Author Archives: VoicesfromtheSouth

Latin American CSOs hold WB EDs to account for their vote

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Below is a guest post by María José Romero of the Latin American network of NGOs Latindadd, with its secretariat in Lima, Peru.

In a letter sent on April 5 to World Bank Executive Directors representing Latin American countries, Latin American NGOs Fundar, DAR and Latindadd asked about the criteria for the selection of the new President of the institution. José Antonio Ocampo, the Colombian candidate to lead the World Bank has already met 18 of the 25 Bank’s Executive Directors and on Tuesday 10 April (today) the Board of Executive Directors as a whole will interview him.

In an ideal world each and every Latin American country should support Ocampo’s candidacy. As Kevin Gallagher says, “if the decision is finally based on merit, as it should be, Ocampo will win: he is far and away better than any on the list of credible names, including President Barack Obama’s nominee, Jim Yong Kim.” Continue reading →

We must examine candidates’ track record on rejecting the Washington Consensus

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Below is a guest post from Vitalice Meja, Coordinator of Reality of Aid Africa Network.

The current debate on the next president to the World Bank is as interesting as it is puzzling. While for the first time there seems an opportunity for a candidate from a developing country to take over, the debate seems to focus around supporting individuals rather than their credentials on development agenda and transformation.

World Bank is a global institution and leading it requires a President who has an acumen to address the challenges that affect the world in a very pragmatic and dynamic manner. Such a candidate should not be limited by the failed ideological formations that have underpinned the institution of the World Bank.

For those in the developing world especially Africa, certain elements are paramount in deciding the right president for the bank. These include the following Continue reading →

What makes Jose Antonio Ocampo a good candidate for President of the World Bank

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Below is a guest post from Chilean economist Stephany Griffith-Jones, currently Financial Markets Program Director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia University:

It is excellent news that developing countries are putting forward such outstanding candidates for the Presidency of the World Bank. I have been lucky to have worked closely with one of the two candidates, Jose Antonio Ocampo. He would be an excellent choice for many reasons.

Jose Antonio provides the rare combination of an experienced and successful policy-maker at the highest level (he was Minister of three portfolios in Colombia, including Finance, but also Agriculture and Planning), an outstanding international civil servant again at the highest level (including as Under Secretary General at the United Nations, as well as well as Head of the UN Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean), and a leading academic researcher in key issues relating to development and macro-economic policy.

Continue reading →

The World Bank needs its own Lionel Messi to come off the bench

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Below is a guest post from Jorge Daniel Taillant, formerly executive director of the Centro de Derechos Humanos y Ambiente (Center for Human Rights and Environment, CEDHA) in Argentina:

In most sports, when your front runners simply aren’t cutting the mustard, the coach looks to the bench for new and energetic blood, mostly to radically change the way in which the strategy is being executed, an altercation to the tactics that are simply not working. It is not surprising that radical changes to the business as usual line up often leads to early
entry success and can fundamentally change the game play.

In this regard, we’ve had enough of industrialized country leadership (in fact, practically of single country leadership) of largely fledgling international finance corporations such as the IMF and in many ways, also the World Bank, both historically aligned along the Washington Consensus and both dominated by European and US intervention. And both, with little to show in terms of success.

We need a Lionel Messi to come off the bench and work development magic, and while that may not be an Argentine in this case, it should be a candidate from a developing country, one that has shown the ability to make bold and assertive decisions to address modern development challenges. Continue reading →