When the President of Boliva means business:

With one deft movement, Bolivia's combative leader felled an opponent in a football match against a team of political rivals. The receiving player crumpled in agony holding, as local media put it, his "testicular zone."

As for the President of Ecuador:

Displaying an uncanny instinct for outmaneuvering his rivals — reminiscent of his fellow radical populists Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales — Correa quickly turned around what began as a police protest against cuts in benefits into high drama designed to discredit the democratic opposition and drum up international support for his regime. Citing no evidence, Correa quickly deemed the police strike (an inexcusable abdication of professional responsibility) as a "coup attempt" by the opposition and fanned the flames of crisis and instability by traveling to police headquarters to confront police, tearing off his tie, and challenging them to "kill me" where he stood.

But the presidents of that continent seem to have no choice; if you are not the drama, you'll be replaced by drama:

The most telling thing about Thursday evening's final presidential [debate in Brazil] was its late time-slot, broadcast live only after the sacrosanct telenovela (soap opera).

It was well after midnight when the candidates made their closing pitches, directly into the homes of viewers - most of whom had long since switched off.