The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has just published, in October, a new document about the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA). The document represents a business prospectus for potential investors in the $38 billion initiative. Published in English only, the document reflects an effort by the IDB to revive the momentum behind IIRSA by repackaging its tarnished image. According to the IDB, IIRSA is imaginatively presented as a consensus plan for integration, a natural extension of Inca devotion to infrastructure, and a transparently, responsibly governed process. As a thinly veiled strategy to fend off the most damaging criticism of IIRSA, the launch of this glossy new report portends a new public relations initiative by the IDB to accelerate IIRSA funding on the heels of a recent rounds of elections that slowed the pace decision making among IIRSA member countries
Unsurprisingly, the report contains very little new information about IIRSA. Under the subtitles like, what is IIRSA, why IIRSA, IIRSA in action, IIRSA the agenda and priority projects, IIRSA and new dynamics of the continent, the IDB offers stock answers. The final part of the document is dedicated to instructing investors in how to do business with the IDB and ways to get involved with IIRSA mega-projects. The document profiles several of the 31 crown jewel "anchor" projects of IIRSA, the most expensive of which is the Madeira Hydroelectric Project at $7.2 billion (other estimates put the price tag at $10.5 billion). A reference that is made to the IDB's social and environmental safeguard policies have so far provided little protection or political leverages far for populations potentially affected by IIRSA projects.
This new document is intended to validate the discourses of the IIRSA and IDB by attempting to dress it in the legitimacy of Inca nobility. The symbolism of the Inca road as a justification for IIRSA superhighways may appear to be populist gesture, but is really sending a much different message to investors. Andean scholars have shown that the famous Inca road functioned primarily to facilitate the movement of the imperial army and the flow of luxury tribute for the Inca elite. The Inca road was not intended for use by the local populations. If IIRSA is simply the continuation of imperial infrastructure, the IDB has surprisingly few qualms about saying so.
All the projects in the portfolio of IIRSA can be found on its webpage http://www.iirsa.org, while the 31 priority projects, determined by the IDB, can be found on the new document, page 24.
To view the whole document, go to: http://idbdocs.iadb.org/wsdocs/getdocument.aspx?docnum=834660
www.iadb.org