Alberto Carrasquilla: with the opportunity to manage a more robust portfolio outside of MinHacienda

The manager of the Banco de la República, Juan José Echavarría, announced to the board of directors of the institution that he will not aspire to the position again and that he would leave his functions on December 31. Echavarría says that he made the decision for family reasons and that, instead of embarking on another period as the leader of Banrep, he decided to end its term.

Before the departure of the current manager, versions of a possible departure of the current Minister of Finance, Alberto Carrasquilla, are lit to occupy the head of the Colombian central bank. The forecasts had been diminished by an alleged lack of interest from Carrasquilla and a possible aspiration to the vice-presidency of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). With the departure of Echavarría, the possibility that the current minister did not reach enough votes to occupy the position is ruled out.

Among those who anticipate the departure of Carrasquila from the Treasury portfolio is Armando Benedetti, dissident senator from the U Party, who celebrates the possible departure of the minister.

“Carrasquilla is leaving the Ministry of Finance! At last! It increased inequality and unemployment, helped Avianca, enriched the banks and allowed all their abuses. 2 trillion for a thousand companies and zero for microentrepreneurs. And did not allow Basic Income. Go with your entourage! ”, Said the legislator through his Twitter account.

It would be the first time that there is a change from the Ministry of Finance to the Bank of the Republic and there would be more movements within the institution. Ana Fernanda Maiguashca, Carolina Soto and Gerardo Hernández, members of the board of directors, could leave their positions in February.

There are risks of concentration of power

The Banco de la República, which has historically stood out for being an autonomous institution, would enter into serious risk of being managed by one of the bishops closest to Uribe and the current administration, headed by Iván Duque. Since the 1991 Constitution, the Issuer has been separated from the management of the Government and chooses, every four years, a manager who can be reelected.

This is disputed by the power that the national government has in the board of directors. Duque, during his term, has positioned several chips within the Bank’s Board. The presence of Robert Steiner and Arturo José Galindo could facilitate the election of Carrasquilla and, therefore, promote government decisions within the institution.

In his column in El Espectador, the economist Salomón Kalmanovitz, who was co-director of the Banco de la República, warns of the reputational dangers that the country would run if Carrasquilla is elected.

“The implications of the central bank being in the hands of the government are very serious: it can abuse the issue to finance itself and, even if it does not, it loses its reputation in the international community. The risk rating agencies reduced Colombia’s note last April and it is about to lose investment grade, which will raise the interest we must pay for an increasingly burdensome debt, “argued Kalmanovitz in September this year.