Latin
America
Fig. 19-1, p. 520
Fig. 19-CO (a), p. 518
Table 19-1a, p. 521
Table 19-1b, p. 522
Fig. 19-4, p. 525
Fig. 19-11, p. 530
Fig. 19-12, p. 531
Fig. 19-13, p. 532
Fig. 19-14, p. 533
Table 19-2, p. 536
Fig. 19-25, p. 543
Figure 19-D, p. 544
SUMMARY
• Latin America has been urbanizing rapidly, with now more than two-thirds of its
population living in cities, compared to the world average of 48 percent. There
continues to be steady rural– urban migration as well as a steady stream of
both legal and illegal immigrants northward into the United States. The
remittances of those workers are an important resource for Latin American
economies.
• Latifundia and minifundia are two major agricultural systems of historical
importance that continue to characterize major blocks of regional land use.
There is also a strong plantation economy, especially in Central America, the
Caribbean, and coastal Brazil, and sugar and fruit play dominant agricultural
roles. Farm landscapes range from peasant households that are largely
subsistence farming, to haciendas, ejidos, and foreign-owned fruit and coffee
plantations. A recent plunge in the price of coffee beans gave rise in Europe and
later in the United States to a Fair Trade movement that raises prices for
consumers of coffee, bananas, and other produce but helps ensure better
wages for Latin American farmers. Ownership of farmland is concentrated in the
hands of relatively few people, creating imbalances that land reform efforts
have so far not redressed.
SUMMARY
• Minerals have played a major role in the history, economic development, and
trade networks of Latin America and include iron ore, bauxite, copper, tin, silver,
lead, zinc, and sulfur. Gold has had local importance, and silver is at the center
of centuries of European interest in the region. Petroleum is of growing
importance, especially in Mexico and Venezuela.
• The Latin American countries have formed or joined several free trade
agreements aimed at reducing trade barriers and promoting manufacturing. The
largest in volume and value is the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA). One of its goals is to promote economic growth in Latin America so
that migration to the United States becomes less attractive to unemployed Latin
Americans.
• Tropical Latin America’s proximity to temperate and afuent North America has
helped to make tourism one of the region’s most important industries.
SUMMARY
• U.S. interests in Latin America dominate the region’s geopolitical themes and
issues. The Monroe Doctrine and its Roosevelt Corollary were designed to
justify U.S. activities and interventions in the region. Historic efforts have been
directed at suppressing Communist or leftist interests in the region and at
safeguarding passage through the Panama Canal. Modern interests focus on
promoting trade, ghting drug trafficking, and guaranteeing secure access to oil
in Venezuela and Colombia.
Middle America
Mexico
• Peninsulas
– Baja California
– Yucatán
Mexico’s History
• Pre-European Civilizations
– Central & So. Mexico
– Maya, 300-1000 AD
• Yucatán & N Guat
Maya
• Rainforest Env.
• Limestone Geology…
• Food?
– Corn, Beans…
Mexico’s History
• Aztecs
–
–
–
–
1300-1521
Valley of Mexico
Tenochtitlán…
On a Lake Island
Mexico’s History
• Spanish Conquest
– Cortés, 1521
– Mexico City…
Population of Mexico
• 60% Mestizo
• 30% Indigenous
• 10% European
Central Mexico
• Mtns & Plateaus
Central Mexico
•
Largest Cities of Mex.
1. Mexico City
2. Guadalajara
Mexico City
• Largest City…
• 7000’ basin
• Surrounded by high mtns.
& volcanoes
Popo Volcano: 17,887’
Mexico City
Problems
• Earthquakes
– 1985: 10,000 killed
• Winter Smog
Mexico
City
Northern Mexico
• Dry
– Sonoran Desert
– Baja Calif.
Northern Mexico
• Maquiladoras
– Factories Owned by…
– In Mexican Border Towns
• Tijuana
• Cd. Juarez
– Cheap Labor
– Transportation Costs…
• Short Distance for…
East Coast of Mexico
• Oil…
• Yucatán
Tourism
– Mayan Ruins
– Cancún
West Coast of Mexico
• Beach Resorts
– Acapulco
– Puerto Vallarta
– Mazatlan
Central America – 7 Countries
Ethnicity of
Cen. Am.
• Mostly Mestizo
Indigenous
• Guatemala
Ethnicity
• Whites
– Costa Rica
• Blacks
– Caribbean Coast
Altitudinal
Zones
• Cen. Am. Pop.
- Mild Temp
- Volcanoes
• Hot Lowlands
Volcanoes
• Ash….
• Pacific side of Cen Am
VOLCANOES IN CEN AMER
Agriculture
• Coffee
– Grown in the
Tierra Templada
Climate
• Trade Winds Blow From…
Rainforests
• East Coast…
• Mostly Cut Down
RAINFORESTS IN CEN AM
Costa Rica
• Settled by Eur. Farmers
• Middle Class
Costa Rica
• No Army since 1949
• Social Programs
• 95% Literacy
Tourism in C. R.
• #1 Destination in
Cen Am
– Great Nature
– Stable, Peaceful
25% of C.R. Land = Nat’l Parks & Reserves
Rainforests
& Wildlife
• Sloth
Volcanoes
Costa Rica
Panama
• Panama Canal
– Built 1904-1914 by USA
– Controlled by US til 12/31/99
Panama Canal (pp. 560-561)
• Cuts thru Mtns
• Crosses a lake (85’ above sea level)
• Locks lift ships 85’
Pan-American Hwy
• Alaska-Argentina
• Incomplete thru E. Panama
• Darién Gap…
Pan-American Highway
Darien Gap - Rainforests
Darien Gap
Caribbean Islands
Caribbean Islands
• Greater Antilles
• Lesser Antilles
Caribbean
Environment
• 80-85F everyday
• N.E. Trade Winds
• Rainforests on which
side of islands?
Caribbean
Rainforest
Hurricanes
• Move west, then north
• Which months?
Hurricane Damage
Volcanoes
• Lesser Antilles
• Montserrat
– 1995-1997
• Martinique
– 1902
Montserrat, 1996
Martinique
Caribbean
Population
• Mostly Black
or Mulatto
Car. Population
• Indians (from India)
– In Trinidad
– Hindu Temple 
Caribbean Economy
• Plantation Ag
– Sugar Cane
– Declining Global Demand for Cane Sugar
– Other Sources of Sugar since 1970s
• Corn Syrup
Car. Economy
• Few Minerals
• Oil & Tar
– Trinidad
Car. Economy
• Tourism
– Close to Wealthy USA
– Warm Winter Weather in Car. vs.
Freezing U.S. East Coast
Caribbean Winter
Puerto Rico
• Spanish Colony til 1898
• U.S. Commonwealth
–
–
–
–
–
–
US citizens
US Money, Stamps
Spanish Language
No Federal Taxes
P. Rican Olympic Team
Statehood or independence?
• 47% , 3% Support
Cuba
• Havana…
• 1959
– Communist Revolution
– Leader - Fidel Castro
– US Trade Embargo since
early 1960s
– Soviet Aid, 1960s-1991
– Good Health Care
• Life Expectancy 75 yrs.
– Literacy 96%
Haiti
• W 1/3 of Hispaniola
• 99% Deforested
Haiti’s History
• 1804 – Independence from France
– Slave Revolt
– 2nd Ind. Country in W. Hemi.
– Sugar Plantations Divided
• Production Declined
Poorest Country…
• Life expectancy: 51 yrs
• Literacy: 45%