IDB must act to change housework, says Argentine candidate

The only woman running for the presidency of the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), Argentina’s Cecilia Todesca, 51, considers that running a feminist candidacy for the organization means seeking alternatives to combat inequalities. And that the elected candidate must act impartially, without wanting to favor his country of origin.

“The main reason for inequality in the region today is gender, and this has been accentuated during the pandemic. Women have regressed 18 years, on average, in terms of insertion in the region’s economy”, he said, in a telephone conversation with the Sheet🇧🇷

One of its main proposals is for the bank to be a partner in restructuring the current model of domestic work. “Women cannot spend three times as much time as men on the issue of family care, and that is where the IDB can focus on fostering a new care economy.”

Nominated by Argentine President Alberto Fernández, Todesca competes for the vacancy with four other names: the Brazilian Ilan Goldfajn, former president of the Central Bank and appointed by President Jair Bolsonaro, the Mexican Gerardo Esquivel, who is part of the Board of Directors of Banxico (Central Bank Mexican), the Chilean Nicolás Eyzaguirre, former Minister of Economy during the governments of Ricardo Lagos and Michelle Bachelet, and Gerard Johnson, from Trinidad and Tobago, a former employee of the IDB.

The vote is scheduled for this Sunday (20) in Washington, where the organization’s headquarters are located. The chosen one will replace the American Mauricio Claver-Carone, fired after a complaint of having been involved with a female subordinate.

Todesca is the current Secretary of International Economic Relations for the Argentine Chancellery. An economist by training, she has worked at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and at the risk rating agency Standard & Poor’s.

His presentation, throughout the week, focused on five axes. In addition to changes in what he calls the economy of family care, other proposals include making better use of the opportunities opened up by innovation, reducing territorial and digital exclusions and containing the damage brought about by climate change.

“It is a world that brings a lot of anguish with regard to changes in the work environment, and the uncertainties that come with the post-pandemic and a war scenario”, he said.

The Argentine position, at first, when the need for succession arose, was to take a consensus name in the region. The idea, however, did not prosper. “Who knows in the next one. Nor did we want her to be just one woman, but rather a woman who represented many others”, said Todesca.

In the list of supporters of her candidacy, there are several feminist and human rights associations from Latin America and Argentina, such as Mothers of Plaza de Mayo and the association Ni Una Menos, which defends women against domestic violence.

The candidate also criticized any politicization of the body. “The first thing an IDB president should do is leave his passport in the drawer and be able to talk to everyone. There could not be a more special bond with a country, a flag or a government,” she said.