Time Magazine on the Money??!!

In an article I found online, Time Magazine appears to have been reading my mind. (At least, that's my meglomaniac's interpretation...). Posted today, and responding to the four-leader summit that ended with a warm endorsement of Evo's 'nationalisation' plan (AP summary), the article suggests that Chavez's illusions of uniting the Latin American left may be becoming less bluster than reality:

As he walked into a Puerto Iguazu meeting on Thursday, Chavez remarked that Latin America has "been trying to integrate for 200 years in and [the U.S.] has been trying to break us up for 200 years." It was typical Chavez bluster. But if he can prove his mediator mettle this week, he could make it much harder for anyone to thwart his hemispheric ambitions in the coming years.

In less hysterical terms (I want to be clear that I'm not endorsing much of the 'content' of said article beyond the basic insight), Chavez seems to have succeeded in becoming the most important international statesman in South America. After all, Chavez had little to do with Bolivia's decision insofar as it buys no Bolivian gas and has no important investments in that industry. Yet within the week, Venezuela has promised to help Bolivia achieve energy sovereignty with money and expertise, and more importantly at least for now, Chavez arranged a meeting with the presidents that were affected and seems to have ensured that Morales's decision be respected. (In all fairness, I did read in an Argentine source at some point that it was Kirchner's efforts that made it work...) And they used to say Lula would be the S American point guy.