The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) was founded in 1959 and it has been the leading provider of financial support for Latin American and the Caribbean. Since then the President of the institution has been a Latin American. There are several candidates to head it. Among them, and for the first time in history, a US one: Mauricio Claver-Carone, currently a Senior Director of the United States National Security Council‘s Western Hemisphere Affairs directorate. There has been much discomfort and debate in Latin America and the Caribbean surrounding the decision by President Donald Trump to propose him.
At present there is no need to delve in with regards to ideology. The argument should be pragmatic: for the sake of Latin America and the Caribbean interests, for the future well-being of US-Latin American relations, for even the benefit of the United States, and for the purpose of avoiding a new motive for China’s growing influence in the region it is far better to postpone the election of the IDB President. Several motives justify the deferral.
Let's start by analyzing the current pandemic. The key concern is to keep in mind that although COVID-19 is identical in its damaging effects on people, it does manifest itself in different ways in the developed North and the global South.
