One of them could be the first woman to manage the Banco de la República

The race for the management of Banco de la República, after it was known that the current manager, Juan José Echavarría, will not seek re-election, focuses on the possibilities that Alberto Carrasquilla has to achieve the necessary vote before the Board of Directors of the Issuer .

The economy in Colombia is a profession with macho overtones, in which most of the top positions are held by men. In the history of Colombia, there has never been a manager of the Banco de la República. In a similar scenario, the Government’s Treasury and Public Credit portfolio has never been led by a woman. On the other hand, only five women have been directors of the National Planning Department, while 31 men have led this agency of the national government.

However, the names of six women ring to hold the reins of the central bank in Colombia. Among the candidates, there are members of the Board of Directors of the Issuer, prestigious academics and senior managers of financial studies entities who are testimony to the good moment of the female gender in the discipline.

The candidates

Ana Fernanda Maiguashca

Born in Cali, Valle del Cauca, Maiguashca was educated at the Universidad de los Andes and completed postgraduate studies at Columbia University. She is the daughter of Franklin Maiguashca, a Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University, who came to Cali with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. She has been co-director of Banco de la República since 2013 and had previously worked at the Issuer for three years (2003-2006). He served as technical vice minister in the Ministry of Finance between January 2012 and February 2013 and his work focused on carrying out the 2012 Tax Reform.

She was director of financial regulation of the Ministry of Finance between 2010 and 201, and deputy delegate superintendent for the Financial Superintendency of Colombia from 2007 to September 2010. She also held the management of economic investigations in Porvenir. She was named by Forbes magazine as one of the 50 most powerful women in Colombia.

Carolina Soto

He is an economist from the Universidad de los Andes, has a master’s degree in Economics from the same university and another from Columbia University in Public Administration. She is co-director of the Issuer since 2018, replacing Adolfo Meisel Roca.

She was Deputy Minister General of Finance and Public Credit and Vice President of Fasecolda, Federation of Colombian Insurers. She also worked as an economist for the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and was general director of the National Public Budget of the Ministry of Finance. During his time in government portfolios, he also advised the Ministry of Transportation.

Marcela Eslava

Eslava has been the dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad de los Andes since June 1, 2020. “The academic leadership of Professor Marcela Eslava is recognized nationally and internationally. His publication record is more important than that of any other professor in the history of the Faculty. Likewise, his commitment to teaching and training new economists has been exemplary. Marcela is an educator at heart ”, assured the rector of the university, Alejandro Gavira, at the time of his election.

The economist graduated from the university where she works in 1997 and obtained a Master’s degree in Economics from the same institution in 1999. Currently, she is a co-editor and member of executive committees at several institutions focused on research.

Marcela Melendez

Meléndez is an economist from the Universidad de los Andes and has a doctorate in economics from Yale University. Currently, he is chief economist for Latin America and the Caribbean at the UNDP. Before holding this position, she was a partner and director of ECONESTUDIO for 10 years, a Colombian economic research and consulting firm, recognized for its contributions to the public policy debate.

Ana Maria Ibáñez

Ibáñez is an economist from the Universidad de los Andes and has a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics and Natural Resources from the University of Maryland. Grupo Éxito is currently on the Board of Directors and also advises the IDB.

Ximena Cadena

Cadena is an economist from the Universidad de los Andes and has a master’s degree in Economics from the same University and a master’s degree in Public Affairs from Princeton University. He has taught at the Master’s in Public Policy at the University of Chicago and at the economics faculty at the Universidad de los Andes.

She has experience working in the Government as Deputy Minister General of Finance between 2015 and 2017 and has also served as an advisor to the Minister of Finance in his Macroeconomic Policy Directorate, director of the ELCA (Colombian Longitudinal Survey of the Universidad de los Andes) and research manager at Harvard University. He also held positions in the World Trade Organization.

Although Carrasquilla is optioned, according to La República, several authorities on the subject such as Mauricio Cárdenas, Óscar Ivan Zuluaga and Rudolf Hommes have stated that they see the candidacies of women as viable.