Lesson 8: The Geography of Latin America

hinterlands

outlying, sparsely populated peripheries

favelas/barrios

shantytowns or slums of LA

minifundia

smaller landholdings with a strong subsistence components; food for family use and local markets

pampa

subtropical grassland

land reform

the effort to transfer land from the wealthy to the poor; has long been one of the most contentious issues of political and social change in Latin America

distance-decay relationship

the highest tourism receipts in LA flow to Mexico bc it is nearest to the wealthy, neighboring country; tourism rates fall off in more far flung destinations

campesinos

the peasant farmers who sharecrop land owned by others or who have very small landholdings; lives are dominated by poverty

DR-CAFTA

-trade organization composed of the US and central american countries -patterned after NAFTA

Southern Common Market/Mercosur

Third largest trading group in the world; composed of 5 countries: Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay

false

True or False: Between the years 2000 and 2010, Brazil, Venezuela, and several other countries in Latin America elected right-leaning, pro-American governments.

false

True or False: Due to the legacy of the slave trade and the historic location of plantations, Latin America's black population is concentrated in the tierra fría.

false

True or False: During an El Niño event, ocean surface temperatures along the west coast of South America become colder.

false

True or False: Few people live around the coastal edge of South America or in the highlands of Mexico and Central America.

true

True or False: Most Latin American countries have a densely populated core and a lightly populated hinterland.

true

True or False: Remittances sent home by people working abroad are greater than the amount of money flowing into Latin America from foreign aid and foreign investment.

false

True or False: The United States has controlled the Panama Canal since the waterway was constructed in the early 1900s.

false

True or False: The introduction of new medical technologies caused a surge in the population of Native Americans shortly after European colonization.

Plan Patriot

US military personnel civilian contractors targeted FARC to both reduce drugs and secure oil in Colombia

haciendas

estates on which the commercial farming is done; owned by wealthy families or corporations

multi-Latina companies

experience workers come back home and establish these companies to invest in the United States; aid revival of downtrodden sectors of US economy

Bay of Pigs Invasion

failed attempt by the Kennedy administration to overthrow Castro by military force

Trading w/ Enemies Act

forbids Americans from spending more than $300 in Cuba

Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)

hemisphere-wide free trade organization that the US is taking the lead in trying to establish

balloon effect

in the case of drugs, concentrated eradication effort almost always shifts they production elsewhere

creole languages

languages that developed among the black slaves brought to work on the plantations in the Caribbean islands

latifundia

large estates with a strong commercial farming orientation

mestizo

most common mix of heritage; Spanish+Native American

paramos

alpine meadows that exists above the tierra fria

pre-Columbian times

anytime before 1492

Roosevelt Corollary (to the Monroe Doctrine)

declared that US had the right to supervise the internal affairs of LA countries to ensure US nat'l security

Monoroe Doctrine

doctrine that claims the US would prevent European countries from undertaking any new colonizing activities in the hemisphere

plaza

A cathedral and which of the following are the central features of typical Latin American cities?

mulatto/Creole

African+European+sometimes Native American

FARC

Colombia's narcoterrorist organization

Free-trade agreements

Forms the foundation of a recent push to move away from over reliance on raw materials (cash crops/minerals) and toward manufactured goods

Unevenly; Two main geographic population alignments: 1. The "Rimland" is a discontinuous ring around the margins of South America (2/3) 2. highland that extends along a volcanic belt from central Mexico southward into Central America

How are the populations of Latin America distributed?

-deal directly with the farmers to avoid brokers and intermediaries -also help farmers establish schools and health clinics

How do fair trade organizations ensure better prices for the farmers?

more than four times that of Sub-saharan Africa, but still very poor in comparison to N. America or Europe

How does Latin America's GNI PPP compare to other LDC's in different regions?

"Return to the Countryside" program -designed to purchase land from latifundia holders at market value and reallocate it to the more needy

How has the government of Venezuela tried to initiate land reform?

Union of South American Nations

Mercosur+the Andean community; modeled after the European Union

true

Most Latin American countries are classified as less developed countries (LDCs).

Colombia

Plan Patriot is a U.S. program designed to combat the production of drugs and to secure access to oil in which country?

Soviet Union

The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 brought the United States and which other country to the brink of war?

Washington Consensus

The political philosophy that the US would put for a democratic system for LA

-tropical rainforest/savanna -favored crops are rice, sugarcane, bananas, and cacao -large concentration of the black population due to the historic slave trade

Tierra caliente

-compromised of high plates, basins, valleys, and mountain slops -largest areas are in the Andes -extends to the upper limit of agriculture and tree growth -often the habitat of a Native American economy bc of colonial marginalization

Tierra fria

-supports some grain and livestock -major home of indigenous people & rural villages

Tierra helada

-favored crop is coffee -seven metropolises and other important cities located here

Tierra templada

product of local circumstances such as rain shadow and nearby cool ocean water

What are Latin America's dry climates a result of?

-Hurricanes and earthquakes

What are some natural hazards of Latin America?

1. Tierra caliente (hot country) 2. Tierra templada (cool country) 3. Tierra fria (cold country) 4. Tierra helada (frost country)

What are the four zones of elevation recognized in Latin America?

not maquiladoras, but household enterprises and small factories that employ fewer than a dozen workers and sell their products

What are the most numerous manufacturing establishments in LA?

Middle America (northern part)--includes Mexico, Central America and the islands in the Caribbean South America

What are the two main subregions of Latin America?

El Salvador, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean islands have heavy population densities

What countries do not exhibit the "core-hinterland" pattern?

The least developed Central Am. countries--Guatemala (2.8%) and Belize (2.3%)

What countries have the highest population growth rate?

-collective exploitation of land -accumulation of lifelong personal bonds -devotion to a whole series of supernatural beings (who have Christian names, but non-western origins) -ritualized remembrance of deceased relatives -reverence for political leaders

What did the mestizos inherit from their Native American roots?

-bubonic plague, measles, chickenpox, tb, worst of all was small pox -diseases and colonization brought one of the largest population declines in the history of humankind

What diseases did the colonizers bring to the New World?

extremely low; some averaging fewer than two people per sq mile

What do the figures on population density look like for the greater part of Latin America?

thinks that China may be seeking to develop a classic mercantile relationship--taking raw materials and profitably selling its own manufactured goods

What fears does Latin America have in regards to China?

Native Americans, like in Guatemala, due to systematic exclusion and violence

What group almost always has the lowest standing in societies?

-Castro's failing health -Cuba's oil reserves

What has opened discussion about reopening US doors to Cuba?

-event that happens every few years in early December due to the reversal of winds -causes weather patterns to shift -torrential rainfall/drought/massive wildlife losses

What is El Nino (Southern Oscillation)?

area in the Andes rain shadow

What is Patagonia?

The Panama Canal--although control was transferred to Panama in 1999

What is a good example of the legacy of American hegemony in LA?

rural-to-urban migration by both push and pull factors

What is a major element that is causing Latin America's rate of urban growth to increase?

many of their resources are placed under governmental control and the native americans are often forbidden from setting up their own businesses

What is one negative of then government protecting the indigenous peoples?

-would have the highest population rate if not for the rampant spread of HIV/AIDS (highest infection rate in W. hemisphere) -lowest GNI PPP of all Latin America

What is significant about Haiti?

US funded cocaine eradication program

What is the Plan Colombia program?

remittances; some gvmts are trying to figure out ways for people to pay taxes on them

What is the largest source of income for LA economies?

"banana republics"

What is the nickname for Central America?

-Basic spatial configuration reflected in the population of Latin America: well defined population core (or multiple) with one or more outlying hinterlands -Brazil and Argentina; also Mexico and the Andean countries

What is the pattern of core and hinterland? Where is this most apparent?

Atacama and Peruvian deserts; aridity is created by combined effect of shifting coastal winds, cold offshore currents, and the Andes mtns

What is the world's driest area?

gold and silver

What lured the settlers to the Andes and Brazilian highlands?

Second; characterized by high birth rates and low death rates due to the advances in medical technology

What stage of the demographic transition are many of these countries in?

mestizo

What term is used for a Latin American who has a mix of Spanish and Native American ancestry?

latifundia

What term is used for large agricultural estates in Latin America?

-the ejido program broke up large estates and other holdings and redistributed the land as gvmt property to be worked collectively -system was ineffective and unproductive -since then, the land has been sold and now is owned by the wealthy

What was the ejido movement introduced in Mexico?

-build port cities -then have agricultural districts develop around the ports so they products could be shipped back home

What was the first major settlement task for the Europeans?

Roman Catholicism; 80% of the region is this religion today

What was the one accepted faith in the new world?

when the Aztecs joined forces with the two neighboring cities and developed an empire that stretched across central Mexico

What was the triple alliance?

-Maya (Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala) -Teotihuacanos (inhabitants of the first true urban center in the W. hemisphere) -Aztecs/Mexica -Inca (northern Ecuador to central Chile) -Nazca (Peru) -Chibcha (Colombia)

What were some of the major indigenous civilizations of Latin America before the Spanish Conquest?

1521-destroyed Tenochitlan and laid the foundation for Mexico City in its ashes

When did Cortes defeat the aztecs?

-most live in highlands as opposed to lowlands -elevation moderated the tropical heat

Where do most people live in Pacific Central America?

Highest-Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina Lowest-Haitia and Nicaragua

Which LA countries have the highest GNI PPP? Lowest?

Venezuela

Which LA country is a member of OPEc and helped found it?

Inca

Which Native American civilization is famous for constructing an extensive road system?

1. Tropical rainforest (along the equator) 2. Tropical savanna (runs from tropic of capricorn to cancer) 3. Humid subtropical (lies poleward & includes pampas) 4. Mediterranean (small strip on the Pacific side esp. in Chile) 5. Desert and steppe dry climates

Which biomes can be found in Latin America?

Cuba--due to its Communist government's stress on family planning

Which country has the lowest rate of population growth?

Brazil

Which country is not a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)?

China

Which country's rapid economic growth has led its commercial interests to seek minerals, energy, and other natural resources in Latin America?

Italian

Which is not one of the main Indo-European languages spoken in Latin America today?

uranium

Which of the following is not one of the major mineral resources of Latin America?

Monroe Doctrine

Which policy did the United States adopt in order to prevent European countries from undertaking new colonizing activities in the Western Hemisphere?

coffee

Which product, the world's second most widely traded commodity, provided the original stimulus for the growth of the fair trade movement?

wealthy farming families, agribusinesses, and the Catholic Church

Who owns majority of the arable land in LA?

-far-left elected as leader of Venezuela -despised capitalism and the US; turned the tide of LA shifting to a democratic system

Who was Hugo Chavez and why was he significant?

want to secure their petroleum

Why is Colombia the third largest recipient of US aid?

due to the fact that air temp decreases with elevation

Why is Latin America separated into elevation zones?

-because of the marginal quality of the land and the simple agricultural techniques used in peasant farming -little capital is available to buy machinery, fertilizer, and better seeds

Why is agricultural productivity generally so low?

economically vulnerable to changes in market conditions, competition from other sources, and changing consumer appetites.

Why is it bad that many LA countries are over reliant on a narrow range of exports?