Iglesias "the perfect diplomat" for Latin America
31 May 2005
By Laura MacInnis
Reuters
WASHINGTON, May 31 (Reuters) - Enrique Iglesias proved "the perfect diplomat" in
his 17 years at the Inter-American Development Bank's helm, using a soft touch to secure
support for the region in even difficult times, analysts said.
Iglesias, 74, told the IADB executive board on Tuesday he will resign the presidency in
September. At a Saturday foreign ministers' meeting in Portugal, he was named head of a
new group seeking closer ties among Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
Former colleagues and regional experts called the new post a great fit for Iglesias, a
tireless advocate for Latin America and a skilled consensus-builder.
“Enrique Iglesias has been the perfect diplomat," said Liliana Rojas-Suarez, a senior
fellow at the Center for Global Development.
"He has an incredible capacity to achieve negotiations between the creditor countries -especially the United States -- and the region," she said. "I've know him for many years
now and I've always been amazed at his capacity to rescue the common denominator
between parties at the negotiation table.
Spanish-born Iglesias, who is a naturalized Uruguayan citizen, taught development
economics and worked as Uruguay's central bank president early in his career.
He also served as Uruguay's foreign relations minister and chief of the U.N. Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean before moving to the Washingtonbased IADB in 1988.
Peter Hakim, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank, said this wide
experience gave Iglesias credibility in both Latin America and the U.S. capital.
"He earned the confidence of the U.S. authorities at a crucial time of U.S.-Latin
American relations, when we were still dealing with the debt crisis and moving toward
the economic reform era and building trade," Hakim said.
"And he was widely trusted and widely admired by the Latin Americans. There are very
few people who can manage both of those," he said.
As chief of a key Latin America lender, Iglesias helped garner support for the region as
its endured debt crises and economic downturns that plunged countries like Argentina,
Brazil and Mexico into disarray.
His diplomatic skills also came into use convincing the region's countries to adopt austere
economic programs, including deep currency devaluations and spending cuts, analysts
said.
"He probably more than anybody else was able to promote the good, solid economic
policies in Latin America because of this extraordinary trust," Hakim, a former Columbia
University and MIT professor, said.
"People knew he was interested in good economic policies but also the impact of
economic reform on the people in the region," he said. "When countries had economic
difficulties, they turned to Enrique Iglesias."
Rojas-Suarez, a former principal adviser in the IADB chief economist's office, said
Iglesias also helped broaden the bank's mandate by promoting Latin American research.
She said she was not surprised Iglesias was choosing to take on another job instead of
retiring.
"The guy never gets tired," Rojas-Suarez said. "It's going to be hard to replace him."