Ilan Goldfajn, former president of the Central Bank, was elected president of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank) this Sunday morning (20).

The IDB Board of Governors voted for Goldfajn with 80.1% of the vote. It is the first time that a Brazilian will head the institution, founded in 1959 and headquartered in Washington, United States.

The new president defeated four candidates: Nicolás Eyzaguirre Guzmán (Chile); Gerardo Esquivel Hernández (Mexico);Gerard Johnson, former IDB officer appointed by Trinidad and Tobago; and Cecilia Todesca Bocco (Argentina), who withdrew from the election and did not get any votes.

Ilan Goldfajn was nominated as president of the Central Bank by then Minister of Finance Henrique Meirelles, under the management of President Michel Temer (MDB). He took office in June 2016 and will serve until 2019.

The withdrawal of the Argentine candidate increases the chances of victory. The Brazilian government’s hope is to get 51% of the vote in the first round, one of the conditions for winning. And if it lacks the support of 15 of the 28 “borrowing” and “non-lending regional” member countries, a group that includes the United States and Canada, the hope is to win it in the second round, according to sources who follow the voting backstage in BID. These are the two eligibility criteria for a candidate to be elected president of the institution

The Argentine press informs that the country’s withdrawal from the jockeying for position took place after much negotiation. And currently, Casa Rosada is seeking an agreement with the United States and Canada to support Brazil, in the person of Goldfajn.

In October, the Ministry of Economy confirmed Ilan Goldfajn’s candidacy to run for the top post.

Paolo Guedes, Minister for the Economy, said that the candidate combines “extensive and successful professional experience in the public sector, in multilateral organizations, and in the private sector”. He also highlighted his “solid academic background”, which he said qualifies him for the position.

Ilan Goldfajn’s name became the subject of political dispute because of the opposition from the PT wing (Labor Party) after the victory Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (PT) on the Republican presidential election ballot

His campaign has been hampered by attempts by PT members to delay institutional elections and buy time to nominate a new name, with a more pro-party profile.

Who is Ilan Goldfajn. Born in Haifa (Israel) in 1966, Goldfajn moved to Rio de Janeiro at a young age. He graduated in Economics from PUC-RJ (Palcal Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro) and completed a master’s degree at the same institution.

He collected parts through the IMF (International Monetary Fund) in the 1990s and beyond It’s Unibanco between 2009 and 2016, where he served as Chief Economist. He is a partner at Gávea Investimentos and also taught economics at PUC Rio de Janeiro in the early 2000s.

Prior to becoming president of BC, Ilan Goldfajn had been director of economic policy at the institution between 2000 and 2003.

With information from the State Agency