Carstens says he has experience to lead IMF

Mexico's central bank chief Agustin Carstens believes he is better qualified than his main rival to run the International Monetary Fund because he has more experience and better knowledge of the institution, he told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.

Carstens said he has a similar agenda to French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, the only other declared candidate for the post, viewing the euro zone crisis as the biggest threat to global economic growth.

Carstens, who is visiting Brazil to promote his candidacy, said his other priorities would be supporting the political transition in the Middle East and pushing quota reforms to broaden representation at the Washington-based IMF.