Latin American Countries

El Salvador

Along with it's neighbors this country declared independence from Spain in 1821. A 12-year civil war, which cost about 75,000 lives, was brought to a close in 1992 when the government and leftist rebels signed a treaty that provided for military and political reforms.

Uruguay

Claimed by the Spanish in 1726 as a military stronghold, soon took advantage of its natural harbor to become an important commercial center. Claimed by Argentina but annexed by Brazil in 1821, this small country declared its independence four years later and secured its freedom in 1828 after a three-year struggle. President BATLLE in the early 20th century launched widespread political, social, and economic reforms. A violent Marxist urban guerrilla movement in the late 1960s, led the president to give control of the government to the military in 1973. Civilian rule was not restored until 1985. The political and labor conditions are among the freest on the continent. They have export-oriented agricultural sector, a well-educated work force, and an 8% GDP growth rate.

Mexico

Exports oil and manufactured goods. Technically part of North America, it is often included in Latin America because of it's cultural heritage.

Suriname

First explored by the Spaniards in the 16th century and then settled by the English in the mid-17th century, they finally became a Dutch colony in 1667. With the abolition of African slavery in 1863, workers were brought in from India and Java. The Netherlands granted the colony independence in 1975. Five years later the civilian government was replaced by a military regime that continued to exert control until 1987, when international pressure finally forced a democratic election in 1991. The economy is dominated by the mining industry, with exports of oil, gold, and alumina accounting for about 85% of exports and 27% of government revenues, making the economy highly vulnerable to mineral price volatility.

Brazil

Following more than three centuries under Portuguese rule, the largest of the Latin American countries gained its independence in 1822. It continued a monarchy (king) of government until the abolition of slavery in 1888. The coffee exporters politically dominated the country until populist leader Getulio VARGAS rose to power in 1930. They have pursued industrial and agricultural growth and the development of its interior, exploiting vast natural resources and a large labor pool. It's today South America's largest economy and a regional leader. Pressing problems include high income inequality, crime, inflation, rising unemployment, and corruption.

Paraguay

Gained independence from Spain in 1811. In the disastrous War of the Triple Alliance (1865-70) against Argentina and Brazil, this country lost two-thirds of its adult males and much of its territory. The country stagnated economically for the next half century. Following the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia, it regained a large part of the Chaco lowland region. The 35-year military dictatorship ended in 1989, and has held relatively free and regular presidential elections ever since. The economy is unique for it's large informal sector of thousands of microenterprises and urban street vendors. They re-export of imported consumer goods to neighboring countries.

Peru

Home of the Incas whose empire was captured by Spanish conquistadors in 1533. Independence was declared in 1821, and was ruled by miltary leaders until 1980. It experienced economic problems and the growth of a violent insurgency. President Alberto FUJIMORI's election in 1990 ushered in a decade that saw a dramatic turnaround in the economy and significant progress in curtailing guerrilla activity. In June 2011, former army officer Ollanta HUMALA Tasso was elected president; he has carried on the sound, market-oriented economic policies of the three preceding administrations. It is the world's second largest producer of silver and third largest producer of copper. Despite it's strong macroeconomic performance, dependence on minerals and metals exports and imported foodstuffs makes the economy vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. It s rapid expansion coupled with cash transfers and other programs have helped to reduce the national poverty rate by 28 percentage points since 2002.

Honduras

In 1821, this country became one of several Central American colonies that declared independence from Spain. After two and a half decades of mostly military rule, a freely elected civilian government came to power in 1982. During the 1980s, they proved helped rebels fighting the Nicaraguan Government and the Salvadoran Government forces fighting leftist guerrillas. The country was devastated by Hurricane Mitch in 1998, which killed about 5,600 people and caused approximately $2 billion in damage. Since then, the economy has slowly rebounded.

Nicaragua

In 1821, this country became one of several Central American colonies that declared independence from Spain. However, it didn't become an independent republic until 1838. Violent opposition against the corrupt government resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Communist Sandinistas to power in 1979. The US funded and trained anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980's. Former Sandinista President Daniel ORTEGA was elected president in 2006 and reelected in 2011. This countries infrastructure and economy - hard hit by the civil war and Hurricane Mitch in 1998 - are slowly being rebuilt, but democratic institutions have been weakened under the ORTEGA administration.

Costa Rica

In 1821, this country became one of several Central American colonies that declared independence from Spain. They are the most peaceful of the Central American countries. In 1949 they dissolved its armed forces. Although it still maintains a large agricultural sector, this country has expanded its economy to include strong technology and tourism industries. The standard of living is relatively high. Land ownership is widespread.

The Bahamas

Lucayan Indians inhabited the islands when COLUMBUS first set foot in the New World in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, they have prospered through tourism, international banking, and investment management. Because of its location, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US and Europe, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.

Bolivia

Named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and countercoups. Democratic civilian rule was established in 1982, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and illegal drug production. Gas accounts for roughly 50% of their total exports and will fund more than half of its 2015 budget. However, the country remains one of the least developed countries in Latin America because of state-oriented policies that deter investment and growth.

Guyana

Originally a Dutch colony in the 17th century, by 1815 they had become a British colony. The abolition of slavery led to settlement of urban areas by former slaves and the importation of indentured servants from India to work the sugar plantations. These two cultural groups have had conflicts ever since. Guyana achieved independence from the UK in 1966, and since then it has been ruled mostly by socialist-oriented governments. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice - which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in commodity prices.

Chile

The Inca ruled northern region while the Mapuche inhabited central and southern region until Spanish conquest in 16th century. They won an 8 year struggle for independence from Spain 1818. In the War of the Pacific (1879-83), they defeated Peru and Bolivia and won its present northern regions. It was not until the 1880s that the Mapuche were brought under central government control. After a series of elected governments was overthrown in 1973 by a military led by General PINOCHET, who brutally ruled until 1990 elections. Sound economic policies, maintained consistently since the 1980s, contributed to steady growth, reduced poverty rates by over half. Exports of goods and services account for approximately one-third of GDP, with commodities making up some three-quarters of total exports. Copper alone provides 19% of government revenue.

Guatemala

The Maya civilization flourished here and surrounding regions during the first millennium A.D. After almost three centuries as a Spanish colony, they gained independence in 1821. During the second half of the 20th century, it experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, as well as a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the internal conflict, which had left more than 200,000 people dead and had created, by some estimates, about 1 million refugees.

Jamaica

The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. The island gradually increased its independence and became it's own country in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. The country continues to derive most of its income from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina.

Haiti

The native Taino - who inhabited the island of Hispaniola when it was discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1492 - were virtually annihilated by Spanish settlers within 25 years. As a French colony, based on forestry, sugar and rum. It became one of the wealthiest in the Caribbean but only through the heavy importation of African slaves and considerable environmental degradation. In the late 18th century, nearly half million slaves revolted under Toussaint L'OUVERTURE and became the first post-colonial black-led nation in the world, in 1804. Currently the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, it has experienced political instability for most of its history. A massive magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck in January 2010 and over 300,000 people were killed and some 1.5 million left homeless. The U.S. trade deal supports textile manufacturing and export industry.

Belize

The site of several Mayan city states until their decline at the end of the first millennium A.D. Britain won a fight with Spain to control this colony. Territorial disputes between the Britain and Guatemala delayed the independence of this small country until 1981. Guatemala refused to recognize the new nation until 1992 and the two countries are involved in an ongoing border dispute. Tourism has become the mainstay of the economy. Current concerns include the country's heavy foreign debt burden, high unemployment, growing involvement in the Mexican and South American drug trade, high crime rates, and one of the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in Central America.

Panama

They declared independence from Spain in 1821 and joined a union with Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela - named the Republic of Gran Colombia. With US backing, this country seceded from Colombia in 1903 and promptly signed a treaty allowing the the U.S. to construct and own a strip of land on either side of the canal zone until 2000. With US help, dictator Manuel NORIEGA was deposed in 1989. In October 2006, they approved a $5.3 billion plan to double the Canal's capacity by 2016.

Argentina

They gained independence from Spain in 1816 and then broke with Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay to become a separate country. The country's population and culture were heavily shaped by immigrants from throughout Europe, with Italy and Spain providing the largest percentage of newcomers from 1860 to 1930. They have had lots of internal political conflict. Democracy returned in 1983 after a failed bid to seize the Falkland Islands by force from the UK. They had a severe economic crisis in 2001-02 that led to violent public protests and the successive resignations of several presidents.

Ecuador

This country was historically the northern Inca Empire until the Spanish conquest in 1533. In 1717 it became part of the Spanish colonial territory known as Viceroyalty - New Granada which also included Colombia, and Venezuela. They gained independence in 1822 and formed a federation known as Gran Colombia. In the process of leaving the Gran Colombia in the 1940's, this country lost territories in a series of conflicts with its neighbors. A border war with Peru that flared in 1995 was resolved in 1999. Protests in the capital city contributed to the mid-term ouster of three of the last four democratically elected presidents. It is substantially dependent on its petroleum resources, which have accounted for more than half of the country's export earnings in recent years.

French Guiana

This is officially still a part of France. Home to the European Space Centre.

Cuba

This island was discovered by COLUMBUS in 1492 and was held as a Spanish colony for the next several centuries. Large numbers of African slaves were imported to work the coffee, tobacco and sugar plantations, and Havana became the launching point for the annual treasure fleets bound for Spain from Mexico and Peru. US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 helped them overthrow Spanish rule. The new government was dominated by the military and corrupt politicians. Fidel CASTRO led a Communist rebel army to victory in 1959 overthrowing the corrupt government. He ruled the island for the next five decades. US embargo against sugar, tobacco, rum and tourism has been since then. Soviet and US naval standoff over the installation of nuclear missiles on this island was the closest the world came to a full nuclear war. Under President Clinton and Obama trade and tourism is beginning to open up again.

Colombia

Was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others are Ecuador and Venezuela). A 50 year conflict between government forces and the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). FARC was heavily funded by the drug trade. By the end of 2006 the military ceased to function and criminal groups rose to power. In November 2012, the government started formal peace negotiations with the FARC to reach a cease-fire. Despite decades of internal conflict and drug related security challenges, they maintain relatively strong democratic institutions characterized by peaceful, transparent elections and the protection of civil liberties.