In Our Opinion....

Colombian officials accuse Hugo Chavez of tolerating the presence of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia "FARC" and demand international monitors on their border. In response, Chavez breaks ties and expels Colombian diplomats.

Until now, allegations that Colombian guerrillas use Venezuela as a refuge were supported by Chavez's declarations of sympathy for the rebels and his admiration for late FARC leader Manuel Marulanda. Last Thursday, the Colombian Government made a presentation before The Organization of American States using videos and photos: Colombian diplomats accused Venezuela of tolerating the presence of 1,500 leftist rebel fighters and several top leaders in its territory. Furthermore, they requested an international body to monitor the border and verify the presence of "FARC" in Venezuela.

In our opinion, Chavez has been presented with a unique opportunity to use this crisis with Colombia as an excuse to prevent the holding of parliamentary elections in September. An appeal to nationalist voters will not work and years of state interventions are taking a brutal toll on the economy: productivity; private activity and private business are all falling. The oil industry is pumping 20 percent less crude than when Chavez took office and is saddled with debt. The country's inflation rate could hit 35 percent this year and thousands of factories paralyzed by a failure to access money or spare parts, have closed.

All this in a year where according to the International Monetary Fund, some of the Latin America central banks worry about overheating economies: In Peru, Chile and Brazil, all of which embrace globalization, growth could indeed go well beyond 4 percent.