Chapter 10, Section 1: The Economy Latin America Today Chapter 10, Section 1: The Economy

Important Vocabulary Export: selling goods to other countries. Campesino: rural farmers and workers. Latifundia: large agricultural estates owned by wealthy landowners or corporations. Minifundia: small plots of farming land. Cash Crop: crops produced in large amounts for selling and trading.

Vocabulary (Cont’d) Developing Country: working towards greater manufacturing and technology use. Gross Domestic Product (GDP): the value of goods and services a country produced in a year. Service Industry: those that provide a service. Maquiladora: a factory. Free Trade Zone: areas of a country in which there are no trade restrictions.

Agriculture Agriculture is main supply of income. Most is exported. Uneven land distribution; inequality. Farming is mechanized. Physical geography: great cash crops. Cattle-raising for export.

Industry Efforts for more manufacturing and industry. Rising service and telecom industries. Tourism has been essential. Foreign investments.

Transportation Many issues with road and railroad construction. Pan-American, Trans-Andean, and Trans-Amazonian Highway. Well-developed railway systems. Waterways and air travel are very important.

Communication & Trade Variety of communications. Gov’t censorship during political unrest. Growing use of technology. NAFTA (1994) and DR-CAFTA (2005). Many Latin American nations have foreign debt.

Chapter 10, Section 2: People and Environment Latin America Today Chapter 10, Section 2: People and Environment

Important Vocabulary Deforestation: the clearing of forests. Sustainable Development: technological and economic growth without depleting human and natural resources. Slash-and-burn Farming: using ash from burnt plants and trees to soil the ground. Reforestation: planting of young trees or tree seeds. Shantytown: slums or makeshift communities.

Managing Resources Reduced forests in the Amazon Basin. Almost 20% of Amazon rainforest has been destroyed. Serious threats to ecosystem. Laws mandating reforestation and conservation.

Human Impacts Rapid urbanization has strained natural resources. The rise of shantytowns/slums. Increase of smog and smokestack pollution.

Future Challenges There have been territorial conflicts over past 150 years. The region is vulnerable to natural disasters. Gov’ts are working together for better forecasting.