Turn in your Rubric for the
group Project
You should have emailed or shared with me your
group project by now. After this point it is late.
Complete the group member evaluation rubric that I
give you.
This week we will look at Chapter 10 which focuses
on the Economy and the Human Environmental
Interaction in Latin America
Remember you have a Test on Friday
10/19 EQ: How has Latin America’s economy developed?
Latin America Today: Living
in Latin America
Chapter 10 Section 1
Agriculture
• Large agricultural estates owned by wealthy
families or corporations are called latifundia
• These highly mechanized commercial operations
produce high yields in return for low labor costs
• Small government-owned farms on which
rural farmers grow crops for their families are
called minifundia
• Campesinos have begun combining their farms
into large, jointly run cooperatives
• What are the advantages of the latifundia
system? What are the advantages of the
minifundia system?
Agriculture
• Cash Crops and Livestock:
• Latin American countries are the world’s
largest producers of coffee, bananas, and
sugarcane for export.
• Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil raise cattle for
export on large ranches in grasslands areas.
• Countries are at economic risk however, if
weather or other disasters destroy their cash
crops
• What is a Cash Crop? What is the difference
between that and subsistence farming?
Industry
• Industrial Growth:
• Latin America’s physical geography (High mountain
ranges and dense rain forests) has made the growth
of industry and access to natural resources difficult
• Political instability in some Latin American countries
has made foreign investors wary of investing in Latin
American industry
• Countries with relatively stable governments and
sufficient human and natural resources have begun to
overcome these obstacles
• What is the connection between political
instability and foreign investment in Latin
America?
Industry
• Maquiladoras:
• Foreign-owned factories called maquiladoras
provide jobs to people in the host country
• Most are built along the U.S.-Mexico Border
• They benefit foreign corporations by allowing
them to hire low-cost labor and provide dutyfree exports
• Drawbacks are that they keep wages down,
may encourage dangerous jobs, and often
pollute the environment
• Should Latin American countries allow
foreign investment in their countries? Why?
Trade and Interdependence
• NAFTA
• By encouraging trade among the United
States, Mexico, and Canada, the North
American Free Trade Agreement has
strengthened Mexico’s economy
• Other Latin American countries are
watching to see whether a free trade
agreement like NAFTA could help their
economies as well
• What are some advantages and
disadvantages to NAFTA?
Trade and Interdependence
• Foreign Debts:
• Many Latin American countries have used
loans from foreign countries to finance
industrial development
• The economic troubles of the 1980s caused
many of these countries to restructure their
loans to allow more time to repay, but at a
higher total cost.
• Repayment of foreign debt, in turn caused
needed domestic programs to be halted in
some countries due to a lack of funds
• Should Latin American Countries have
taken out foreign loans? Why or why not?
Transportation
• Latin America’s physical geography has limited the
building of roads, but the region does have some major
highway systems
• The Pan-American Highway- From northern Mexico to Southern
Chile
• Trans-Andean highway- goes through the Andes and links cities
in Chile and Argentina
• Some LA countries have good railroads others lack the
funds to maintain their rail systems as a result inland
waterways are major transport routes
• Amazon River
• Parana-Paraguay Rivers
• Panama Canal
• Air travel will help overcome the obstacles of LA’s physical
geography, but is still expensive for most Latin Americans.
• How has the geography of LA affected its transportation
systems?
Communications
• Communications networks are still developing in
many countries of Latin America.
• Newspapers, Radio, and Television may be
censored during political unrest
• Few Latin Americans own phones or computers
although some countries are beginning to
provide public access to the Internet
• Why do you think most people in Latin America
do not have telephones or computers in their
homes?
Assignment
• Using your notes, the book, and your electronic devices to assist in
research, write a two paragraph response to the following questions:
1. Should NAFTA include a unified monetary system like the European
Union?
2. Should NAFTA expand to include the rest of Latin America?
Mini Socratic Seminar
• Let’s discuss what you just worked on:
• Raise your hand to bring up a point in the discussion. When I call on
you, you may speak. These are the two questions we are discussing
today:
• Should NAFTA include a unified monetary system like the European
Union?
• Should NAFTA expand to include the rest of Latin America?
10/20 EQ: How do Latin Americans interact with their
environment?
Latin America Today: People
and Their Environment
Chapter 10 Section 2
Managing Rain Forests
• Latin American rain forests are
gradually disappearing.
• More than 13 percent of the
Amazon rain forest has been
destroyed for roads,
settlements, and mining
• Deforestation threatens the
lifestyles of indigenous people
and risks the extinction of
many species of plants and
animals that grow or live
nowhere else
Managing Rainforests
• As the rainforest is depleted,
there are fewer trees to absorb
carbon dioxide, a green house gas
that is increasingly trapping more
heat in the atmosphere and
contributing to global warming
• Brazil and other rainforest
countries are working to provide
for the needs of their
populations-living space and
natural resources- without further
destroying the rain forest
Managing Rain Forests
• Farms and Ranches Versus Forests
• Slash-and-burn farming- the clearing of land by cutting and
burning vegetation.
• Results in depleted soil that can only be used for a year or two
• Farmers and ranchers move on and clear more land
• Planting for the Future
• Commercial logging operations also destroy the rain forest
• 10% of the Amazon rainforest is set aside in Brazil in which
logging is banned
• Citizens in Costa Rica are working to conserve their forests
• Reforestation and new farming, mining, and logging
methods can protect the forests
• How can you preserve the rain forest while allowing
people to make a living?
Urban Environments
• Overcrowded cities
• As LA’s rural workers migrate to
cities, they often cannot find
adequate housing or jobs
• Some are forced to live in
makeshift slums and shantytowns
where diseases spread rapidly
because of the lack of sanitation
systems or running water
• Many countries have no clean air
laws, making air pollution a
serious problem for people in
these cities
Urban Environments
• Building a better life
• National and local governments,
international agencies, and grassroots
efforts have begun to help Latin
American countries address the
problems of their overcrowded cities
• What might an overpopulated city,
such as Mexico City, do to combat
the problem of housing?
Regional and International Issues
• Disputed Borders
• In Latin America, Many territorial disputes have
occurred usually over the rights to natural
resources
• Population Growth and Migration
• High birthrates that contribute to overpopulation
in some Latin American countries have begun to
slow down
• However, many skilled workers who might
otherwise remain in their home countries and help
address many problems are emigrating from Latin
America
• What might Latin American countries do to
encourage skilled, educated people not to
emigrate?
Regional and International Issues
• Disaster Preparedness
• Physical geography makes Latin America especially
vulnerable to natural disasters such as
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes
• Governments in the region are cooperating to help
Latin Americans prepare for and anticipate
emergencies rather than reacting after the fact.
• Industrial Pollution
• Environmental laws have not kept up with the
growth of industry and commercial farms
• Air and water pollution have increased
• Chemical runoff is now crossing borders and
threatening neighbor countries
• What would you do to help your nation
prepare for a disaster?
• What would you do about pollution?
Assignment
• Answer questions 3-6 on page 247
• Answer the geography skills for life on pages 243, 245, 246, and 247.
• When finished work on your Unit 3 Organizer OR your Study Guide
Today I learned…
• When I call on you, tell me what you learned today about the
Environment in Latin America