Latin America
Cultural coherence/ diversity
- Indian cultures have shown massive resistnce to iberian inflence - 10 million African slaves, forced assimlation - collapse of Native populations
European Migration
- "meiztos" people with mixed european/ indian ancetry, south core countries like Argentina, chile, uraguay, paraguay, and south brazil are most succesful in attracting europran immigrants - alot of germans, italians, portuguese, spainards
River Basins
- 3 river basins drain the Atlantic lowlands of South America: the Amazon, Plata and Orinocos, making it the largest river system in the world by volume and area second largest by length - Amazon basin is home to the worlds largest rainforest, lots of rainfall - Amazon drains eight countries, 2/3 0f the basin is in Brazil - Active setllemtn in the Brazilian portion has boosted in population - 8% of the total popluatatin lives in the Amazon Basins - basins deveoplment has towns, roads, dams, farms, mines - government wants to build 30 dams, a contested dam is "Belo Monte" on the Xingu river in the Amazon, will be the third largest dam, has 2 dams, canals, resovoirs - regions second largest watershed is Plata basin, begins in the tropics and discharges in the Atalantic - Parana, the Paraguy and Uraguay make up the system -basin contains several major dams, with largest hydroelctric plant, Itaipu and Parana -3rd largest dam is the Orinonico in the North south America, sparley settled tropical grassland called "Llanos" - Llanos are also a dynamic area of petroleum production for both Colombia and Venzeuala
Status of Women
- 30 to 40 % of women are in the workforce -legally women can vote, own property, sign loans, but they are less likely to do it themselves - divorce is legal and family planning is promoted, abortion is illegal in many countries - overall access to education is good - adult literacy rates are higher for women than men - higher education male and female students are equally represented - women are in law , medicine, education - biggest changes in trends for women are small families, urban living, and educational parity with men - more participation in the labor force - rural women are less likely to be educated and tend to have larger families - there are left to care while husband finds seasonal work - women play an active role in politics - 1990 Nicaragua elected their first female president - Latin American states have larger percentage of women in parliament than the US - Brazil has 9 seats for women, but mexico and Argentina has 37 percent, 6 countries have female presidents
Upland of Mexico/ Central America
- Mexican platuea and the volcanic axis of central america are the most important uplands for settlements, many major cities are found here - Mexican Plateau is large, tilted and has the highest elevations in the South around Mexico city is at the lowest at Ciudad Juarez - Mesa central contains several flat-bottome basins interspread with volcanic peak have long been siginifacant areas for agricultural production - Mexico megopolis is the largest population centers, such a mexico city and Puelba - tequila is a growing export - Central Americas pacific coast lies on the volcanic axis, a chain of volcanoes from guatemala to costa rica - rolling green hills, elevation basins with specifically lakes, volcanic peaks - 40 active volcanes, produces rich volcanic soil that produce exploit crops - Most of cultura americas population is concetrated in the zone on the capital cities surrounding rural villages - Bulk of the agricultural land is in beef, cotton, coffe export - Many farmers have shifted to small substince properties that produce corn, beans, squash, fruits
Indian Survival
- Mexico, Guatemala , Peru, Bolivia have the largest indigenous popultion they live in isolated settings - indian surivval came to land, mainland territoral home, through land title - Panama groups have territories called comcraces, where they assert local authority and the have limited autonomy, they have Gura people
Primary Export Dependency
Latin America has abundant resources - colonial period silver gold and sugar generated wealth for colonist - After independence exports introduces commodities like bananas, coffee, caco, grains, rubber, copper and wool - during 1980s costa rica export earnings came from bananas and coffee, 70 % of nicuragua came from coffee and cotton 85% of chiles from copper and 50% of urgugay from wood - Brazil had 60 of their earnings in coffee
Shields
- South American has 3 major shields- large upland areas of exposed crytalline rock that are similar to upland plateaus found in Africa/Australia - Brazilian shield is larger and more important in terms f natural resources and settlement - shield covers most of brazil from Amazon Basin in the north to the Plata Basin in the south - southeast corner of the platuea is "Sao Pablos the larget urban conglomerate in south Amerca " - major popuation centers are in the caostal edge of the Plaeua, large protectd bays made the sites of Rio Janerio and Salvador attractive to the Portuguese colonist - Pavana baeast platuea on the south end of the a Brazilian shields is famous for its fertile red soils (terra roxa ), they yield coffee, oranges and soybeans - Expansion is due to ferile areas, due to commercial argiulute escpically coffee - Patagonian shields lies in the southern tip of South America. Baha Blanca to tierra del fuego is sparlesy settled - it is treeless, covered by steppe vegetation and home to wildlife like guancos - oil production has renewed patagonia
Urban Environmental Challenges
- air pollution, water avaiblitiy, qualitfy and garbage removal - are the pressin environmental problems of everyday life - "green legislation" called for action - city dwellers have better acces to water, sewers and elctricit then in Afica/asia - encouragemet of mass tansportation, both public and private and van routes making getting arounf easy - many people tend to live in unplanned squatter settlemtnets, servicing these communities, with utlitizes after thy are built is different and costly
Trade Blocs
- countries form trade markets to trade and have alliances to promote internal markets and reliance on trade barriers - LAFTA, has been limited - 1990, Mercosur (the south core common market) and NAFTA started to have influence in the region - NAFTA went into effect in the 1990s free trade, elimanated tarriffs, mexico, US and canada has interegional trade but it has cost people jobs and the environment - 2004 Cafta was created (Central American Free trade Agreement) aims to increase trade and reduce tariffs - Mercosur formed the two largest countries in South America, Brazil and Argentina, uruagay and paragauy joined after - chile, bolivia, peru, ecuador, colombia, joined as assoiciate members and venzuela joined too - it put away old rivalaries for the benefit - 2008 brazil made 12 member union UNASUR, this shows brazils clout in the region UNASAR includes every south american country in south amerca but French guinea which is a territory of france - this was a brazilian led effort with no assiantance from the US - it shows brazils power and authority
Agricultural frontiers
- provided peasents with land, tapping unused resources, filling blank spot on the map with settlers - Peru deveolped perimeter highway to lure colonist into cloud forest and rainforest - interoceanic highway links ports with Peru and brazil, they open up areas to settlemnt - Bolivia, colombia and venezuela had agricultural frontier schemes in their interior lowland topical plains that attract large scale investors - brazil started to create Amazonian highways for mining operations - miltary supposed to give land for peasants but did not and took all the resources - Most people in the brazilian mazon live in the largest cities like Manuas and Belem
Enovironmntal Isssues
- deforestation, amazon basin and portions of the eastern lowlands of central america and mexico are still maintans unique impressive tropical forest - Atlantic coastal forest of brazil and pacific forest of central america, have nearly dissapperaed as a result of agriculture - Conferous forest on northern mexico are falling becouase of logging stimulated by NAFTA - chile has evergreen rainforest in midlatitude is heavily laered for wood chip exports to Asia - Pine oak forest , in mexicl commerical logging threaten the ecosystem wild land inreasing underpressure for caco leaf - Curibitia, urban planning succes, less polluted than others, has public transortation - Brazilian amzon deforestation - brazillian coastal atlantic forest, degragaded ecosystems had biodiversity but destroyed - loss of tropical rainforest is most critical terms of biodiversity - 50% of the worlds rainforest species are found in this basin - Latin American forest are usaully seen as an agricultural frontier unlike southeast asia - state gov divide areas to give land to the lanless and reawrd political elites - forest are cut and burned with politicans giving them to create settlements, slash and burn crops, large cattle ranches - cutting rainforest has been motivated by gold and the production of caco leaf for cocaine (peru, bolivia , colombia) - Brazil has been critized mre than others for the Amazon forest poliices, 1/5 of the amzon has been deforested - indians/ rubber toppers have icreased the rate of forest clearing since 2000 - increase rate is due to industrial mining. logging, corprate farms, new roads networks - ignted wildfires, population growth - government has created conservation areas along the " arc of deforestation" southern edge of the Amazon basin - 2012 they reduced forest reserve that private landowneers must maintain - conservationalist think that this could lead to more deforetation - conversion from tropical forest to pasture is "grasssifcation", this has lead to deforetation - this is found in southern mexico, central america and Brazil amazon - grasssland such as llanos are suitable for grazing - trying to get beef in the region for export
Patterns of Ethnicity and Culture
- demographic enabled spain to reshape Latin America -complex ethnic blend started to occur, unions between europeans sailors and indian women beganto have racial mixig which is a defing factor in the region - courts discouraged it is spain/ portugal but they did it anyway - few categories were created, Blancos , (European ancestry), Mestizo (Mixed ancestry), Indio( indian ancestr) , negro - blancos well represented among the elites, vast majority are mixed - emrgence of the meszito race
Maquiladoras Foreign investment
- foreign investment and foreign factions are a result of neoliberalism - Mexican assembly lines, Malquiladoras- assemble lines on the mexican border, most products go to the US - there are 3,000 of them around the border - NAFTA no longer restricts border zones and they are increasing in numbers in centers like Monterrey, Puebla and Veracruz - Aguacalientes is the cities autoregion , cars are produced here and they are avaible for export - Chinhuahua is mexicos aerospace center, they offer cheape labor putting planes together - US jobs have left for this - they hire unmarried women and take advatage of them - Assembly lines for foerighn apparal industry attracted investors - government wants companies to pay the people making the goods more - costa rica is attracting high tech firms, they are transitioning from exporting bananas to high tech fields - they have a well educated population - urugauay has a well educated population and they are outsourcing -uruguay out sourcing firm largest in the region - 2013 top FDI or foreign direct invetment benficiaries are brazil, mexicoand colombia - much of the investment came from europe and asia - 2012 china became brazils largest trading partner, they are a BRICS nation
Soccer
- futbol is cultural identiy by stadiums buenos aires - argentinas, messi, neymar from brazil, and luis suarez from urugauy play in europe - many teams have won the world cup
Climate change and Climate
- has distinct wet and dry seasons - January is typically a dry month and october is a wet one - tropical lowlands are classfied as tropical humid climate that support forest/savanna depending on the rainfall - Deserts climate are found i the a Pacific coast of Peru and Patagonia - Lima Peru, has extreme aridity on the Pervun coast - Atacana in chile found nitrates and copper which made this a hyper-ard region a source of chile, bolivia, peru - highland climates on the pacific coast - midlatitude climates provide in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, chile and hot summers and cold winters - "Altidutial Zonation"- relationship between cooler temps and higher elevation and changes in vegetation
Impacts on Climate Change
- has long term implications -dengue diseases, malaria, incidence of vector-borne disease, water avaiblilty - higher elvaeation regions, changes in atitude is more pressing - coffee growers in Colombia Andes have a seen a decline in productvity over past five years - climate change on lowland tropical forest systems are less clear; some areas may experience more rainfall - highland areas are vunerable to climate change - tropical moutain systems are projected to experience temeprture increases and lower rainfall, impacting arable land for farmers - Andean glaciers melting/ retreating - mountain communities rely on glacier runoff, large cities such as La Paz in Bolivia - warmer temps is the sudden increase in dengue fever, mosquito-borne viruses - Dengue fever was considered relatively uncommon in highland latin america but cases have risen - warmer temps place more people at risk
Altitdual Zonation
- has practical applications that are intimately understood by native inhabitants - Humboldst recorded declines in temps and he ascended higher elevation known as the "environmetal lapse rate" - changes in vegetation by elevation, demonstrating that plant communities common to the mid latitudes could have thrive in the tropics at higher elevation - different altidtudinal zones are known as tirra caliente(hot land) " tierra templada" (temerate land) tierra fria ( cold land ) and tierra helada (frozen land) - Exploitation of these zones allows agricultural especially in the uplands, access to great diversity of domestication and wild plants - tropical highland areas of complex array of ecosystems, different crops at distinct elevations - this is the relevant of the Andes - tierra fria can grow potatoes and quinoa - yet these complex ecosystems fragile have been important areas of research then effects of climate change
Western mountains/Eastern Lowlands
- high landforms, diverse landforms, extensive uplands plateau, vast river basins - tectoni plates explain mountai nranges such as the Andes, Volcanic Axis of central America - Villarrica volcano in chile most active in the Andes - Atlantic Side of South America is charterized by human lowlands interpresd with large uplands plateaus called "sheilds" - in the lowlands meanders rivers like the AMazon, Plata, Orinoco - Historically most important areas of settlement in tropical Latin America were not along major rivers, but across its sheilds, plateaus, and fetile moutain valleys - arable land, mild climate, and sufficnet rainfall prodced the regions - mexican platuea is massive upland areas and deeret settlement - Mexican Plateau is massive uplands areas ringed by the Sierra Madre mountains - Valley of Mexico is located at the platueqa at southerns end - elelvated well watered basins of brazil southern mountains provide a goo setting for agriculture - there is fertile areas can support high population densities, two largest cities in the region emerged Mexico city and Sao paulo - highlands, Andes, runs like a spine down the length of the south Amercican continent
Asian Migration
- large pressure in cities of brazil, peru, argentina, paraguay - mid 1800s chinese/ japansese workers worked on coffee estates in south brazil, sugar estates and coastal mines - overtime asians have promince and their was a n Asian peruvian president in Peru - 1908-1978 250,000 japanese immigrants went to brazil, today it is 1.3 million peopleof Japanese descent - Japansese are associated with soybeans and orange consumtion - South Americas economic turmoil 1940s ecnouraged ethnic japanese to mgrate to japan for better wages
Air pollution
- major cities like Santiago and mexico city, suffer from air pollution - Air pollution is not a aeasthic issue but it is a health one - breathing containmation has elveated death rates due to heart disease asthma, influenza and pnemonia - poor / elderly more likely to suffer from pollution - Santiago produces therma invesrions, when warm air traps layer of cold air near the surface - this becomes filled with engine exchasust, industrial pollution, garbage and fecal matter - schools suspend all sports for smog emrgencies - this also hurts vehichles 40'% - it has imporved - Mexco city smog left visitors with no idea that a mountain surrounded them - pollution is driven by unuasssaly high growth rate - unleaded gas is widely available, 2007 paseo reformers, on sunday moorning to open it up to bike riders - this increased bikership - train systems are built and they will cmplement the subway system - Meico city no longr rans and most polluted citis
Protecting lands for future generations
- more protected land than any other deveoplpng nations -wild life conservation, natinal parks, natural reerves according to the WB - conservation complains that these areas are "paper parks" limited real protection - costa rica pioneer for national parks and promoting ecotourism - Mario boza lobbied for creation of national parks in respose - tourist pay higher park entrance fees to support conservation and park maintance
Dollarization
- process by which country adopts part of the US dollar as its offical currecny - Ecuador adopted dollorization - panama did until 2000 and they started in 1904 they were the first - limited dollaization has US dollar flowing with national currency - this helps to decrease inflation, eliminate fears of devaluation and reduce cost of trade by eleimnting conversion - eliminating national currency is serious, its not popular in local populations
Decline of Native Populations
- stone temples, Mayan, Aztec in tropical forest and uplands, mayan city tikal flourushed in the lowlands of guatemala - complex amerindian civilazations such ad Cuzco , Manchu Pichu in the andes -spanish impresssed by techolitian now where mesco city is, it had 300,000 residents and no city in spain had that
Persistent Border conflicts
- territories were not clearly marked, this created conflict - border wars in the 19th and 20th century and the maps were redrawn constantly - war of the pacific, chile expanded north and bolivia lost access to the pacific - war between mexico and the US treaty of hidalgo , Triple alliance , argentina, brazil, urugauy defeated paraguay claim to the Parana basin
El nino
- when a warm pacific current arrives along the normally cold coastal waters of ecuador and peru in december around christmas - change in ocean temp happes in few years, produces torrential rains signally arrival of El nino - people have been killed by floods, or storms arrtibuted by El nino - devastating floods in Peru and Bolivia, heavy rain and flooding damaged the railroas leading to Manu pichu, now it is a limited tourist destination - drought is a problem in colobia, venzuela, northern brazil, central amerca, mexico - crop live stock lossses in the region - global climate change will affect frequency and strentgth of El nino cycles
Andes
- young mountains that extend for 5,000 miles they geographically complex mountain ranges - created by collision of oceani and contintal plates, series of folded/faulted sedimentary rocks with intrusions of crystalline and volcani rock - rich minerals/precoius metals - economic wealth fro mandes came from mining silver, gold, tin, copper/iron - Andean chain is divided into the northen, central, and southrn components - Northern Andes spilt into three distant mountain ranges before merging new border of ecaudor - High snow filled peaks at the central andes - treeless plain called "altiplano" (intermoutians, plateaus, straddles, Peru/ Bolivia) - high altitude lakes, Titicaca on the peruvian border are Poopo on the Boliva located at Antiplano and they are mining sites - highest peaks are in the southern andes, hared by chile and argentina including the western hemisphere highest peak Anconcgua
Remittances
-they are growing from 5 to 10% ayear, major source of capital for the region -Mexico is the regional leader, 23 billion income in 2012 - remittances help alleviate problems of poverty
Persistant border conflict
1980s argentina lost war to great britian over control of the falklads, islands in south america - 1998 Peru and ecuador fought over boudaries in the amazon basin - 5 trade blocs Mercosur, (which is on the mainland ) , NAFTA are most dynamic, Unasur deveopls could merge Mercosur and Adean Community into one market - 2004 CAFTA
Languages
2/3 of people speak spanish, 1/3 portuguse - colonial languages wide spread and were languages of the gov, higher education - many countries discouraged indian tongues, 1990 bolivia legalized it - native language in primary school and recognized country as multieethnic -small native- language speakers are forced scattered throughout the region and sparley settled, many of these languages have lesss than 10,000 speakers
Blended Religions
90% of the pop is roman catholic, every major city has a dozen churches - el salvador, brazil, uruguay and a portion of Pentecoastal but many catholics - "sysncrteic religions" blends of beliefs, animist practices in chrisitanity -- church tolerated local variation of worship - mayan practices is replicated today in Mexico, Guatemala - most symbols in mexico is the virgin of Guadeloupe, she is the saint of mexico
Insurgencies/Drug cartels
Guerilla groups like FARC in Colombia control territories and have supoort with kidnapping and violence - they gained wealth through the drug trade, violence in colombia escalated - Paramilitary groups blamed for politalcally motivated murders - 2.5 colombia have been IDPs - it has improved in recent years, but colombia is the worlds largest cocaine producer followed by Peru and Bolivia - Drug cartels states are diverse like Mexico guatemala, el salvador, hondorus, Brazil blamed for lawlessness - spike in violence is due to coruption , profiting of off cocaine, human cartels and marijuana cartel murders and there are diappearing persons - mexico wants reform - El salvador, Guatemala, has one of the highest homicide rates in the world
Revolution/ Independence
Europeans elites in had control in the Americas - Brazil declared a seperate state from portugal with its own king and republic - colonies were divided into two Viceroraylites and Viceroroyalit of peru, which included spanish south america to form the viceroroaylties :La Plata, Peru, and new grandela - Spanish mainland had 16 states total population of 400 million
Latin America
Panama canal was built in 1914 by the US ,since 2000s it has been managed by the Panamanians - trying to get new locks to make it wider, expansion is more important due to the timing of potential competition in the artic - Nicuragua canal being built (HKND) chinese investment team - this can hurt coastal zones, tropical forest, and lake nicuragua -2/3 of the population speak spanish, restis portuguese, Iberian artictiure from the colonials - Alot of Roman Catholics - racially diverse region -3/4 of people live in cities, 17 countries share iberian history - most urbnized devolping region in the world - portuguese were producers of dyewoods, sugar, gold and coffee - neoliberal policies encourage foeign investment, export production, privatization - Nafta and cafta - latin america has the largest rainforest, the greater river volume, massive reserves of nature - worlds great reserves for biodiverity - global demand for natural resources
Rural landholding
colonials granted tracts of land to colonist who promsed service to indian laborrs - large estates took the best lands , along valley bottom coastal plains - latifundia- large estate in latin america - peasants farmers in costa rica grow fruits/ veggies for export, strains of minifundia system occue where rural population grow and land becomes scare, forcing farmers to divide property - minifundia is subsitnce farming - 20th centrury redistribution of land ownership with peasant demanding agranian reform - mexican revolution led to ejidos, 1950 bolivia had agranain reform
Global reach Latino culture
widely recognized, tango, soccer, writers, music, soap operas
Patterns of Rural settlements
distinct rural life exist, espically for substinence farming - brazil is 35 million live in rural areas - rural areas less isolated - internal migration increase, rural communities connected with North America/ Europe, immigrants sending remittances and supporting hometown, true in mexico/ central america - rural landscape is divided by extreme poverty/ wealth and the root of social/ economic tensions in the country side is uneven distributions of arable land
Latin America in the Global economy
governments/ world bank are champions becuase of neoliberalism - most leaders have embraced neoliberalism policies increased trade, greater foreighn investment and favorable debt repayment - Brazil and chile think these plans only benefit the elite
Demographic toll
half of colonization, the indigenous population was 1/10 percent - 90 % of native population was gone, by influence, small pox, warfare forced starvation collapse of food- production
Physical Geograpghy
has Neotropics- tropical ecosystems of the Americas that evolved is isolation and support diverse and unique fauna - populations centers lie below the Tropic of Capricorn like Buenos Aires, Saitago Chile - Northern Mexico is north of the tropic of cancer - tropical climate and vegetation define the regions image - has not expericned of environmental dedgreagation like east Asia/ Europe - Many areas untouched, with plant/ animal life and there is natinal parks - environmental countries are costa rica and brazil have "green iniatives" - trying to avoid mistakes of other regions - global markets force government to exploit minerals, fossil fuels, forest ,shorelines, transportation routes and soils - challenge is to improve enviromental qualities of cities
Race and Inequiality
has a complex racial mix in the region - indians and blacks are more likey to be counted as poor in the region - racial discrimination is a big problem in brazil - organized killing of street children, most of Afro-brazilian - there is social and economic inquality - 11% of brazilin population is black, they claim to be second largest African State - Northeast blacks are the majority and have high death rates - affirmative action measure were put in place, they have quota systems -blacks suffer from landlessness, homlessness, illteracy, unemployment - were indians cultures are strong there is low socioeconomic position - Indian south in mexico lags behid booming meico city - women in bolivia who wear hats showing indian heritage are called cholas - race influences social standing
Social Development
improvments in life expectancy, child survival, equity in education, decline in mortality rate for kids below 5 - resources are being used to sustain women and children health, negative effects on children have gone down - NGOs take apart in Social well-being - Transfer programs, "Bolsa Familia" - conditional cash transfer program to reduce extreme poverty families receive a monthly check as long as they keep their children in schools and take them for regular check ups - this helps brazil, and gives long-term help like education healthcare of children - catholic releif and caritas also affect in creating a better environment - grassroots organizatins also helps - indicators for social development and life expectancy, gender educational equity improve water sources - 94 percent of people living in the region have adequate water source - life expectancy for both men and women is 75 years
Informal Sector
informal sector - dual economic systems, self employed, low wage jobs that are untaxed, unregulated, street vending, shoe shining, self-built houses - construction is the most common in the informal sector - in Guatemala city the informal economy is the economy - informal sector advantages are good hours, no bosses, children can help, their is a dependence due to poverty
Telenovas (soap operas)
main thing on latino television - many telenovas hold the entire nation, people catch up in the streets to talk - Brazil and mexico and venzuela produces scores - Televisa markted soap operas to global public, mexican telenovas, and gloabally watched in costa rica, russia, china, south korea, iran and the US
Mining and Forestry
market for silver, zinc, copper, iron ore, baux ite and gold - boost foeign exchange earings - chile is the worlds leader in copper production - mexico is a leader in steel production Peru too - peru is the regions top gold producer - Chile is the largest producer of litium and the largest reserves are in Bolivia in the Altiplano - Bolivia is the Saudi arabia of lithuim - logging is abused , several countries rely on wood from pine oak, eucalyptus, pulp and lumber - they rely on plantation forest - they are growing trees for paper - leaders of Plantation forestry are brazil,venezuala, chile, argentina -Chile exports wood/timber to add to mineral export - East Asian capital is heavily invested in the chilean economy, this has lead to more losses
Agricultural Production
mechanized agriculture is found in the Plata basin, which includes Southern Brazil, Uruagay/ Argentina, Paraguay and bolivia - soybeans used for oil and animal feed transformed the region - brazil is the second largest producer of Argentina is the third - basins are being converted to soy fields, eliminating forest/Savanna hurting biodiversity and releasing greenhouse gases, soy prices are high - in the Pacific slope of central American its cotton/ tropical fruits, central vally of chile and foothills of Argentina has wine and fruit - Water from Sierra Madre dam in mexico, has made mexico a producer for strwberriers and tomatoes, for US consumers and they can grow in dry and winter months - this is capital extensive and hybrid crops, chemical fertilizer, pesticides - But a problem is that they do not employee rural people - Boom in quinoa in peru and bolivia
Population Growth and Movement
natural increases and immigration show high rates - 60/70s was tremdendous growth resulting in high fertility, increases in life expectancy - Fertility rate dropped due to birth control, educated women, partcipation of women in the work fore - average percentage of the population is below 27% -Urugauy is small but prosperous, high human deveolpment index ranking -little poverty - life expectancy is high, population is growing slowly - Guetamala has a wider- bassed pop and is poor but high a highr TFR - Guetamala expected to double between 2010-2015, due to youthful pop and life expectancy increase - waves of immigrants influenced settlement - Immigrants from Europe/ Asia started to settle
Energy Sector
oil rich mexico, venezuela, Ecuador, brazil meeet their own fuel needs - they are vital oil exporters - Mexico was the 9th largest producer of oil in the world, Brazil, Venezula are top 20 producers - largest oil discovery was found in Brazil, this led to oil production doubling - Venezuela is one of the founding members of OPEC, Ecuador joined in 1973 - Venezuela/ Bolivia have the largest natural gas reserves - but mexico and argentina are the largeest producers - Argentina gas production has been booseted becuase of finds in patagonia - argentina served control of YPF a major oil producer - Argentina is dependent on oil for their urban market - Brazil created flex cars that run on gas and ethanol - 40 years ago 60% of the region energy was supplied by oil, 2010 is a more diverse market and consumption has increased
Geopolitical Framework
organization of American states (OAS) formed in 48, US policy for free trade, political development and military intervantion this kinda undermines the indepence of some of these states - influence of the US is declining espically in south America - trade with the EU, china, japan more important then trade with the US - brazils influence in the region is rising, 7th largest economy in the world - it is a BRIC
Latin American City
people moving out of rural cities - most urbanized countries are argentina, chile, uraguay, venezuela, 85% of the population live in cities - during iberian rule people in the cities had higher wealth/ social status, and the cities became a host for communication and transportation - Latin america has high levels of urban primacy a country has a primate city 3 to 4 times larger than any other city in the country examples Mexico city, Lima, Guatemala city, Panama city, Santiago and Buenes Aires, Caraces - too man resources concetrated into one urban center - urban growth has lead to the emergence of megapolis , mexico city puebla, toluca
Iberian Conquest
potugusese presence in America as a result of the "treaty of trodesilllas in 1493" -naviagtion went to search for routes, pope divided atlantic world in half, Eastern with africa went to portugal and Western half with the America went to spain - cut throught america and gave portugal power - treaty not recoginzed by the dutch, english, french - Portuguse went to brazil and it is the largest and most populist state in the region - 6 years after the treaty, alvares council reached the coast of brazil - poruguese liked the source of Brazil wood used to produce dye - created sugar cane estates, expanded the slave trade and they discovered gold in the 17th century - Spain found silver reseves in central mexico and the central andes - they made a market for cacoa, chocolate, sugar, livestock - manufacturing was forbidden to keep the depence on spain
Urban form
refelcts colonial orgins and present day growth - older middle and lower class housing in the zone of maturity - elite spine, a newer commerical businesss strip extends from the colonial city to newer parts of the city - residential quality declines moving from center to periphery - spine has suprior service, roads and transportation - cities best residential zones/ shopping malls are unsually on the other side of the spine - most urban cities have perifico (ring of roads, highways enciricling the city - industry in located areas of the inner city and in larger industrial parks outside the city - Squatter settlements, many of the urban poor live there services, infrastrucute is limited - this reflects the speed/ intesity with which the cities were built - there is some self-bulilt homes on the urban fronteir long history - rapid inflow of migrants inability to meet housing needs, offical recognition of may these neighborhoods
Trend toward democracy
since 1980s more democratic governments are taking a place - 1990s almost every country has a democracy - many LA have dissatisfaction with their governments - Democratic leader are free market and they got rid of safety nets like food subsides - poor question neoliberal policy, chile has student protest over high cost of education - leaders have not rolled back neoliberal reforms but has tried to improve social service
Regional Organizations
supranational organization UNASUR- the union of South American nations, this is the newest "Subnational organization" that groups represent areas of people within a state from ethnic lines or can support organizaed crime, Subnational organizations can have positive or destabiling impacts (Guna in Panama) or FARC revolutionary armed forces of Columbia or Zapist of mexico, challenge authority of the state, drug cartels lie los zetas have terrorized Mexico with extreme violence
Social Development/ Neoliberalism
this regions people are better off than people in south asia, Africa - southern core states are the richest (southern brazil, excluding Paraguay) mexico is the richest - poorest countries are Nicargua, Boliva and Honduras - Costa rica has a high HDI - Economic engines, Brazil, and Mexico, Brazil is the the 7th largest economy ,mexico is the 15th largest based on GDP - some of the region has extreme poverty 1/10 latina americans live on less than 2 dollars a day - IMF/WB loan money to the region for roads, highways and bridges, power plants, agriculture - There is a green revolution, and mechization, new govs and private sector - countries have made a transition from agrarian eeconomis depended on one or two commodities to more economically diversified and urbanized - state-run national industires, tarriffs nad policy reforms that employed provatization and direct foreign investment. neoliberal policies have caused economic turmoil - it has contributed to boom exports
Population and Settlements
tripled in 1995, infant mortality fall, life expectancy soared, 4 countries account for 70% of population, Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, Argentina - 3/4 of the people are urban residents - has many rivers underused areas of settlemnt or for transportation - majority of the pop in central america/ mexico are in the interioir plateaus, valleys and lowlands of south america are empty - in early year the highlands supported most of the population before colonials - pop migration to the atlantic lowlands of argentina/ brazil along with continued andean coastal control - reduced demographic rates, Mexico city, guatemala city, bogata, la paz, dominate their natinal economy but the majoriy of large cities are on or near the coast - Population density n central and suthern mexico is high, majority of the people live near the coast, - interior is lighly populated - Latin America has seen dramtatic population growth
Latino Migration/ Hemispheric changes
venezuela oil wealth attracts colombian immigrants who look for work - Argentina has been a destination for bolivian, paraguayan laborers - Nicuragua seek employment in costa rica, farmers in the US like mexican laborers - civil war of el slavador/ guatemala sent waves of refugees into mexico/ US - 2014 60,000 miners from guatemala, el salvador, hondourus went to the US for refuge - 54 million hispanics in the US 2/3rds claim mexican ancestry - mexican immigrants in california - send monetly remittances to take care of their families back home
