Political disputes overshadowed a gathering of European and Latin American leaders in Peru, potentially hindering their joint efforts to address poverty and climate change. Evo Morales, the leftist President of Bolivia, clashed with his counterparts over free trade leading up to the summit, while tensions escalated between Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Colombia. Supporters of free trade, such as Peru, are becoming increasingly frustrated with skeptics like Morales, who accused Peru and Colombia of attempting to exclude Bolivia from discussions between the EU and Andean nations. Peruvian President Alan Garcia emphasized the importance of progress, stating that countries may move at different paces but should move forward nonetheless. Morales, a former coca farmer, is concerned that free trade agreements could negatively impact small-scale farmers in his country. "We are looking for trade, but trade that is fair," he informed reporters in Lima. The EU is currently engaged in negotiations with Mercosur, which is led by Brazil and Argentina, as well as with Central American countries. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was among the first leaders to attend the summit, stated after her meeting with Garcia that the EU is "open and ready to facilitate the process" of trade. Merkel did not mention any disagreement with Chavez, who recently accused her of being a political successor to Adolf Hitler for suggesting that he had negatively impacted relations between Europe and Latin America. Chavez frequently insults conservative leaders, particularly U.S. President George W. Bush. During a summit in Chile last year, Spain's king told Chavez to be quiet. Chavez is currently involved in a conflict with Colombia that has threatened the possibility of war in the Andean region. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has accused Chavez of supporting FARC guerrillas, leading Chavez to contemplate reviewing diplomatic relations with Bogota. These disputes are expected to be a major focus at the upcoming gathering of European, Latin American, and Caribbean leaders. Additionally, they may struggle to find agreement on strategies to combat cocaine trafficking and the use of food crops for renewable biofuels instead of fossil fuels. Brazil supports environmentally friendly fuels, but some developing countries believe they contribute to higher food prices. Despite this, developing nations are expressing growing concerns about climate change and are calling on wealthy countries to reduce carbon emissions. Peru recently established an environment ministry to address the effects of global warming, such as the melting of its Andean glaciers. Peruvian representatives at the summit will advocate for stronger actions to combat climate change, criticizing governments that merely talk about addressing the threat it poses. We would like to encourage those governments to implement tangible measures," stated British junior Foreign Office minister Kim Howells in an interview with Reuters.