Just 6 days of diplomatic lobby remain. The vote among the 28 countries that make up the Inter-American Development Bank It will take place on November 20. That day it will be known if the unexpected bet of the government was something more than a testimonial move. The candidate chosen by Alberto Fernández is the Secretary of International Economic Relations Cecilia Todesca Bocco.
“We are a feminist government. That is why we are coherent and we nominate a woman for a position that Argentina has never held,” says an Albertista official in the middle of the tour that began in Paris and now continues through the hot island of Bali, Indonesia, where the summit will begin in a few hours. of the G20.
Todesca Bocco’s womanhood can function as a value for two reasons. There has never been a woman in charge of the IDB. A dry Argentine, neither. And something more linked to gender: Trumpist Mauricio Claver Carone was expelled from the leadership of the IDB, at least formally, for having an unauthorized relationship with an employee.
Todesca Bocco was part of the entourage that participated in the Paris Peace Forum. He was also at the meeting with Macron at the Eliseo Palace. When the economist entered the Palace, her name was already sung. Even Alberto Fernández anticipated it to Macron: “She is our candidate to preside over the IDB”he clarified in the round of presentations.
The economist is an early morning coffee lover. She was deputy chief of staff of the grandson of Antonio Cafiero. He is now in Washington, completing the paperwork for his nomination after having separated from the delegation in Paris, to head to the capital of the United States to defend his nomination.
How voting works
The voting system at the IDB is quite intricate. The 28 member countries vote. In the first round are the two candidates who obtained the most endorsements. In the second, there are two left standing. Those scored on this occasion are five, with Argentina as the only woman in the race.
This Wednesday at 11, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero will have a decisive appointment at the G20 in Bali. He will be with the Secretary of Foreign Relations of Mexico Marcelo Ebrard. Why will this meeting be decisive? The Argentine objective is for Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to lower his candidate to the IDB.
Is about Gerardo Esquivel, PhD in Economics from Harvard University and current member of the Governing Board of the Central Bank of Mexico. “We need López Obrador to make it public: to lower his candidate,” an official from Indonesia emboldens himself.
But the Argentine leader clarifies that if López Obrador declines Esquivel’s candidacy, it is because he previously had an indication to that effect from the United States government. If he sticks with it, the conclusion will be that Esquivel is the State Department’s pick.
If Fernández manages to convince López Obrador, and therefore Joe Biden, there would only be one stumbling block for Todesca Bocco. The obstacle would come from Brazil. Is about Ian Goldfajnformer president of the Central Bank of Brazil and current director for the Western Hemisphere of the IMF.
Goldfajn was nominated by the government of Jair Bolsonaro. But after Lula da Silva’s triumph in the close run-off, his name lost strength and part of his political support. In case the fight is limited to Todesca Bocco against Goldfajn, Alberto Fernández would play his affinity card with Lula da Silva. “Favors are collected at some point,” sums up a minister.
What use would it be for Argentina to occupy the leadership of the IDB? It is a seat of regional power based in Washington, with bargaining power included with the countries that make up the Inter-American Bank.
