Chapter 12 Latin America

1. Chapter 12Latin America

2. What is Latin America? • Region that begins in the deserts of the US-Mexico border and stretches south to Argentina and Chile. Spans Mexico’s Baja Peninsula to the east coast of Brazil • Westerners see it as a place with great vacation destinations, dark hair people, drug traffickers, and civil war • It is a place of high importance to the U.S. but often ignored for more prestigious political partners

3. “Latin America” • Latin America received this name from Europeans during their colonization of the Western Hemisphere • It was a strategy used by the French to assert influence in the region dominated by Spanish and Portuguese • France failed in its objective, but the name stuck

4. Which Territories Comprise Latin America? • Three distinct geographies: • South America • Most recognizable piece of territory • Middle America • Islands of the Caribbean Sea

5. South America • A huge landmass that emerges from a tiny land bridge known as Panama • Social scientists divide South America in to four regions • Southern Cone • States that form the southern conical part of the continent • Andean Nations • Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela • Brazil • Small states of Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana

6. South America • Home to a diverse geographic landscape • Deserts, mountains, lowlands • The Amazon River • World’s largest river by volume • Accounts for 1/5 of the world’s freshwater • Atacama Desert in Chile • One of the world’s driest deserts • Galapagos Islands

8. Middle America • Much smaller than South America • Also home to a diverse geographic landscape • Mountains, highlands, fertile lowlands, widespread coastal regions • Slightly less understood than South America

10. Caribbean Islands • Generally divided into two regions: • Greater Antilles • Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola • Islands here are much larger than the Lesser Antilles • Lesser Antilles • Barbuda, Grenada, Trinidad, the Caymans, St. Lucia, Dominica • Area of concentrated ecological diversity • Important place for species protection

11. Historical Sketch • History of Latin America broken into two time frames based on the voyage of Christopher Columbus • Pre-Columbian • Westerners have little common knowledge of indigenous populations during this era • Post-Columbian

12. Pre-Columbian Civilizations • Incas • Machu Picchu • Vast road and irrigation systems • Aztecs • Tenechtitlan • Magnificent Pyramids • Mayans • Carib

13. Colonialism in Latin America • The Iberian powers of Spain and Portugal were equipped with technology superior to that of the indigenous civilizations of Latin America • Conquering the civilizations did not take long • By the 18th century the Iberians established political, social, and economics systems that still thrive today

14. Colonialism in Latin America • By the 19th century, Iberian power in the Americas was beginning to fade • Their power in Europe was waning • Other colonial powers were contesting for American holdings • Revolts led by colonist elites • Latin America, except for the Caribbean, has been largely independent since the 19th century

15. Independent Latin America • For the first 150 years of independence, Latin America maintained patterns established during the colonial era • Caudillismo • Unequal land distribution • Racist social hierarchy • Neo-colonial trade structure

16. Caudillismo • Dominant political model during both colonial and independent periods • Monarch, president, governor had power in the large cities • Rich landowners, dubbed caudillos, filled the gap between city rule and rural inhabitants • During the 1980’s Latin America made significant strides toward democracy, yet the caudillo tradition remains in some regions

17. Unequal Land Distribution • The caudillos controlled much of the land in Latin America • Peasant and church landholdings were seized by political leaders and sold to government supporters • These people became plantation landowners and the peasants which owned the land before it was seized now worked for these people to farm the land • These plantations later transformed into 20th century corporate farms

18. Racist Social Hierarchy • The social ladder in Latin America is rooted in its history of European racism and slavery • Indigenous and African populations occupy the lowest branches of the social tree • Few hold social office • Most live under terrible conditions • In some parts of the coastal mainland and the Caribbean, people of African descent have begun to share wealth and power with the whites

19. International Trading and Latin America • Export-import strategy as set forth during colonial times is still popular in Latin America • Primary products sold to Europe and North America • Copper, coffee, bauxite, beef, wheat • Import finished goods from Europe and North America • Appliances, finished textiles, automobiles

20. Economic Development in Latin America • Latin America is a region well-endowed with resources and long period of independence, yet poverty persists • Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA) • Dependency theory • Global market place is an unfair trading ground • Disagree with liberal economic theory • Thought a new, non-free market system was needed in Latin America

21. ISI • Import-substitution industrialization (ISI) • Sought to import expensive goods while exporting cheap goods • Minimize status as an agricultural and extractive economy and develop ideas like the United States and Europe • In the beginning this was a success, but with a dependency on imports and insufficient domestic consumption this system failed

22. The Debt Crisis and the Lost Decade • In the 1980’s Latin Americas debt climbed into the hundreds of billions of dollars owed primarily to banks in the U.S. and Europe • Partly due to the results of ISI • Government corruption played a large role in debt accumulation • Price of oil and the willingness of U.S. banks to lend during inflationary times also played a role • The Lost Decade known as the 1980’s resulted from the economic downfalls of the 1970’s • High inflation, rising interest rates, state industries collapsed

23. Structural Adjustment and Neoliberalism • International financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and others suggested structural adjustment programs (SAP’s), a neoliberal idea • Acted as a shock therapy to balance national budgets and reinsert Latin America into world commerce • Caused great hardship on the people of Latin America • Triple-digit inflation, high unemployment

24. The Challenge of Democracy • Many countries in Latin America left the caudillismo tradition behind after World War II • Military dictatorship became a popular political model in Latin America in the 1960’s and 1970’s • Fear of communism and support from the U.S. had a large influence on military takeover • Military dictatorship came to an end by the mid-1980’s • Democratic rule is now observed in the region, but not without some faults