Mood swings, handshakes and song end Andean crisis

By Patrick Markey

SANTO DOMINGO (Reuters) - The insults grew so intense at a showdown among Latin American presidents after a weeklong crisis that Argentina's female president teased her male counterparts for suffering menstrual mood swings.

But after hours of angry glares and finger-jabbing barbs, all it took was a sudden handshake at a Dominican Republic summit to end the region's worst dispute in years.

For a week, conservative Colombian President Alvaro Uribe traded accusations such as liar, drug trafficker and genocide sponsor with his leftist counterparts from Venezuela and Ecuador in a dispute that sparked diplomatic breaks with Colombia after its troops raided into Ecuador.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez changed the tone at the summit. As Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Uribe clashed over the military attack that killed a rebel boss, she cut short the bickering and drew giggles with a deft blow at their machismo.

"Women have always been accused of going a bit crazy and a bit hysterical during certain times of the month," she said during her summit address, breaking the tension as chuckles rippled through the delegates.

"I have to say some of the scenes here make me think we should say women are the most rational people on the planet," she said.

That set in motion a mood swing that meant the summit finished with jokes, hugs and even a song from Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Even before the summit, Uribe set himself apart by not participating in the official photograph of the presidents.