhelming favorite to win the election, having secured commitments from over 50 percent of the shareholders (including the US, Europe, and Japan) and 9 regional countries. Prior to having been named ambassador in 1998, the US-educated Moreno was a TV executive, president of Colombia's institute for Industrial Development, and Minister of Development. However, Moreno - who stands at a Napoleonic 5'5 - is best known for his ability to move effortlessly among Washington power players. Indeed, there is no question that the US support of Moreno is influenced by the chummy relationships that he has developed over the past seven years: first with Bill Clinton and then with George Bush, both of which have been strong proponents of Plan Colombia, the US package of mostly military assistance which has poured over $3 billion into the resolution of the country's forty year armed conflict. Moreno seems poised to ease his way into the IDB's top position.

Jose Alejandro Rojas - Venezuela
Former Minister of Finance, Venezuela

Rojas was a last-minute entry to the candidate pool, having been added just before last week's deadline. While the Miami Herald argued that the addition of Rojas would add more uncertainty to the election, I disagree. The Herald implied that the Caribbean countries' votes were at the whim of Venezuela, but I wouldn't read into it more than the usual hot air and bombast coming from Chavez. It's a shame the US media too often enjoys giving him a megaphone. Don't count on Rojas making much of a splash in the election.


Joao Sayad - Brazil
Vice President of Finance and Management, IDB

Sayad has been in his current position since 2004 and previously served as Secretary of Finance in Sao Paulo as well as Brazilian Secretary of Planning in the 1980s. With a PhD in economics from Yale and a distinguished career as a technocrat and an academic, Sayad has probably the best qualified in terms of technical experience. His candidacy is also significant in terms of representing the region's largest economy in a position well suited to influencing hemispheric affairs. While Sayad appears to have secured the support of the Mercosur nations, he seems to lack the political flair of an Enrique Iglesias, an intangible quality in playing the role of the politician/diplomat/dignitary.

If all goes as expected, Moreno will take the helm in October. I take issue with critics such as the Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA) which asks the question, "Does Moreno have what it takes to be the next president of the IDB?" COHA, which strongly opposes Plan Colombia, leads off with the hyperbolic claim that Iglesias "was one in a million," setting the tone for a sloppy piece that intermittently spells Colombia incorrectly. The crux of COHA's argument is as follows:

...[Moreno] patently lacks the vision and depth of character to succeed a man of Iglesias' stature. Under Moreno, the bank could very well slide back to the bad old days when nepotism, corruption and sexism thrived in the IDB's corridors of power. Furthermore, Moreno's political ideology is in line with the Bush administration's, a factor that could threaten to politicize the IDB and further polarize the relationship between North and South America. Additionally, if Moreno were to assume the IDB's top post, with Paul Wolfowitz as the president of the World Bank, it would mean that two of the most relevant lending agencies would be controlled by individuals with a military rather than development vision.

First of all, by all accounts, Moreno is a man of vision and character who contradicts the negative image of Colombia that is painted throughout the world. Furthermore, COHA's implication that an IDB with Moreno at the helm would slide into corruption, nepotism, and sexism is downright preposterous. Finally, while I don't believe that he was the best pick for the job, Wolfowitz appears to be taking his position at the World Bank quite seriously, as I have heard from most Bank employees, who have until now withheld judgment on the neocon. I have no doubt that Moreno will approach his position with nothing but the utmost seriousness.

What this election does indicate, however, is that the US will continue to exert the lion's share of influence in hemispheric affairs. In this case, I believe that Moreno will do an excellent job in succeeding an extremely successful president, even though his political credentials won out over other candidates with more relevant qualifications. I hope that the transition will be smooth as the Bank looks to continue addressing the myriad challenges of development throughout the region.

UPDATE (9:50am):

Larry Rohter weighs in under the somewhat misleading headline: "As Did O.A.S., Bank Resists a Candidate Backed by the U.S." I am not sure that the Bank is "resisting" the appointment considering pre-election commitments from an estimated 13 nations. Rohter draws a parallel to the OAS election, when the US-backed candidates were rejected by Latin America. However, while Sayad will gain several country votes, US's "virtual veto power" will make it impossible to win the shareholder election. But I do agree that Moreno represents another Bush pick for a political appointments; albeit an acceptable one.

UPDATE 2 (1:20pm):

Moreno has won the IDB presidency.