MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

G 20: “Step up reforms” in IMF and WB, demand developing countries

Brazilian minister Celso Amorim is the acting coordinator

Emerging countries and particularly those from Latinamerica will propose at the coming G-20 summit in Pittsburgh that reforms of the IMF and World Bank, where they expect to have a larger representation, move much faster.

“What we are most interested in is the consolidation of the reforms at the IMF and the World Bank, which are the control instruments of the global financial system”, said Brazil’s Foreign Affairs minister Celso Amorim during a meeting with foreign correspondents in Rio do Janeiro.

As with Brazil, the priority of Mexico in Pittsburgh will be “to increase the participation and voice of developing countries in the decision making processes and in the establishment of international norms”, according to the message sent to Congress requesting authorization for President Felipe Calderòn to travel overseas.

The main Mexican interest is “promoting the strengthening of emerging economies participation in the international financial institutions” such as the IMF and the World Bank states the presidential message.

Amorim said that “democratization” of multilateral organizations is one of the main claims of all emerging economies and particularly from the Latinamerican representatives in the G-20, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina, which have been coordinating positions.

It was precisely in one of these coordination meetings that emerging countries decided to demand the advance of the reform process, at least at the IMF, anticipating it from 2013 to 2011.

In a meeting of the so called BRIC members (Brazil, Russia, India and China) earlier in the month held in London, the main emerging countries also decided the participation percentage they aspire to hold at the IMF.

“Currently 60% of votes in the IMF belong to the developed countries and 40% to the developing countries. The aim we defined is that developed countries transfer to emerging economies seven percentage points, so we can hold 47%”, said Brazilian Finance minister Guido Mantega.

He added that since the creation of the IMF in the 1940ies, many European countries have ceased to have decisive and importance in the global economy and that power should be transferred to developing countries to democratize multilateral institutions.

Brazil’s position is supported by Argentina that in the recent Economy ministers’ summit in London argued strongly for a “greater voice” in the IMF for developing countries, and a growing representation.

For this purpose developing countries will increase their contributions to the IMF. In Pittsburgh Brazil will subscribe the promised 10 billion US dollars transfer agreement in exchange for IMF bonds.

Mantega also anticipated that Brazil will present at the G-20 summit a proposal for the regulation of the international financial system, since some banks have again began with speculative operations similar to those which contributed to last year’s crisis.

“This demands an immediate regulation. We can’t relax and allow a return to the previous situation. What financial markets are asking for is that we impose on them clear rules”, insisted Mantega.

Mexico will also sponsor a greater capitalization of the Inter American Development Bank and promote the creation of a Green Fund in support of efforts to mitigate and help adapt to climate change in developing countries.

Argentina wants stronger action against the so called fiscal havens, which was addressed earlier in the month in London where it was agreed to force these havens to supply more information, because beginning March 2010, if no advances have been reached, G20 will start punishing those that do not cooperate.