The IMF election: time for a change by Oscar Ugarteche

By Oscar Ugarteche [1]

Since IFIs were created in 1944, it has been common knowledge that the IBRD was always led by an American and the IMF by a European. This unsigned agreement was a clubby arrangement by the then world leaders. Nevertheless, since the 1990s a new era has been in the making.  Highly indebted rich countries are today’s new problem economies. Emerging countries have become fast growing and stagnation seems to be the sign of the times for the richest ones. Suddenly the debt problems of developing countries yesteryear have come home to roost. From Japan to France, from the US and Great Britain to Belgium and the likes, the debt problem is a feature of the wealthiest countries and the international financial architecture to deal with these problems does not exist. Regional monetary stabilization funds have not been as swift and amiable as might have been suspected either in Asia or Europe. The IMF has been called on occasion to present conditions for emergency loans granted mostly by either the ECB or the European Commission with the Fund in the back seat in terms of resources.

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