ìAt Colombiaís Congress, Paramilitary Chiefs Talk Peace,î by Juan Forero, New York Times, 29 July, p. A3.

ìLosing Energy and Investors: After Years of Growth, Boliviaís Gas Industry Faces Hurdles,î by Juan Forero, NYT, 29 July, p. W1.

Why does Colombia's economy run far too much on narcotics? Who wants to invest in a country where paramilitary commanders are invited into the national legislature under white flags and promises of no arrest? This trio of leaders sat in the national congress chamber and were treated like serious political players in the system instead of rebels and vigilantes who are in bed with narco-traffickers.

As one Humans Rights Watch official put it, "This is a very dangerous game and awful precedent. What this kind of circus does is raise the expectations for these individuals to strengthen their position by manipulating the public with some sort of family-values speech."

A Colombian congressman was even harsher: "What we see is the state and justice submitting themselves to narco-traffickers. This shows the great power paramilitaries and narco-traffickers have over Congress."

Colombia isn't really even a state anymore, just a collection of warlords running the countryside and a government running the capital. It's the Pakistan/Afghanistan of South America.

Meanwhile, in Bolivia, the political and economic rule sets there are so incoherent and weak that despite the huge global demand right now for new sources of natural gas, the government there can't get international investors interested in coming there. As the Times puts it: "The turmoil in this isolated, land-locked country in the center of South America has been quickly snuffing a nascent gas industry that seven years ago appeared to have no limits." Bolivia simply can't seem to come to any consensusóespecially with indigenous groupsóon how to exploit its gas resources for the benefit of all, so nothing happens to the detriment of all:

"There's total uncertainty regarding the legal, regulatory, political and social framework," Mr. Lopez [former vice minister of energy] said. "This is a sector that, having discovered the reserves, should be investing substantial amounts to develop the fields," he said. "Instead, it is an industry preparing for the worst."

And so Bolivia, in its political and social confusion, remains firmly mired deep inside the Gap.