Latin America
megacity
city with more than 10 million people
deforestation
clearing/destruction of forests
urbanization
migration of people from the countryside to cities as well as the change from a rural to an urban society
why hard to build roads/railroads in Latin America?
mountains, rain forests, deserts
default
not paying loans back on time
Roman Catholicism
official religion of Spanish colonies and Brazil; church leaders eventually began playing important roles in political affairs; most Christians in Latin America are Roman Catholic
Vicente Fox
opposing candidate running for president for PAN (Partido Accion Nacional), breaking the 70 year streak of PRI party (Partido Revolucionario Institucional)
extended family
person along with their grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, parents, and children
latin american countries depend on what?
trade to obtain the goods and foods that they cannot produce
For every tree cut, how much is wasted?
two-thirds of the wood
samba
type of Latin American music combined with Native American, European, and African influences
mural
wall paintings
when does rapid urbanization occur?
when rates of population growth far exceed available resources
what difficult choice are Latin American countries and Bolivia pressed with?
whether to preserve large tracts of wilderness, such as Madidi National Park in northwestern Bolivia, or develop these areas for the purpose of raising peoples' standard of living
machismo
male supremacy over women
Simon Bolivar
"The Liberator" of Venezuela; won freedom for Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
How much of the Amazon rain forest has been set out by Brazil for national parks?
10%
Who has built maquiladoras on the Mex-US border?
American and Japanese
cars and processed meats
Argentina production
Which Latin American countries raise cattle?
Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil
refine sugar
Barbados, Cuba, and Saint Kitts and Nevis
mines and refines tin
Bolivia
Tropical climates and fertile soil also help make what the world's leading sugar cane producers?
Brazil and Cuba
Where were the first Africans brought to in Latin America?
Brazil and the Caribbean Islands
Describe Brazil's experience in relation to deforestation.
Brazil has worked to boost its economy by tapping the rain forest's vast mineral resources (petroleum, iron, copper, and tin); roads have been carved out of the rain forest to open up Brazil's interior to settlement/development (ex: Trans-Amazonian highway); development of interior has proved disastrous for Amazon rain forest; indeigenous people of Brazil's interior have seen their homes and traditional ways of life disappear along with other wildlife; when rainforest depleted, diversity of species threatened, and many key medicines are derived from rain forest plants and organisms--deforestation risks the loss of compounds that have the potential to treat cancer and other illnesses; destroying would also result in less CO2 being used --> greenhouse gasses
Fertile highlands help make what countries the world's leading coffee producers?
Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia
tropical coastal areas make what area/countries major producers of bananas?
Central America as well as Jamaica, Honduras, Ecuador, and Brazil
produce foods and textiles
Chile, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua
What devastated parts of Central America and destroyed about 90% of the banana crop in Honduras?
Hurricane Mitch
Mexico City
Latin America's largest megacity
Give example of how agencies are addressing Latin America's urban needs.
Mexico City's recent improvements include: new water supply system, expanded public transportation; World Bank has targeted cities in Venezuela, Peru, Brazil, and Guatemala for neighborhood improvements;homeless people in cities (Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Santiago) have turned abandoned city buildings into affordable housing/commercial space
cities that have region's busiest airports
Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Sao Paulo
Where do most of Latin America's present-day Native Americans live?
Mexico, Central America, and the Andes region of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia
Despite physical barriers, what countries have well-developed railroads?
Mexico, Panama, Argentina, and Brazil
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement which gradually reduced trade restrictions and increased the flow of goods services and people among Mexico, the US, and Canada in 1992
region's major road system
Pan-American Highway, stretching from northern Mexico to southern Chile and linking more than a dozen Latin American capitals
world's second- and fourth-largest metropolitan areas
Sao Paulo and Mexico City
migration
major force shaping population patterns in Latin America; movement of people from place to place
Who were the first Europeans to settle in Latin America?
Spanish and Portugeuse
refines oil
Venezuela
fifth largest Spanish-speaking population in the world
US
What do countries do to finance industrial development?
borrow funds from foregin sources
to develop the Amazon Basin's mineral resources, what has Brazil done?
building the Trans-Amazonian Highway
most of Latin America's countries still depend on what to supply a major portion of their incomes?
agriculture
what can damage health or endanger lives (pollution-wise)?
air and water pollution; chemical fertilizers and pesticides used on commercial farms/runoff
name some crops exported by latin america
bananas, sugarcane, coffee
Why do countries run great risks when they depend on just one or two export products?
because if floods, droughts, or volcanic eruptions destroy a country's cash crop, the damage to the country's economy causes great hardship
condomble
belief in Western deites combined with the Roman Catholic devotion to saints; called voodoo in Haiti and Dominican Republic; called Santeria in Cuba
syncretism
blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into a single faith
How do Latin American countries overcome these barriers? Example?
combine necessary human and natural resources with relatively stable governments and active business communities; Mexico is major producer of motor vehicles, textiles, and processed foods and Brazil is a leading producer of iron, steel, cars, airplanes, textiles, and electrical goods; both countries emerged with stronger economies from serious financial crises in the 1990s because of their expanding global trade
conquistador
conqueror
How does Latin America prepare for natural disasters?
cooperating in the use of sophisticated technology, such as satellite imaging and computer modeling, to forecast the direction and severity of hurricanes
developing countries
countries that are working toward greater manufacturing and technology use
cash crops
crops produced in large quantities to be sold or traded
indigenous
descended from an area's first inhabitants
patois
dialects that blend elements of indigenous, European, African, and Asian languages
caudillo
dictator
How have Latin American countries begun to lower high birthrates?
education and economic improvement
What type of diversity is found within the nations of Latin America?
ethnic diversity
maquiladoras
factories that lie along the Mexico-US border especially near the Mexican cities of Ciudad Juarez and Tijuana
What happens as latifundia become more mechanized?
farmworkers are leaving the land for the cities
jai alai
fast paced game much like handball, played with a ball and a long, curved basket strapped to each player's wrist
carnival
festival celebrated in the week before the Roman Catholic observance of Lent, a 40-day period of fasting and prayer before Easter
Why do many migrants come to the United States?
find a better way of life, or to use resources in the US that are unavailable in Latin America
Name territorial conflicts in Latin America.
fishing rights in the Gulf of Fonseca quarrel between Nicaragua, Honduras, and El Salvador; Venezuela and Guyana battle over petroleum holdings on shared border; Peru and Ecuador border dispute--settled after going to war 3 times over 60 years
chinampas
floating 'islands' made from large rafts covered with mud from the lake bottom
dialect
forms of a language unique to a particular place or group
latifundia
highly mechanized commercial operations that yeild high returns for low investment in labor
air pollution--describe it
in cities w/o adequate clean air laws; industrial smokestacks add to this; in Mex. City, air pollution can become so sever that authorities periodically order cars off roads and children aren't allowed to play outside
Where do most Latin Americans live?
in only 1/3 of Latin America's land
Why did Brazil move its capital?
in order to draw people away from the densely populated coast
As a result of railways falling into disrepair, what has happened?
inland waterways such as Amazon River, Parana-Paraguay Rivers, and the Panama Canal remain important
Bad aspects of shantytowns
lack running water/sewage systems; natural disasters can wipe out entire communities; unsanitary --> diseases spread; malnutrition
Francois Toussaint-Louverture
led enslaved Haitians in a violent revolt against French rule; died in French prison in 1803
factors limiting industrial growth in Latin America
physical geography--Andes and Amazon rain forest limit access to natural resources; ties to more developed regions limit growth because, while foreigners have brought new technology to the region, many have drained local resources and; political instability in countries make investors wary of investing in Latin American enterprises
glyph
picture writings carved in stone
mosaic
pictures or designs made by setting small bits of colored stone, tile, or shell into mortar
reforestation
planting of young trees or the seeds of trees on the land that has been stripped
service industries
provide services rather than goods
What did this solution do?
raised the total amount of interest on the debt
What are two things that some latin american countries import?
raw materials and expensive technology
viceroy
representative of the Spanish monarch appointed to enforce laws in colonial Latin America
What can protect the forests?
responsible tourism, reforestation laws
Fidel Castro
ruler of Cuba after the revolution in 1959 when a communist state was established
trans-Andean highway
runs through Andes and links Chile and Argentina
campesinos
rural farmers and workers
export
sell to other countries
quipu
series of knotted cords of various colors and lengths, with each knot representing a different item or number
What industry has grown rapidly in Latin American countries?
service industries, such as banking
latin America's rural workers migrate to cities, are unable to find adequate housing, and move to what? What are these?
shantytowns, or makeshift communities on the edges of cities; favelas of sao Paulo, the barriadas of Bogota, and the villas miserias of Buenos Aires
What happened in the 1980s with the worldwide economic slowdown?
sharp decline in demand for Latin America's products; incomes fell --> governments threatened to default --> lenders rescheduled the loans
To prepare the land for farming, what technique is used?
slash-and-burn--strip plants/trees; after dried out, set on fire
minifundia
small plots of land intensively famred by campesinos to feed their families
How is NAFTA controversial?
some American labor groups fear the loss of jobs to generally lower paid Mexican workers; in Mexico's viewpoint, NAFTA has helped boost exports and create thousands of new jobs
Rigoberta Menchu
spokeswoman for Guatemala's modern-day Maya people
What is a solution to this problem?
sustainable development, or technological and economic growth that does not deplete the human and natural resources of a given area
critics of maquiladoras charge what?
that the system often ignores labor and environmental protection laws, damagin the environment and encouraging low-paying or dangerous jobs
Why is the vast interior of South America largely unpopulated?
the interior, with its rain forests, deserts, and mountains, contains harshing living conditions and poor soil, so the population is smaller
How do maquiladoras benefit foregin corporations?
they allow them to hire low-cost labor and to produce duty-free exports; also offer the host country and its people employment opportunities and investment income
What else is slash-and-burn used for?
to carve out huge cattle ranches from the forest