France’s Christine Lagarde sought to rally support for her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund, promising on a visit to Brazil to “deepen” reforms at the institution.

Ms Lagarde, French finance minister, was in Brazil — one of several emerging nations seeking an end to Europe’s stranglehold on the powerful post — on the first stop of an international tour.

“The main priority ahead is to continue and deepen reforms” in running the IMF, she said after a working lunch with her Brazilian counterpart Mr Guido Mantega and Brazilian central bank chief Alexandre Tombini.

“I have proposed to Brazil, China, India and certain African countries” to pay a visit as part of her tour, Ms Lagarde told Europe 1 radio earlier, adding that Brazil had been the first state to respond to her proposal.

Brazil is among the so-called BRICS group of emerging economic powers that also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa, which have criticised Europe’ grip on the IMF, but have failed to agree on a candidate of their own.

Ms Lagarde, a 55-year-old former lawyer, has been France’s finance minister since 2007 and is heavily favoured to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn as the top IMF official.

Mr Strauss-Kahn, also French, has been charged with sexual assault in New York and resigned on May 19. He is on bail in the United States awaiting trial for attempted rape.

Traditionally, a European — most often from France — has led the IMF since its founding in 1945, while the United States supplies the president of the World Bank.

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Published on May 31, 2011