Two candidates compete for the presidency of CAF, the second largest development bank in Latin America

CAF will elect next Monday between two candidates for its new president, a key position for the region since the bank will finance a large part of the public works that will help mitigate the consequences of the pandemic. The applicants are Colombian Sergio Díaz Granados and Argentinian Christian Asinelli.

The institution started operating in 1968 and was originally a multilateral bank made up of Andean countries. However, after various expansions, it has become essential for the region and the world. In fact, in 2002 and 2009, Spain and Portugal became shareholders and gave CAF an Ibero-American profile.

It is now the second development bank in the region, after the IDB, with 19 shareholder countries, 14 non-Andean, and a loan and investment portfolio of $ 28,000 million.

To accede to the presidency, Díaz Granados and Christian Asinelli must collect 10 votes, and all those who succeed will go down in history: the victory of Diaz Granados would be the first for a Colombian, despite the fact that the country was, along with Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia, one of the founders of the Andean Development Society; and that of Asinelli would also be unprecedented, because Argentina is not part of the founding group.

Díaz-Granados is a lawyer at the Externado University of Colombia, he was Minister of Commerce, Industry and Tourism between 2010 and 2013 and is currently Executive Director of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for Colombia and the Peru.

The candidacy was announced by a letter signed by the Minister of Finance of Colombia, José Manuel Restrepo; the director of the National Planning Department (DNP), Luis Alberto Rodríguez, and the director of Banco de la República, Leonardo Villar. The decision was supported by Simón Cueva, Minister of Economy and Finance of Ecuador; Waldo Mendoza, Minister of the Economy of Peru, and Carlos Linares, President of Cofide de Peru.

Restrepo pointed out that Díaz-Granados’ experience in the public sector can be useful in leading the multilateral organization. “It’s a time when you need someone with a spirit of conciliation, collective construction, an international dimension and knowledge of multilateral issues. It can be a good candidate “said Restrepo.

Your application it obtained the formal support of Ecuador and Peru. And, according to the confidence in the environment of President Iván Duque, he would have 11 votes on Monday, one more than necessary to be elected president.

Asinelli’s candidacy was surprising. Alberto Fernández’s candidate is the current Undersecretary for International Financial Relations, works alongside Gustavo Beliz -Secretary for Strategic Affairs-, has an academic background and knows how multilateral organizations work.

“It is not a question of the candidacy of a country, nor of an ideology, nor of a circumstantial majority. It is about projecting the new Latin American Development Bank from the culture of dialogue and agreements that have transformed it into the regional financial institution with the strongest growth over the past two decades ”, he added. Beliz argues. in Asinelli’s letter of appointment.

Argentina’s official candidacy is endorsed by Bolivia, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. They waited for Mexico to back Asinelli’s nomination, but there was an unexpected bureaucratic problem and the secretary presented the guarantees with the alternative signing of the Dominican Republic. Three other votes are still being negotiated.

Unlike the IDB, In CAF, each country has one vote, regardless of the capital contributions it brings to the bank. Only the countries of the founding core – Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Bolivia – which have the double vote have the privilege.

The Latin American Development Bank is generally not the center of attention in the Southern Cone due to its Andean DNA. However, this process of renewal of authorities is going through a curious upheaval and a set of movements throughout the region that began when the Peruvian Luis Carranza tendered his resignation over allegations of workplace harassment. Since then, CAF has been in the hands of a trainee.

During its 51 years of operation, this Development Bank, little known to the general public, has become, with the IDB, a key financial player for the development of the region. And now, the lesson of its president has become key, since it will be he who will decide the role that CAF will play in the economic recovery and development of the region after the pandemic.

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