GEOG 310
Middle America
Sriram Khé
Associate Professor of Geography
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MIDDLE AMERICA
INTRODUCTION TO
MIDDLE AMERICA
THE REALM
– MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA,
CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
– FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND
POLITICALLY
– DIVERSE CULTURALLY
– POVERTY IS ENDEMIC
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REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA
Greater Antilles
Mexico
Lesser Antilles
Central America
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MIDDLE AMERICA
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Poverty
Home to the
poorest
countries of the
Americas:
– Haiti
– Honduras
– Nicaragua
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
LAND BRIDGE
ARCHIPELAGO
– GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES
NATURAL HAZARDS
– EARTHQUAKES
– VOLCANOES
– HURRICANES
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I wonder
why?
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WORLD TECTONIC PLATES
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DISTRIBUTION OF
EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES
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WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS
Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America in October 1998
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CULTURE HEARTH
SOURCE AREAS from which radiated ideas,
innovations, and ideologies that changed the world
beyond.
Mesoamerica
Hearths
Aztecs
Mayans
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MESOAMERICA
CULTURE HEARTHS
– MAYA CIVILIZATION
• CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD
• HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN
PENINSULA
• THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE
– AZTEC CIVILIZATION
• 1300 AD
• VALLEY OF MEXICO
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COLONIAL HERITAGE
SPAIN
FRANCE
BRITAIN
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THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM
Land was appropriated - colonial commercial
interests
Lands devoted to food crops for local consumption
were converted to cash cropping for export
Land Alienation induces:
– Famine
– Poverty
– Migration
– Little agricultural diversity
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COLONIAL SPHERES
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MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION
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MAINLAND/RIMLAND FRAMEWORK
MAINLAND
– EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE
– GREATER ISOLATION
– HACIENDA PREVAILED
RIMLAND
– EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE
– HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
– PLANTATION ECONOMY
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MAINLAND vs RIMLAND
Location
Climate
MAINLAND
greater isolation
RIMLAND
greater accessibility
altitudinal
zonation
tropical
Physiography
Culture
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mountains
Euro/Indian
islands
African-European
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HACIENDA vs PLANTATION
HACIENDA
– SPANISH INSTITUTION
– NOT EFFICIENT BUT SOCIAL PRESTIGE
– WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND
PLANTATION
–
–
–
–
–
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NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS
EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS
IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS
SEASONAL LABOR
EFFICIENCY IS KEY
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AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
Plantation
•Production for export
•Single cash crop
•Seasonal Employment
•Profit motive $$$
•“factory in the field” efficiency
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Natural
Resources
A major oil
Producer:
About 3.5
million barrels
per day
Saudia Arabia
produces about
9 mil bpd
MAQUILADORAS
Assembly plants that pioneered the
migration of industries in the 1970s
Today
–>4,000 maquiladoras
–>1 million employees
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MAQUILADORAS
Modern industrial plants
Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw
materials
Export the finished products
Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan)
80% of goods reexported to U.S.
Tariffs limited to value added during assembly
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MAQUILADORAS
Maquiladora products
Electronic equipment
Electric appliances
Auto parts
Clothing
Furniture
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MAQUILADORAS
ADVANTAGES
– Mexico gains jobs.
– Foreign owners benefit from cheaper
labor costs.
EFFECTS
– Regional development
– Development of an international growth
corridor between Monterrey and Dallas
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Fort Worth
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MAQUILADORAS
Tijuana
Nogales
Ciudad
Juarez
Chihuahua
Monterrey
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Reynosa
Matamoros
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GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER
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NAFTA
Effective 1 January 1994
Established a trade agreement between
Mexico, Canada and the US, which:
–Reduced and regulated trade
tariffs, barriers, and quotas
between members
–Standardized finance & service
exchanges
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NAFTA
How has Mexico
benefited from NAFTA?
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MEXICO AND NAFTA
Foremost, it promises a higher standard of
living.
NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans as
US companies begin to invest more heavily in
the Mexican market.
Mexican exporters increase their sales to the
US and Canada.
Is that the entire story?
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U.S. TRADE WITH
CANADA & MEXICO
Canada remains as the United States’
largest export market.
Since 1977, Mexico has moved into
second place (displacing Japan).
85% of all Mexican exports now go to
the United States.
75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the
United States.
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ECONOMIC TRENDS
(Central America & the Caribbean)
Agriculture
Industry
Services
– Tourism
Environmental Issues
– Deforestation
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PRIMARY SECTOR
DEPENDENCE
El Salvador
– Agriculture accounts for 24% of GDP and 40%
of the labor force and contributes to 60% of
exports.
– Economic losses because of guerrilla sabotage
total $2 billion since 1979.
Honduras
– Agriculture accounts for more than 25% of
GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and
produces two-thirds of exports.
– Economic
loss because of natural disaster 36
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HIPC
Honduras and Nicaragua are on the HIPC list
– Heavily indebted poor countries
– The Initiative is designed to reduce debts to
sustainable levels for poor countries that pursue
economic and social policy reforms,
– Used specifically in cases where traditional debt
relief mechanisms will not be enough to help
countries exit from the rescheduling process.
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The weight of debt
Nicaragua's external debt currently stands at 6.7 billion
dollars.
- 25% of the Nicaraguan budget is spent on debt payments
– Contrast to … 14% on health care
– 11% on education
Almost half the population falling below the poverty line.
High levels of infant mortality and maternal mortality, and a high
level of infectious and parasitic diseases.
Malnutrition is widespread with around 20 per cent of children
under five being chronically malnourished or stunted
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PRIMARY SECTOR
DEPENDENCE
Dominican Republic (49%
Agriculture)
– Sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa,
and tobacco
Jamaica (22.5% Agriculture)
– Sugar, bananas, and rum (Hurricane
Gilbert -1988)
Cuba (20% Agriculture)
– Sugar, tobacco, citrus, and coffee
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones
TIERRA CALIENTE
(Hot Land)
Bananas, Cocoa, Sugar, Rice
2500’
Sea
Level
750 m
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Sea
Level
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
TIERRA TEMPLADA
(Temperate Land)
Coffee, Rice, Corn, Sugar
6,000’
2000’
Sea
Level
1800 m
600 m
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Sea
Level
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
TIERRA FRIA
(Cold Land)
Corn, Wheat, Potato
12,000’
6,000’
2000’
Sea
Level
3,600 m
2,000 m
600 m
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Sea
Level
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THE TOURISM OPTION
Antigua and Barbuda
– Direct contribution of 13% to GDP and affects
growth in other sectors
The Bahamas
– Tourism alone provides 50% of GDP and
directly or indirectly employs 40% of the
population.
Cuba
– Growing industry
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tropical Deforestation
3.5 million acres of woodland in Central
America disappear each year!
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CAUSES OF TROPICAL
DEFORESTATION
Clearing of rural lands to accommodate
meat production and export
Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to
meet global demands for new housing,
paper, and furniture
Population growth: forests are cut to
provide crop-raising space and
firewood
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Internal Wars
Nicaragua
– Sandinistas v. Contras
Panama
– Remember Manuel Noriega?
Honduras
– Drawn into conflicts in Nicaragua and El Salvador
El Salvador
– 12-year civil war ends in 1992
Guatemala
– A peace agreement in 1996 ends a 36-year civil war
Costa Rica?
– The only stable country
– Best standards of living in the region
• Intel comes to town …
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