Transcript MIDDLE AMERICA I

Latin America:
Middle America and Caribbean
©CSCOPE 2009
INTRODUCTION
DEFINING THE REGION
– MEXICO
– CENTRAL AMERICA
– CARIBBEAN ISLANDS
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
– FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND
POLITICALLY
– CULTURALLY DIVERSE
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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
LAND BRIDGE- ISTHMUS
ARCHIPELAGO
– GREATER AND LESSER
ANTILLES
NATURAL HAZARDS
– EARTHQUAKES
– VOLCANOES
– HURRICANES
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THE LEGACY OF
COLONIALISM
LANDS DEVOTED TO FOOD CROPS
FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION
(subsistence farming) WERE
CONVERTED TO CASH CROPPING
FOR EXPORT (i.e. sugar)
LAND ALIENATION INDUCES:
– FAMINE AND POVERTY
– MIGRATION
– LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY
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MAINLAND v. RIMLAND
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MAINLAND
– EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE
– GREATER ISOLATION
– HACIENDA PREVAILED
RIMLAND
– EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE
– HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
– PLANTATION ECONOMY
Agriculture:
Plantation v. Hacienda
PLANTATION
•PRODUCTION FOR EXPORT
•SINGLE CASH CROP
•SEASONAL EMPLOYMENT
•PROFIT MOTIVE $$$
•MARKET VULNERABILITY
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HACIENDA
•DOMESTIC MARKET
•DIVERSIFIED CROPS
•YEAR ROUND JOBS
•SMALL PLOT OF LAND
•SELF-SUFFICIENT
Mexico- Population
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Largest, most populated, and
economically most developed of
the Middle American nations
Population - more than 100
million
Also the most populated
Spanish speaking country in the
world.
MAQUILADORAS
Tijuana
Nogales
Ciudad
Juarez
Chihuahua
Monterrey
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Reynosa
Matamoros
MAQUILADORAS
Initiated in the 1960s as coupon houses
Assembly plants that pioneered the
migration of industries in the 1970s
Today
– >4,000 maquiladoras
– >1.2 million employees
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MAQUILADORAS
Modern industrial plants
Assemble imported, duty-free
components/raw materials
Export the finished products
Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan)
80% of goods re-exported to U.S.
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MAQUILADORAS
ADVANTAGES
– Mexico gains jobs.
– Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor
costs.
EFFECTS
– Regional development
– Development of an international growth
corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort
Worth
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U.S. TRADE WITH
CANADA & MEXICO
Canada remains as the United
States’ largest export market.
Since 1977, Mexico has moved into
second place (displacing Japan).
85% of all Mexican exports now go
to the United States.
75% of Mexico’s imports originate
in the United States.
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CENTRAL AMERICA
Guatemala
Belize
Honduras
El Salvador
Nicaragua
Costa Rica
Panama
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What type of
export products
do we get from
these countries?
THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
The Greater Antilles
– Cuba
– Hispaniola (consists of Haiti/Dominican Republic)
– Jamaica
– Puerto Rico
The Lesser Antilles
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Physical Geography
Central America
Mountainous with
small coastal plain.
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Caribbean Basin
Volcanic islands,
mountainous with reef
formation around
them.
ECONOMIC TRENDS
(Central America & the Caribbean)
Agriculture- varies with elevation
Industry
Services
Tourism
Environmental Issues
– Deforestation, Hurricane Damage
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PRIMARY SECTOR
DEPENDENCE
El Salvador
– Agriculture accounts for 24% of GDP and
40% of the labor force and contributes to 60%
of exports.
– Economic losses because of guerrilla
sabotage total $2 billion since 1979.
Honduras
– Agriculture accounts for more than 25% of
GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and
produces two-thirds of exports.
– Economic loss because of natural disaster
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PRIMARY SECTOR
DEPENDENCE
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Dominican Republic (49%
Agriculture)
– Sugarcane, coffee, cotton,
cocoa, and tobacco
Jamaica (22.5% Agriculture)
– Sugar, bananas, and rum
Cuba (20% Agriculture)
– Sugar, tobacco, citrus, and
coffee
THE TOURISM OPTION
Antigua and Barbuda
– Direct contribution of 13% to GDP and affects
growth in other sectors
The Bahamas
– Tourism alone provides 50% of GDP and
directly or indirectly employs 40% of the
population.
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TOURISM:
A MIXED BLESSING?
Advantages
– State and regional economic options
– A clean industry
– Educational
Disadvantages
– Disjunctive development
– Degrades fragile environmental resources
– Inauthentic representations of native
cultures
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ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tropical Deforestation
3 million acres of woodland in Central
America disappear each year!
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CAUSES OF TROPICAL
DEFORESTATION
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Clearing of rural lands to
accommodate meat production and
export
Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to
meet global demands for new housing,
paper, and furniture
Population explosion: forests are cut to
provide crop-raising space and
firewood
Middle America and
Caribbean: Conclusions
©CSCOPE 2009
The landscape is mountainous with
some coastal regions.
Climate is tropical, varies with
elevation, and dependent upon
windward/leeward sides.
Economic activity is dependent upon
primary sector, although tourism is
profitable.
Population is primarily found in
temperate areas.
Culture is a mix of European,
Indigenous and African populations.