LIMA — Of all Hugo Chavez’s grandiose dreams, perhaps none was quite as lofty as his vision of unifying Latin America. Yet how far has Latin America actually advanced on the road to unification?

LIMA — Even from the jail cell where he is serving a 25-year sentence for embezzling public funds and directing death squads, ex-President Alberto Fujimori continues to cast a long shadow over Peru. A high-profile campaign, backed by many media here, for a humanitarian pardon appears set to reach its climax in the coming weeks as the current president, Ollanta Humala, finally reviews a medical report on his disgraced predecessor.

MOUNT CHACHANI, Peru — The distance between us grows slowly but surely in the gray light of dawn as we head up the steep snowfield 18,000 feet above sea level. Richard Hidalgo, Peru’s most accomplished mountaineer, is taking short, deliberate strides but his metronomic rhythm toward the 19,872 foot summit of Mount Chachani is relentless. Unlike me, he doesn’t need to stop to catch his breath every few seconds, readjust his backpack, or just take in the stunning view of arid, rocky valleys through the clouds below.