©CSCOPE 2008 Latin America: Middle America and Caribbean

©CSCOPE 2008 INTRODUCTION DEFINING THE REGION –MEXICO –CENTRAL AMERICA – CARIBBEAN ISLANDS MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES –FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY –CULTURALLY DIVERSE

©CSCOPE 2008 PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY LAND BRIDGE- ISTHMUS ARCHIPELAGO –GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES NATURAL HAZARDS –EARTHQUAKES –VOLCANOES –HURRICANES

©CSCOPE 2008 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

©CSCOPE 2008 MAINLAND v. RIMLAND MAINLAND –EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE –GREATER ISOLATION –HACIENDA PREVAILED RIMLAND –EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE –HIGH ACCESSIBILITY –PLANTATION ECONOMY

©CSCOPE 2008 Agriculture: Plantation v. Hacienda PLANTATIONHACIENDA PRODUCTION FOR EXPORTPRODUCTION FOR EXPORT SINGLE CASH CROPSINGLE CASH CROP SEASONAL EMPLOYMENTSEASONAL EMPLOYMENT PROFIT MOTIVE $$$PROFIT MOTIVE $$$ MARKET VULNERABILITYMARKET VULNERABILITY DOMESTIC MARKETDOMESTIC MARKET DIVERSIFIED CROPSDIVERSIFIED CROPS YEAR ROUND JOBSYEAR ROUND JOBS SMALL PLOT OF LANDSMALL PLOT OF LAND SELF-SUFFICIENTSELF-SUFFICIENT

©CSCOPE 2008 Mexico- Population 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.

©CSCOPE 2008 MAQUILADORAS Tijuana Nogales Ciudad Juarez Matamoros Reynosa Monterrey Chihuahua

©CSCOPE 2008 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 MAQUILADORAS

©CSCOPE 2008 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. MAQUILADORAS

©CSCOPE 2008 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 MAQUILADORAS

©CSCOPE 2008 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.

©CSCOPE 2008 CENTRAL AMERICA GuatemalaBelizeHonduras El Salvador Nicaragua Costa Rica Panama What type of export products do we get from these countries?

©CSCOPE 2008 THE CARIBBEAN BASIN The Greater Antilles –Cuba –Hispaniola (consists of Haiti/Dominican Republic) –Jamaica –Puerto Rico The Lesser Antilles

©CSCOPE 2008 Physical Geography Central America Mountainous with small coastal plain. Caribbean Basin Volcanic islands, mountainous with reef formation around them.

©CSCOPE 2008 ECONOMIC TRENDS (Central America & the Caribbean) Agriculture- varies with elevation IndustryServicesTourism Environmental Issues –Deforestation, Hurricane Damage

©CSCOPE 2008 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 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 PRIMARY SECTOR DEPENDENCE

©CSCOPE 2008 PRIMARY SECTOR DEPENDENCE 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

©CSCOPE 2008 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.

©CSCOPE 2008 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

©CSCOPE 2008 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Tropical Deforestation 3 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year!

©CSCOPE 2008 CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION 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

©CSCOPE 2008 Central America and Caribbean: Conclusions 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.