Political disagreements overshadowed a gathering of European and Latin American leaders in Peru, posing a threat to their joint efforts to combat poverty and global warming. Evo Morales, the leftist President of Bolivia, clashed with his regional counterparts on the issue of free trade leading up to the summit. Meanwhile, tensions escalated between Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and neighboring Colombia. Proponents of free trade, such as Peru, are becoming increasingly frustrated with skeptics like Morales, who accused Peru and Colombia of trying to sideline Bolivia in discussions between the EU and Andean nations. President Alan Garcia of Peru emphasized the need to move forward despite differing paces, while Morales, a former coca grower, expressed concerns that free trade agreements could harm small-scale farmers in his country. "We are interested in trade, but it must be fair," he informed journalists in Lima. In addition to ongoing negotiations with Mercosur, led by Brazil and Argentina, and Central American countries, the EU is also engaging in discussions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, one of the first leaders to attend the summit, stated after meeting with Garcia that the EU is willing to facilitate trade. Merkel did not address a recent conflict with Chavez, who accused her of being a political successor to Adolf Hitler for suggesting that he had harmed European-Latin American relations. Chavez often 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 could potentially lead to war in the Andean region. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe accuses Chavez of supporting the FARC guerrillas. Chavez mentioned that he was reconsidering diplomatic relations with Bogota before leaving for Lima. These disputes may be a major focus at the upcoming gathering of leaders from Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Additionally, they may struggle to find agreement on combating cocaine trafficking and utilizing food crops for renewable biofuels as a substitute for fossil fuels. Brazil supports greener fuels, but some poor countries believe they contribute to higher food prices. Despite this, developing nations are becoming more concerned about climate change and are calling for wealthy countries to reduce carbon emissions. Peru recently established an environment ministry to address the effects of global warming on its Andean glaciers. Peruvian representatives at the summit will advocate for stronger actions to combat climate change, criticizing governments who only pay lip service to the issue. We are encouraging those governments to take tangible steps," stated Kim Howells, a junior Foreign Office minister from Britain, in an interview with Reuters.