Economic Geography of Latin America

Positives of Tourism Jobs Informal Economy – unofficial jobs

Negatives of Tourism Environmental Problems? Loss of culture? Where does most of the money go?

NAFTA North America Free Trade Agreement USA/Canada/Mexico Goods move between the three countries with no/low trade tariffs (taxes)

Maquiladoras Foreign owned factories in Mexico that make goods for export Maquiladoras offer cheap labor Usually owned by US companies

Informal economy Low income tertiary activities that are cash transactions and not reported to government

Slash-and-burn farming Cut down rain forest to make crop land Land only productive for 3-5 years

Farming regions: Sugar Cane Coastal areas and Caribbean islands

Farming regions: Bananas Central American coastal areas Guatemala

Farming regions: Coffee Lower mountain regions of Central and South America

Distribution of Oil Largest developed oil reserves are in Mexico and Venezuela