En cuanto a la credibilidad del presidente Uribe, una vez más se llevó todos los aplausos en Bariloche, especialmente si se tiene en cuenta que estaba sufriendo las etapas iniciales de la temida 'gripe porcina'. Una vez más, Hugo Chávez entró en una trampa diplomática, el hecho que se demuestre que en su país no hay controles ni equilibrio en la información que utiliza en su sermón dominical a la nación. Además se evidencio en Bariloche que mientras la región de Latinoamérica debería estar tomando su lugar en la mesa principal de la economía mundial y la política se encuentra, en cambio, en peligro de volver a quedarse atrás.

In terms of credibility President Uribe once again walked away with all the plaudits in Bariloche an achievement especially considering he was already suffering from the initial stages of the dreaded ¿Swine Flu¿. Once again Chavez walked into a diplomatic trap the cause of which was the fact that domestically there are no checks and balances regarding the information he uses during his weekly Sunday address to the nation, the dismantling of the free press has made sure of that.

On the other hand for all the criticism of Uribe¿s regime and his dominance of the institutions one fact that cannot be avoided is that everything he does or says is scrutinized to the finest detail both domestically and by those watching from overseas, Uribe simply has have his facts straight. This became all to obvious at Bariloche where Chavez produced a supposed US Govt document suggesting that the US military see Palanquero as the perfect base to control Latam airspace. Naturally the peanut gallery politicians around the table loved that but then they started to look sheepish as Uribe exposed it as a think tank document with no real connection to the US Govt. On Chavez¿s Sunday show no one is questioning the material used and it was a diplomatic blunder of huge proportions to base his argument on flawed material Correa likewise produced maps, charts and all manner of material during his monologue that said that Colombia was failing to deal with the cocaine issue properly despite having 300,000 troops. Correa conveniently missed the point (apart from ¿super sizing the number of troops in Colombia) that Colombia as well as monitoring drug shipments has a small insurgency problem to deal with.

As a British citizen I was especially interested in Correa¿s attack on the region for allowing the re-taking of the Falklands. Without being drawn into the history of that conflict this was the same man who used his opening address at Bariloche to argue that diplomacy is the only way forward. Historians will not remember General Galtieri as one of the great diplomats especially as it was his unilateral aggression that caused the death of numerous soldiers on both sides. Furthermore whilst Correo was gazing into the camera appealing to the Colombian people to believe him perhaps they might instead consider instead what his attitude would be if his ally Daniel Ortega decided to take military action over the San Andres islands which he so covets ? The parallels are obvious. The other striking thing from Bariloche is that whilst the Latam region should currently be taking its place at the top table of global economics and politics it is instead in danger of once again being left behind despite the wealth of primary materials it has below ground that countries such as China crave.

The current generation of Presidents is a laughing stock by any measure you wish to apply and there really needs to be a changing of the guard if the continent is move forward. The Marxist amigos are politically bankrupt on a global basis, state sponsors of terrorism, peddlers of narcotics, dismantling their Democracies in a form that would make Myanmar proud. Correa is surely the worst advertisement for US education walking the planet. Alongside them we have Christina Fernandez de Kirchner ¿ the latter part of that surname being the relevant part as she would never be in office without her husband.

Fernandez sits there and giggles like a silly schoolgirl every time Correa & Chavez pay her a compliment, locals fear the damage she will do to her country before she is removed in late 2011, she is truly a set back for women's causes. Moving along we have an ex priest running Paraguay who is morally bankrupt owing to the fact that they are still trying to calculate the number of children he fathered whilst in robes. Peru¿s Garcia may support Uribe however let us not forget he already bankrupted his country once. Tabare Vazquez of Uruguay appears a nice enough chap but wet lettuce has more backbone. That leaves Lula and Bachelet who came out with the most sensible suggestion on Friday, sit down with Obama and have him explain the US bases , two return tickets to Washington should clear this matter up in a hurry. That said Bachelet is on her way out of office having less than impressed whilst the fact that Lula is considered a moderate in the region is a measure of just how far left the loonies have moved the continent. Lula controls easily the most powerful country on the continent and yet still cowers in front of the Marxist bully boys. This generation is taking Latam nowhere fast and the great opportunity presented by the global demand for commodities and oil is in danger of being lost or at very least not being capitalized fully.

Mercosur & the CAN are a shambles when they should be forming a powerful trading block whilst UNASUR has all the teeth of an ageing earthworm ¿ imagine if Colombia walked out, what purpose would it serve then ? UNASUR achieved nothing except perhaps split the region further and whilst conflict is unlikely to occur Colombia should prepare NOW and budget for ZERO exports to Venezuela or Ecuador in order to be in a position to close the border at a time of its choosing and not remain an economic prisoner to the whims of two men who are becoming more unhinged by the week. The cost will be high however principles are no cheap asset and if you lose track of them you are lost.