04 December 2010

IBERO-AMERICAN SUMMIT: No Shows Overshadow Meeting.

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     The official agenda for the 22-nation Ibero-American 20th summit in Mar del Plata, Argentina was improving education. But it was overshadowed by last minute cancellations from the presidents of Spain, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua and disclosures from the WikiLeaks cables.
      Chavez was a no-show for the third straight year since 2007 when Spain's king asked him during a long tirade, "Why don't you shut up?" The absence of Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega ended hopes that he and Costa Rica's Laura Chinchilla could resolve a tense border dispute. Bolivia's Morales insisted that recent knee operation kept him at home. The summit was also one of the last international appearances for Brasil's President Lula da Silva before he hands the reins to Dilma Rousseff in January.