Commentary of the opening of CABEI headquarters in Managua

The opening of the new headquarters of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) in Managua, scheduled for 15 December by the government as an act to legalize Daniel Ortega’s re-election, will be suspended by a decision of the member states – with the exception of Honduras and Nicaragua. The decision not to open the headquarters is also supported by all CABEI partners outside the region.

In October 2019, The CEO of that institution, Dante Musi, has arrived in Managua to lay the first stone, with the Minister of Finance and Public Credit (MHCP), Ivan Acosta, from Six-storey building worth $16.5 millionscheduled to open at the end of 2020.

As of Monday night, ten countries (and eleven, because Argentina and Colombia share a chair) support with their vote the decision to suspend the inauguration: Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Mexico, Taiwan and South Korea, as well as the joint vote of Argentina and Colombia. Belize and Cuba are non-voting partners.

said an economist who worked for CABEI, referring to the tacit political recognition that Ortega sought in this celebration in the company of his main financier and CABEI partners.

Nor will there be a CABEI meeting in Managua

The two countries also decided that the meeting of directors scheduled to be held in Managua, in connection with the opening ceremony of the building, approximately from Tegucigalpa, between 13 and 15 December.

In this regard, a source from the bank explained in Tegucigalpa, that all meetings are now multi-media, and that if the majority of those mentioned actually attended the appointment on November 26 and 27 in the Dominican Republic, then December, it is scheduled to take place in Managua, in the context of the opening of the building , was transferred to Tegucigalpa.

During the Caribbean meeting, several directors agreed that even if Managua was retained only as a virtual meeting place, the goal of separating the bank’s corporate image, which has been closely associated in recent years with It is enough for Ortega and Murillo to say they have the bank’s support.”

After the elections in Nicaragua, Unknown by the Organization of American States (OAS), it is very difficult for a bank to have its manager in the picture with Ortega,” said the former representative of Costa Rica in that regional entity, Otton Solis.

“It is clear that countries are now more encouraged to question relations with Nicaragua. Most likely, countries have prevented their managers from going to Nicaragua, which is a sign that the space for the system is running out,” he estimated.

majority block

Although the decision of the partner countries not to go to Managua is based on the fact that the construction of the CABEI headquarters is overdue and, therefore, the building is not ready for opening- trusted He learned that the formula used to support this resolution was simply one that all representatives could sign, without having to consult their capitals.

“In the negotiations that took place in the Dominican Republic, this was already jointly with everyone, except for Honduras and Nicaragua. Even Taiwan! On the basis that the building is not finished yet,” said the bank source in Tegucigalpa.

“Taiwan has taken a 180-degree turn, because it has so far been very close to the system,” Solis noted, noting that the bank included in its daily bulletin announcements of Taiwan’s support for Nicaragua, assuming that this change in orientation, explains that because that Asian nation ” It relies a lot on the support of the West in its relations with Beijing.”

“Some of us wanted to mention the inconvenience of Nicaragua’s state of democratic exception, but some countries requested consultations to support this wording, so it was left at the level of clarity,” the source at the bank in Tegucigalpa added.

Considering that the decision is supported by ten votes and eleven countries, the source saw that the only step that would allow the regime to hide its failure would be to issue orders. an actress, to vote in favor of this resolution, so that it appears that it was already behind schedule because the building was not ready.

Ortega risk factor

A CABEI partner requested that Dante Mossi not submit more loan applications from Nicaragua at future board meetings, and in the end, this proposal was not put to a vote.

The Directors are aware of the level of risk that Nicaragua poses to the Bank. In the first place, because “the country is almost on top of its absorptive capacity, which is a good technical shield rather than a political shield for rejecting future requests,” Said the source who works in Tegucigalpa, Without ignoring the fact that the country and Many of the most active figures in the government The presidential family is under fire US sanctionsCanada and the European Union.

“They didn’t come to open the building, and they did. Release from the loan to the National Police In March 2020, this was in fact an attempt to preserve the bank’s image, not a decision to move away from Ortega, or to assess whether or not to continue financing it, says former deputy Eliseo Nunez.

Nunez is not surprised by this temporary departure from CABEI, as he believes that “the position of the bank will change as Ortega’s illegality deepens.”

The bank’s lax attitude in recent years should act as a “bell” to know that its operations should become more transparent, because at the moment “these operations go unnoticed, and they end up doing what they want,” as the political analyst considers a liberal.

For this reason, he advocated that the decision-making process within CABEI be similar to that of the World Bank, or the Inter-American Development Bank, which provides funds to the extent that projects are implemented – and evaluated.

There are now 10 votes, leaving only Honduras and Nicaragua to decide what to do. Although voting is still open until Thursday, December 2, it is unlikely that there will be a major change, despite the fact that there is a procedure to change the voting, but it is long and should make sense.