Ana Larissa Albuquerque
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília - The Brazilian government intends to propose two changes in the Inter-American Development Bank's (IADB) policies at the institution's annual meeting, which is taking place in Belo Horizonte, between March 29 and April 5. The chief proposal, according to José Carlos Miranda, secretary of International Affairs in the Ministry of Planning, is for the IADB to expand its participation in financing income transfer projects.

Another proposal is a change in the way the bank conducts its business. "Brazil believes in an IADB engaged more in the project of Latin American integration," Miranda affirmed. The secretary said that the bank's current funding of integration projects is on a country-by-country basis. Miranda wants the bank to finance entire projects, regardless of the countries where the work is carried out.

The Brazilian government is in favor of a large investment to foster the social and commercial integration of Latin America and the Caribbean. "Cultural, political, and social integration don't exist unless there is a highway transportation network, an energy program for the whole region," Miranda explained. "Physical ties are the most important pillar of commercial, cultural, and social integration among our nations," he added.

Brazil will also propose that the bank's investments be in Brazilian currency as well as dollars. "Brazilian municipalities lack experience in requesting international investments, even ones at the national level, so the rules must be made more flexible, and loans must be made in local currency," he observed. He pointed out that the municipalities have made a substantial contribution to the primary surplus. "These places are in need of sanitation projects, potable water supplies, and reurbanization of the poorest areas; and the IADB's investments in these areas is very important," he said.

Another major appeal that Brazil will present to the countries of Latin America is to combine efforts to restore the Haitian economy. "The goal is to help rebuild Haitian society, to make it fairer and socially inclusive," Miranda commented. The secretary emphasized the importance of the meeting's taking place in Belo Horizonte. "Former president Juscelino Kubitschek was mayor of the city and he was, in fact, the intellectual mentor of the proposal to create the IADB in 1958."

Translation: David Silberstein