Ex-Costa Rican leader drops bid to lead Inter-American Development Bank
SAN JOSE, Sept 3- Former Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla has dropped her bid to head the Washington- based Inter-American Development Bank, and criticized a process seen favoring U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the institution. Claver-Carone, the favorite to win the top spot, would become the first person from outside Latin America to lead the…
By Alvaro Murillo
SAN JOSE, Sept 3 (Reuters) – Former Costa Rican PresidentLaura Chinchilla has dropped her bid to head theWashington-based Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), andcriticized a process seen favoring U.S. President Donald Trump’spick to lead the institution.
“To continue with our national aspiration would beequivalent to endorsing a process that I do not considerconvenient either for the IDB or for the Hemisphere under thepresent conditions,” said Chinchilla on Thursday.
Chinchilla’s jibe appeared directed at the United States,which has broken with decades of tradition to nominate its owncandidate, Trump adviser Mauricio Claver-Carone, known for hishard-line stance on Venezuela and Cuba.
Claver-Carone, the favorite to win the top spot, wouldbecome the first person from outside Latin America to lead theWashington-based bank, a smaller cousin of the InternationalMonetary Fund.
The IDB, founded in 1959, is currently led by Colombia’sAlberto Moreno, who is set to step down in September.
The U.S. “decision is also an extremely worrying signal forthe governance that a financial institution like the IDB shouldhave,” Chinchilla said in a letter to the government of CostaRican President Carlos Alvarado.
Several countries, including Argentina, Mexico, Costa Ricaand Chile, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrellhave called for a delay on the vote, citing concerns abouthaving an IDB leader from outside the region.
But Claver-Carone has pushed back against the regionalopposition to his candidacy, saying 17 countries had given himpublic support.
“The more the process advanced, the more difficult it becamefor me to justify why I was participating in it,” saidChinchilla.(Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
