MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Brazil and Argentina disputing the presidency of the Inter American Development Bank

Marcos Troyjo, the Economy Ministry’s Special Secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, is said to have the best shot at becoming Brazil’s candidate

Brazil plans to push for its own candidate to lead the Inter-American Development Bank, vying with Argentina for the regional lender’s top job, as President Jair Bolsonaro seeks to capitalize on the political alliance with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump.

Marcos Troyjo, the Economy Ministry’s Special Secretary for Foreign Trade and International Affairs, is said to have the best shot at becoming Brazil’s candidate. Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has also considered Maria Silvia Bastos, who chairs Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s advisory board in Brazil, for the IDB nomination, two of the people said.

The Washington-based IDB is the top development institution dedicated to Latin America and the Caribbean, providing billions of dollars in loans and technical assistance to a region with chronic infrastructure and financial shortages. Its president, Luis Alberto Moreno, took on the job in 2005 and has been re-elected twice. The next head will start a five-year term in October after a selection process that’s set to formally begin in the coming months.

Bastos, who headed the country’s development bank BNDES before heading to Goldman Sachs, also declined to comment.

Bolsonaro is likely to discuss the country’s interest in the job with Trump if both leaders meet at Mar-a-Lago this weekend, during a trip of the Brazilian president to Miami. Backing of the U.S. is crucial to win the position, given its 30% share of the bank and de-facto veto power over its leadership decisions. The biggest stakeholders after the U.S. are Brazil and Argentina at 11% each, and Mexico at 7.2%.

Brazil’s sudden interest in the position complicates things for Argentina’s candidate, Gustavo Beliz, currently President Alberto Fernandez’s secretary for strategic affairs, who has already received the formal backing of the Mexican government.

Meanwhile, Paraguay also intends to launch Finance Minister Benigno Lopez as its candidate, a government official said in an interview with a local radio.

Since taking office last year, Bolsonaro has revamped his nation’s foreign policy by pursuing closer ties with the U.S. and its allies, eschewing the country’s decades-old tradition of multilateralism and repeatedly expressing his admiration for Trump. While Bolsonaro had initially considered endorsing an Argentine for the job, circumstances changed after Fernandez, an ideological rival, won the presidency in October, beating Mauricio Macri.

Brazil’s IDB candidate decision is further complicated by the fact that the Bolsonaro administration must simultaneously choose a head for another development bank set up by members of the BRICS group that includes Russia, India, China and South Africa. The first president was appointed by India, and now it’s Brazil’s turn. Troyjo is also under consideration for that job, the people said.

Selection of the next IDB head will be among the most talked about topics at the bank’s annual governor’s meeting in Colombia later this month, with a decision likely being made between July and September.