On November 20, 2022, Ilan Goldfajn was appointed president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

He is the first Brazilian to occupy this prestigious position. Goldfajn will take up his post from 19 December and will remain in office for 5 years.

What is the IDB

The IDB is a supranational company of a financial nature based in the city of Washington (USA). Its objective is to multilaterally finance the implementation of public and private actions aimed at reducing poverty and social problems in Latin America and the Caribbean. The institution has 48 shareholder countries, six of which are borrowers, in this case the countries that are part of Latin America and the Caribbean. The latter have the majority shares and command the organization. Among the non-borrowing members are countries with a lot of political weight, such as the United States, Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Germany and a few others.

Its creation took place in 1959, in the capital of the United States, and its operations take place in areas related to social programs, public infrastructure, entrepreneurship, regional economic integration and the expansion of trade liberalization. It operates through loans and donations, research development and technical support.

The value of the projects funded in 2021 was approximately US$ 23.4 billion.

Who is Ilan Goldfajn

Ilan Goldfajn, 56, was President of Banco Central do Brasil during the government of Michel Temer, between 2016 and 2019; he had previously held the position of director of economic policy at the institution. Goldfajn also headed the economics department of Itaú Unibanco, the largest bank in Latin America, and most recently held the position of director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the Western Hemisphere, from which he resigned. to run for the presidency of the IDB.

Goldfajn and the new Lula government

His candidacy was presented by the current government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL), but despite this Goldfajn himself hoped for a harmonious relationship between the IDB and the Lula government, which will take office from 2022. In his opinion “there are all the conditions for a very good relationship with the Lula government, also because the agendas are very similar: fight against poverty, defense of the environment and reduction of inequality. The financing of infrastructural works will also be very important”.

Vice-president-elect Geraldo Alckmin, also on behalf of president-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, immediately congratulated Ilan Goldfajn on the election: “I congratulate the new president Ilan Goldfajn on his victory and, on behalf of President Lula, I express Brazil’s willingness to strengthen ties with the bank for the economic and social development of our region”, said Alckmin.