Been quite absent of late. Blame it on my extended Christmas holidays and travels to Denmark and Israel.

Still it's been a few weeke since I last looked on the South American news pages back in late December. Nothing too noteworthy seems to have happened; no President has been toppled, no economy has crashed, and mother nature has seemingly spared the continent from any majour natural disaster. Most noteworthy was perhaps the continuation of the kidnapping dilemma in Colombia and Hugo Chavez's efforts to portray himself as a hostage broker. A couple of hostage were eventually freed (whilst thousands still remained entrapped out in the Colombian hinterland) and the spat between Chavez and Colombian President Uribe continues. So in reality all is as it always has been.

Perhaps on a more interesting note (though far more trivial), what is it about these new rumours in the Venezuelan press about Chavez and his romantic going-ons with model Naomi Campbell? Anything Nikolas Sarkozy can do, Hugo Chavez can obviously do better. ¿Están liados Chávez y Naomi Campbell?

Anyway as much as it would be interesting to right my next essays on the romantic affairs of Latin American Presidents, I'm going have to settle for EU-Latin American relations and another one on the Post-Washington Consensus (i.e what has come after the death of neo-liberal economics). Furthermore I can add that I'll be spending my summer wrapped up in the issues surrounding the nationalisation of gas in Bolivia, as that it was my dissertation topic looks must likely as being. Ahh....the fun that awaits.

Hopefully next time round I'll be able to write something slightly more substantial.