Republican lawmakers had put pressure on the Biden administration.
The Mexican government’s nominee to lead a little-known yet powerful multinational development bank based in Washington has withdrawn her name from the process after Republican lawmakers revealed her praise of Latin American dictatorships and China.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Alicia Bárcena, Mexico’s ambassador to Chile, said that she had withdrawn her candidacy for head of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for “personal reasons.”
Me he comunicado con el Presidente @lopezobrador_ quien ha acogido con afecto y comprensión mis razones personales por las cuales le he solicitado retirar mi candidatura al @el_BID Agradezco el apoyo recibido por @R_Ramirez_O @m_ebrard y sus equipos en este proceso.
— Alicia Bárcena (@aliciabarcena) November 9, 2022
While the IADB is not a prominent organization, it administered over $23 billion in loans throughout 2021 and holds significant political sway in Latin America.
Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador nominated Bárcena, a seasoned diplomat and former U.N. official, to lead the bank in September, after the U.S. head of the organization was forced out over a scandal surrounding an alleged relationship with a subordinate.
Soon after Lopez Obrador named her as Mexico’s pick, Representative Maria Salazar urged the Biden administration to oppose Bárcena’s nomination.
In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last month, Salazar slammed the Mexican diplomat as a “communist sympathizer,” citing her effusive praise of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez during her tenure at the head of a U.N. organization in Latin America. The Florida Republican demanded that Yellen, who oversees Washington’s representation at the organization, order the U.S. representative to vote against Bárcena. In a separate letter, Representative Mike Gallagher highlighted Barcena’s extensive pro-China commentary during her tenure at the U.N. “We maintain an unshakable commitment to strengthening ties between our region and China in all dimensions,” she said during a 2018 speech.
Salazar’s letter did not receive a response from Yellen, and the administration did not commit to opposing Bárcena’s candidacy. The letter did, however, receive media coverage in prominent Mexican media outlets, where there was speculation about how the Biden administration would handle the issue. The U.S. controls close to one-third of the IADB’s vote share, the highest of any of the bank’s 48 members.
Salazar said her efforts had raised awareness about Bárcena’s record and forced Lopez Obrador to reconsider. “I am pleased that my warning about Alicia Bárcena’s communist sympathies has been heard far and wide,” Salazar told NR in a statement today.
In the wake of Bárcena’s withdrawal, Lopez Obrador has nominated Gerardo Equivel, deputy governor of the Bank of Mexico, as his country’s candidate instead. Salazar told NR that Esquivel is a “prudent” pick and that she hopes the Biden administration will support his candidacy. In another letter addressed to Yellen today, Salazar asked the treasury secretary to do just that, calling Esquivel “the consensus candidate.”
The vote to select the IADB’s next president will take place later this month at the bank’s headquarters in Washington. In addition to Esquivel, Argentinean secretary for international economic relations Cecilia Todesca and former Brazilian central bank head Ilan Goldfajn are seeking the post.