Cepal, the “International Monetary Fund of the Left”

Bibliographic Data

ID9500040
AuthorsMargarita Fajardo (0000-0001-9827-0831, Sarah Lawrence College Faculty Member, , US, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume128
Issue2
Pages588-615
Publication date2023-06-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe American Historical Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-8762 • E-ISSN: 1937-5239
PublisherOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/ahr/rhad226
OpenAlexW4381610939
LanguageEN
Citations received2

The article examines the entangled histories of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America (CEPAL) during the post–World War II era. Born of the same global moment, within two decades of their foundation, these institutions had come to represent two opposing visions of world economic order. Yet their mutual antagonism was not a foregone conclusion, and their identities were not so defined from the start. The binary division between them—as well as the very terms of their debate—emerged not in the realm of abstract ideas but rather in their competition over influence in Latin America. Unlike the history of the UN, the story of the IMF continues to be told as one of projection—of power, ideas, and practices—and reception, of dominance by the North and resistance of the South. By looking at CEPAL and the IMF in tandem, as they converged, diverged, and shaped each other, this article shows the impact of a southern institution and Latin America on the northern institution and the structure of global governance. It contributes to our understanding of global institutional history and economic governance, precisely at a moment when global institutions have lost prestige and leverage

Commission · Corporate governance · Economics · Global governance · Institution · Latin Americans · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · International Development and Aid · Law

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