QCOSTARICA – President Rodrigo Chaves has yet to make it clear whether he will promote Laura Chinchilla’s candidacy for the presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Chave indicated that first he will be explore if there is support to promote the aspiration of the former president.
“When Costa Rica comes out, it comes out to win. I am going to give it some thought, to talk with the partners (…) It hurts me a lot that there are people who want to politicize this when the first step has to do with exploring its viability,” said Chaves.
Two days earlier, the President said that he viewed with reservations that the government would support the candidacy and that he was insecure.
On Friday, Chinchilla went to Casa Presidencial to meet with the president to discuss the issue, confirm her aspiration and ask for the support of Chaves and his government.
To win the post, Chinchilla needs at least 15 votes, many of which are in the Caribbean where there is a lot of dispersion, added the president.
The development of clean energy, disarmament and peace, the fight against Climate Change and the protection of natural resources, as well as a gender approach, would be some of the cross-cutting issues that Chinchilla would make her mark to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), according to several analysts.
On the other hand, if the election of Chinchilla materializes, the Costa Rican would make history by becoming the first woman to hold that position.
But Chinchilla is not the only woman vying for the presidency of the IDB, she is up against the former president of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, and the head of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Alicia Bárcena.
On Monday, September 26, the governors of the Inter-American Development Bank voted to impeach President Mauricio Claver-Carone, who took office in October 2020, following an investigation that showed that the only American president in the bank’s 62-year history had an intimate relationship with a female subordinate. The bank’s 14 directors voted after four long days of debate.
