Download Chapter 10 - Humble ISD

Chapter 10
Latin America Today
Agriculture
• Three-fourths of Latin Americans live in
cities, but they still depend on agriculture
for a portion of their incomes.
• Latin American countries export much of
what their farms grow.
• Crops for export are bananas, sugarcane,
and coffee.
Agriculture
• Large agricultural estates owned by wealth landowners or
corporations are called Latifundias.
• These farms are highly mechanized and return huge profits for their
owners .
• Latifuindias have lower labor costs.
Agriculture
• Minifundias are small plots of land intensively farmed by
rural farmers to feed their families.
• Rural farmers are called campesinos.
• The campensinos rarely own these farms.
• These farms are still owned by wealthy land owners.
• Many minifundia owners have been encouraged by
governments to combine their lands into cooperatives
where the campesinos have small amounts of
ownership.
• This is still rare and a huge gap still exists between the
rich landowning social class and the poor campesino
class.
Agriculture
• Cash crops are grown all over
Latin America.
• They are produced mainly own
large latifundias.
• Some countries have suitable
grasslands to raise livestock
like cattle. (Mexico, Brazil,
Argentina)
• Problems arise when countries
depend on one or two large
exported cash crops because
events like natural disasters
can take place that put the
entire economy of a country in
jeopardy.
Industry in Latin America
• Most countries in Latin America are developing
countries which are countries that are working
toward greater manufacturing and technology.
• Service industries like banking and restaurants
have grown dramatically, but they do not
produce goods.
Industrial Growth Barriers
• Industrial growth is limited by the following
factors:
– Physical geography
– Political instability
– Ties to more developed countries
The Problem of Maquiladoras
Maquiladoras are factories owned by foreign corporations.
U.S. and Japanese companies are attracted to Latin America
because of low labor costs and less strict environmental and
worker laws.
Maquiladoras help Latin Americans get more jobs, but the
products built rarely help the host country and pollution and
labor issues have become problems.
Developing Native Industry
• Latin American countries are working hard
to develop “home-grown” industry.
• The countries lack the financial resources
to do this, and they are forced to take
loans from foreign countries that are hard
to pay back and help the loaner countries
control Latin American countries.
Trade - NAFTA
• The North American Free Trade Agreement has
made trade easier between the U. S., Canada,
and Mexico, but it does not help most Latin
American countries.
• Labor groups in the U. S. do not like NAFTA
because they fear a loss of jobs to Mexico.
• NAFTA has helped Mexican companies.
• Other Latin American countries are watching
Mexico to see if a NAFTA-like agreement would
help their country.
Transportation and
Communications
• A huge problem for Latin America is distributing
goods and services more efficiently.
• There are few good roads or rail systems in
Latin America. This isolates the population from
receiving basic goods we take for granted.
• There are communication systems like phones,
television, radio, and internet, but these are
mostly limited to big cities.
The Environment
• Latin American countries are working
toward sustainable development.
• Sustainable development is
technological and economic growth that
does not deplete the human and natural
resources of a region.
• This has been a difficult decision for Latin
America. The rain forests have paid the
price.
Environmental Issues
• Deforestation is clearing or destruction of
forests.
• Rain forests of Latin America are sources
for the Earth’s oxygen, plant and animal
species, and medicines.
• Latin American countries believe they
need to clear rain forest to build their
economy for farming, ranching, industry,
and transportaion.
Environmental Issues
• Countries around the world have worked to stop clearing of the rain
forests, but Latin American countries still face little choice.
• Slash-and-burn techniques are used to clear forests.
• Slash-and-burn means to cut down all trees, let them dry out, and
burn them. The ash from the fires fertilize the soil.
• This has proven a temporary fix. Many nutrients are washed away
by frequent rain storms.
• Within two years, the land is unsuitable for farming or raising
livestock because nothing will grow or animals have already eaten
all newly planted grasses.
Environmental Issues
• More land is now being set aside for
conservation.
• Reforestation, or the planting of young
trees or the seeds of trees, is beginning to
be practiced.
• Scientists do not know if the damage to
Latin American rain forests can be
undone.