By Andrea Shalal
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Mauricio Claver-Carone, the first U.S. citizen elected to lead Latin America’s main development bank in its 61-year history, on Monday vowed to focus on strengthening the Bank’s funding base and increase unity in the region after a contentious election.
In his first interview since Saturday’s election, Claver-Carone, a Trump loyalist and Cuba hard-liner, said his 67% victory gave him a strong mandate to lead the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a time when Latin America and the Caribbean are reeling from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said he had already spoken with officials in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico, which had opposed his candidacy and sought to delay the vote until after the Nov. 3 presidential election, and assured them he would work with them to make the bank more “financially relevant” and transparent.
(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
