Nouvelles de la "Banque du Sud" un projet commun au Venezuela et à l'Argentine

March 19th, Monday

The Ministers of Finance of the Americas in Guatemala started their annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) with a call to work together and minimize poverty, but the debate is already faced with disagreement: the project to create the Bank of the South. (...)

In any case, the creation of the Bank of the South -proposed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez- could become another factor for south-north polarization.

Since it is a Latin American initiative, some have labeled the project as an attempt at weakening Washington financial institutions, including IADB itself.

While the original idea was to create a bank to meet financial needs in South America, Chávez has tried to recruit Nicaragua and Haiti.

In Guatemala, Venezuelan Minister of Finance is lobbying looking for more support.

"We are waging an offensive," Cabezas conceded.

Chávez uses to tell his potential partners that once the Bank of the South is created, they will no longer have the need to "beg" for loans from Washington, which is also the seat of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The Bank of the South has not started operations yet. Chávez expects to open the institution next June with an initial equity of USD 7 billion. The project has been endorsed so far by Argentina, Paraguay, Bolivia, Ecuador and potentially Nicaragua and Brazil.

March 20th, Tuesday

Paraguay is weighting an invitation from the Venezuelan Government to join the Bank of the South Venezuela and Argentina have been promoting since February, official sources said.

The invitation was made by Venezuelan Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas to Paraguayan Minister of Treasury Ernst Bergen, said the Paraguayan Ministry of Treasury, Efe reported.

Both officials are taking part in the Annual Assembly of governors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Guatemala.

On March 19th, Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte said his government is looking kindly "to the idea that a Bank of the South exists that really funds development projects in countries in the region."

Duarte added he instructed Bergen to ask for a period for Paraguay to organize a committee to assess the advantages of joining such a bank.

"If we find it advantageous both for our interests and the region's, then Paraguay will join the Bank of the South," Duarte stressed.

In a press release, the Paraguayan Ministry of Treasury said it had information that Bolivia has already initialed a memorandum of understanding to join the project, while Ecuador is about to take the same step. (...)

Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte said he is willing to devote a part of international reserves to the Bank of the South, a project propelled by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and his Argentinean counterpart Néstor Kirchner.

Duarte said that Paraguay's USD 1.6 billion international reserves "rather than being deposited in US banks could be transferred to the Bank of the South," a project Chávez launched in November 25 and which was recently joined by Argentina, Efe reported. (...)

He declared Venezuela is disbursing USD 600 million for the bank's initial capital and Argentina is contributing USD 400 million.

Duarte added that the Bank of the South could replace the Inter American Development Bank and the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Venezuelan Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas stressed that the creation of the Bank of the South is making headway : "Not only is our country committed to this initiative, but also Argentina, Ecuador and Bolivia," the minister told official TV channel Venezolana de Televisión.

The Venezuelan Government has ratified that the Bank of the South, which is likely to be joined by Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Brazil, besides Venezuela, will be born "in the first half of the present year."

Venezuelan Minister of Finance Rodrigo Cabezas confirmed the creation of the financial institution during an interview with the official TV channel VTV, and noticed that preparation meetings are already taking place in Caracas and Buenos Aires, to draft "the articles of agreement" of the bank, Efe quoted.

"We have no doubt that the Bank of the South is a must for the continent. This will be a development bank and an instrument for Latin American integration," he explained.

"We have made significant progress," Cabezas said, stressing that the new financial institution is to operate without the "grotesque conditions" imposed by lending institutions such as the World Bank or even the Inter American Development Bank (IADB).

"We need a financial institution that helps us fight poverty and helps us build capital and minimize asymmetries."

He added that the Bank of the South could fund large infrastructure works in the region and provide financial aid to countries in the region facing payment troubles.

The Bank of the South is expected to have a startup capital of USD 7 billion, which will be contributed on equal parts by Argentina and Venezuela.

Sources AP et EFE