Latam support grows for Carstens as IMF chief

Colombia became the first major Latin American nation to publicly endorse Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens for the International Monetary Fund's top job on Wednesday, calling on others to do the same.

The Colombian Foreign Ministry said in a statement a dozen other Latin American nations now backed Carstens, who is seen as the underdog candidate in the race to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn to head the Washington-based IMF.

The Latin American group backing Carstens includes Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru, Panama, Uruguay, Mexico, Paraguay, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua, the statement said. Costa Rica also endorsed Carstens on Wednesday.

"Colombia expresses support for the aspiration of Agustin Carstens and invites other governments of the Americas to join in backing this bid," Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said in the statement, which called on other Latin American nations to support the Mexican.

Holguin, who was in El Salvador at a meeting of the Organization of American States, said emerging markets needed more say in multilateral institutions.

The IMF job fell vacant after Strauss-Kahn was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a hotel maid in New York.

Carstens has been on a global tour to drum up support for his bid to lead the IMF against French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde. He has not visited Colombia.

Europeans have made the case a European would be better suited at the IMF helm as they grapple with uncertainty over a euro-zone debt crisis.

Carstens is no newcomer to debt crises, which have swamped Latin America since the 1980s.

Respect for Carstens as a credible candidate is growing as he travels around showing his experience - particularly his role in handling Mexico's peso crisis in 1994 and his knowledge of the IMF and need for further reforms.

HOPES FOR ANOTHER CANDIDATE?

Emerging nations have not rallied behind Carstens, and there is hope in some quarters that another candidate will emerge who can win the backing of the BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

In Latin America, Brazil, Argentina and Chile have been reluctant to immediately support Carstens because of his orthodox views on economic policy.

Some of the votes in the group named by Colombia are a foregone conclusion because at IMF board votes, Mexico casts votes for itself and seven other countries, including Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.

Spain, for example, is also part of Mexico's IMF constituency and has said it would like to support Lagarde, but will end up behind Carstens.

Carstens was the chair of the World Bank's development committee and is well versed in poverty issues faced by developing countries.

The United States and Europe hold 48% of the votes in the IMF, while emerging economies - China, India, Brazil and Russia - have 12%.

The process to name candidates closes on Friday. A new IMF head will be elected on June 30.