Countries of South & Central America Chapter 16

16-1 Brazil

The Geography Brazil, the largest country in South America, is nearly as big as the United States. Brazil’s rain forests take up more than a third of the country. Its hard for light to get through the canopy formed by treetops. Few people live in the Amazon rain forest. There are many harbors along the coast. Rio de Janeiro grew up around a harbor, and most of the people live near the coast.

The Brazilian government wanted to develop the land away from the coast. In 1957, to attract people to that area, the government started building a new capital, Brasilia. They chose a site on the savanna Today, almost 2 million people live there.

The Importance of the Rain Forest The rain forest is important to life all over the world. Rain forest produces oxygen. Many medicines are made from plants that grow only in the rain forest. In the past, Brazil gave land in the rain forest to campesions. They cleared land for crops. Within a few years, the soil was poor. Logging, mining and road building also damaged the rain forest. Today Brazil’s leaders are trying to protect the fragile rain forest from further damage.

There are other dangers to the rain forest. The Brazilian government is trying to stop smuggling of endangered animals and wood. It is trying to stop pollution caused by mining.

Before development, many native peoples of the rain forest were isolated. They continued their ancient ways of living. When the rain forest was opened to development, miners, and farmers arrived. These people brought diseases that killed many native people. More were killed in conflicts with developers.

The People of Brazil The native Americans living in the rain forest were some of the first people to live in Brazil. Many Native Americans still line in the rain forest. However, some have left the rain forest for the cities.

Today, most Brazilians are a mix of Native American, African, and European heritages. There are many features of African culture in Brazil. The city of Salvador is like a town in Africa. Some Brazilians are descended from Portuguese colonists. More recently, immigrants have come from Italy and Japan.

In Brazil, a few people own most of the land suitable for growing crops. In the 1900’s, the government gave some of this land to poor farmers. Rio de Janeiro is home to the rich and the very poor. In is on the coast, surrounded by Mountains. There are expensive hotels and shops for tourists.

On the slopes of the mountains, neighborhoods are crowded and dirty. About 20 percent of Rio’s people live in homes with no electricity or running water.

Summary: Questions: Answers: What would happen to you if the rain forest is destroyed? Do you feel that government should do more to help the poor people of Brazil? Why? Summary: Summary:

A land made wealthy by oil Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world after the Persian Gulf region. Venezuela oil has earned millions of dollars on the world market. In the early 1980’s, Venezuela was the richest country in Latin America. Much of the money went to the capital Caracas. Caracas is also the business center of the country.

In the 1970’s when oil prices and demanded were high the country was spending lots money. The government was building roads and subways. To pay for these projects the government barrowed money and planed on paying it back from the money they were making from selling oil.

The standard of living for the people went up and many of the poor people from the outside cities moved in hopes of making a better life for themselves. In the 1980’s more oil was produced in the world and the price of oil started to fall. Millions of people were looking for work and yet the government was still spending more money then it could earn.

Many people lost their jobs The poor people from the countryside were hit the hardest.

The Economy and the people Venezuela changed during the oil boom. It had been a country with a culture and economy based on agriculture. Because of the oil boom, it became a modern country. About 80 percent of the population now livies in cities. When oil prices fell, many workers lost their jobs.

The Venezuelan government started a policy of privatization. In the late 1980’s and the 1990’s, the government sold some of its big businesses to big companies. It hoped these companies would make big profits and hire more workers. Instead the companies paid the workers less then they made before and kept the profits for themselves.

Venezuela in Crisis Venezuela's economy still counted on oil. The economy was so bad that there were riots in 1989 when the government tried to raise bus fares. In 1992 there was a coup attempted by protesters. In 1998 the leader of one of the protest groups was elected presidents, Hugo Chavez He promised political change and help for the poor

The Crisis was made worse by natural disaster. Many people were killed or left homeless by the floods and mud slides. Chavez was reelected in 2000. Things still were not good in the country. There were new riots and attempts to remove him from office. He remains in office today.

Chapter 5 - Haiti

Geography and Slavery of Haiti. Haiti is on the western third of the island of Hispaniola. It was once a colony of France. Europeans brought Africans to Haiti to work as slaves on sugarcane and coffee plantations. In the 1790’s, slaves began to revolt. In 1801, Toussaint L’Ouverture’s helped end slavery in Haiti.

L’Ouverture’s goal of freedom and equality was never reached. Most Haiti’s presidents became dictators. One of the worst was Francois Duvalier, who took power in 1957. “Papa Doc” His son followed after him, Jean Claude Duvalier, or “Baby Doc”. He was forced to leave the country and was replaced with one dictator after another,

Democracy in Danger Haiti’s history has been a long struggle for democracy. The struggle has brought violence and economic disaster. In 1990 Jean-Bertrand Aristide was elected president, he gave the people hope for the future. He was a priest who had tried to help the poor. He was the first president to be elected democratically in many years.

Jean-Bertrand Aristide

With in seven months, Haiti’s military forced him to leave the country. The military also attacked his supporters. Thousands of Artistide’s supporters fled Haiti by sea. They became know as the Haitian boat people. Many of these refugees headed for the United States. Aristide returned to Haiti in 1994. There was a return to democratic government.

When Aristide was reelected in 2000, many people claimed there had been cheating. International aid to Haiti stopped. In 2004, rebel groups seized much of Haiti. Aristide resigned and left Haiti.

The people of Haiti The Haitian culture is a blend of African, French and West Indian cultures. Most of the people are descended from Africans brought as slaves. Haitians who have European ancestry are Creole. Creole is also the name of the language of Haiti. - It is base on both French and African Language.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. About 2/3 of the people try to make a living farming. But the land is overused. Why is that. What causes this to happen? Farmers cannot feed their families on what they grow, many people have moved to the cities. Poor people live in _______, ________ neighborhoods with unpaved streets. While the wealth live in large houses over looking the city.

Haiti's democracy is once more at risk. Unemployment Ratio of People to Life Doctor Expectancy 70% 1 doctor to 52 years 5,000 people Haiti's democracy is once more at risk. The economy has been hurt as well. Most people are still poor. Violence is common. Many want to leave their homeland for a better life.

Summary: Questions: Answers: Describe the events that might occur if the United States takes control of Haiti? Why did many Haitians come to the United States in the early 1990’s? Refugee Creole Summary: Summary:

Puerto Rico – An American Commonwealth

Brief History Puerto Rico was once a Spanish colony. When Spain lost the Spanish-American war, it gave Puerto Rico to the United States. The United States has slowly given PR more control over its own government. In 1951, Puerto Rico adopted its own constitution.

Puerto Rican and American PR is part of the US. Puerto Ricans are American citizens. However, PR is not a state. It is a commonwealth. Puerto Ricans cannot vote in presidential elections, they do NOT pay US takes. They have a representative in Congress, but he or she does don’t have a vote. Puerto Ricans do serve in the armed forces.

Many Puerto Ricans have moved to the mainland United States. Most settle in cities in the Northeast. There are many differences between life in PR and on life on the mainland.

Life on the Island Many people travel back and forth between the mainland and PR. In the 1950’s many Puerto Ricans moved to the mainland, but since 1965 just as many PRs have been returning to the island. As people travel back and forth, they bring customs and products with them. There is a strong cultural connection to the Caribbean. Most of the people are a mix of Spanish and African ancestry.

Puerto Rican cities show influences of Spanish, Caribbean and U Puerto Rican cities show influences of Spanish, Caribbean and U.S mainland culture About 75% of the people of PR live in cities. The capital, San Juan, has a large waterfront area known as the Condado. The Condado is packed with luxury hotels. Nearby are modern skyscrapers.

Seeking a New Direction Puerto Ricans do not agree on what course their island should take in the future. Currently PR is a commonwealth of the United States. If PR becomes a state its people would have to pay taxes but they would be able to vote in US elections. Some people would like to see PR become a separate nation.

Puerto Ricans want to make sure that they keep their Spanish Language and culture. They also stress Puerto Rico’s connection to other Caribbean nations.