That’s Strike Two for the Venezuelan dictator.

Joining Mexico, Peru has pulled its ambasssador from Venezuela on the grounds that it’s now openly meddling in Peru’s presidential elections. Yesterday, far-leftist Presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, Evo Morales’ Peruvian ideological soulmate, decided to join the cavorting with Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales in public photo opportunities to consolidate the Axis of Evil, as Daniel in Venezuela notes. Just coincidentally, Humala was in Caracas for the festivities with the other two.

It’s no coincidence that political meddling was one of the reasons Mexico also pulled its ambassador from Caracas last November – and kicked Venezuela’s out. Chavez had been doing it with alacrity in Mexico City before he turned to hurling insults at Mexico’s president. The whole idea, of course, is to say to Peru’s, or Mexico’s voters, that a vote for this or that leftwing candidate is a vote for free oil money for pork barrel programs. The idea is to give certain favored parties certain financial advantages and thus make them more appealing to voters. Just look at the dissent this very same Chavista pork-barreling effort is creating in even Chicago!

There’s no hiding of this brazen parade anymore.

This marks an ominous trend in South American political developments.