Less than three years ago, when the financial crisis exploded, the world economy slid to the edge of the abyss. The slide was arrested by an unprecedented global rescue, in which the International Monetary Fund played a vital role. We have now stepped back from the precipice but, should the world require another rescue, we must not forget that global collaboration requires trust among partners, with legitimate institutions at its core.
In recent years the IMF’s board has embarked on reforms to give a greater voice to emerging markets. With the world economy undergoing major shifts in relative wealth and financial flows, continued reform has become urgent. Countries as varied as Indonesia and South Africa, the Brics – Brazil, Russia, India and China – and my own country, Mexico, have proved to be reliable partners and they deserve to be treated as such. They have every right to expect that the selection process for the IMF’s next managing director will be transparent and based on merit, rather than a backroom deal among a clique of advanced economies to select, inevitably, by a vintage second world war agreement, a European.
Emerging markets have vast experience in policymaking that can benefit the global community. It was neither surprising nor an accident that most recovered from the crisis quickly and are now booming. This reflects their good economic policy, increasingly robust institutions and accumulated experience from managing previous crises. But to bring this experience to bear, emerging market countries must now embrace their new, more vital role and fully share responsibility for promoting broad-based prosperity in the new global economy.