If we were pitting Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) against MercadoLibre (NASDAQ: MELI) in the springtime of last year, it would be a monstrous battle of two international dot-coms seemingly at the top of their game. MercadoLibre was thriving as Latin America's online marketplace operator of choice when its shares hit fresh highs two months earlier. Inflation and political unrest are par for the course, and the markets are so volatile that Argentina equities lost nearly half of their value in a single day this summer after surprising results in the country's primary polls.