Political noise set to ratchet up a gear

It's becoming quite an eventful year in Latin American politics, and it's barely a week old. Peru has made an extradition request to Chile for ex-president Fujimori, while also recalling their ambassador from Venezuela, after Chavez declared his support for candidate Humala (like Chavez, an indigenous and ex-military leader). All of which sounds like political point scoring.

Let's not forget the presidential election scheduled in Chile for the Sunday after next, along with the various other countries, including Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Colombia, which are all holding similar elections.

This all suggests much more political gaming over the next 12 months.