Brazil will support Christine Lagarde's bid to become managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), dpa quoted the Brazilian Finance Ministry as saying in a statement Tuesday. French Finance Minister Lagarde is competing with Mexican Central Bank President Agustin Carstens to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned from the IMF leadership in May. Brazil opted for Lagarde based not only on her career, but also on her commitment to further pursue the IMF reforms launched by Strauss-Kahn, the Finance Ministry said. The reforms include giving smaller countries a voice in the powerful fund. Both Lagarde and Carstens visited Brazil to present their bids to the government of President Dilma Rousseff. The United States and Russia also expressed Tuesday their support for Lagarde.
