1. Chapter 14 Mexico and Central America
Section 1: Mexico

3. plaza
At the center of most villages is a public square called a plaza.
This is where farmers sell whatever food they do not eat.
Nearly every village in the Mexican countryside has a church and a market in their plaza.
Rural people buy nearly everything they need at the market.

4. Tourism
travel for recreation, leisure, religious, family or business purposes, usually for a limited duration
Tourism is an important component to the economy of Mexico

5. migrant workers and campesinos
Migrant workers are farmers that travel from one area to another, picking the crops that are in season.
Other farmers in Mexico own their own land but cannot afford expensive farm machinery. They often plow the land and harvest their crops by hand.
Campesino is a poor farmer or farm worker in a Latin American country.
migrant workers and campesinos

6. farm work
Most farm families in Mexico are poor. Mexico’s population has risen dramatically over the last 30 years and there is not enough farm work for so many people.
Many rural Mexicans are moving from the countryside to Mexico City in search of work.
better education
better living
more opportunity

7. squatter
As campesino families move into the city they may have a difficult time finding housing and jobs.
A squatter is a person who settles on someone else’s land without permission.
They build shelters out of scraps to provide a home. They hope that they will soon be able to buy land from the government.

8. Mexico City (Mexico’s capital)
Mexico City was built on the site of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan.
Much of Mexico’s urban population lives in Mexico City.
Over 20 million people live in the city
It is one of the largest cities in the world

9. Subway
The subway, the underground railroad system, carries more than four million people each day.
Wide avenues and highways along with narrower side streets can barely handle the traffic of this sprawling city.

10. pollution
Because of their rapid population growth, many of Mexico’s large cities face problems of traffic, pollution, and water shortages.
The exhaust fumes from the vehicles pollute the air.
Mexico City has also outgrown their fresh water supply so they have to pump water from sources as far as 100 miles away.
Smog hangs over Mexico City as a brown cloud.
The city spreads across a bowl-shaped valley. The surrounding mountains trap automobile exhaust, factory smoke, and other pollution near the city.

11. Enrique Nieto Enrique Peña Nieto – current president of Mexico
(took office Dec.1, 2012)
The Mexican leader ran for office on a vow to end drug wars and revitalize the economy, although he is deeply unpopular with this 120 million citizens. (Forbes 2017)

12. Chapter 14 Mexico and Central America
Section 2: Guatemala

13. Guatemala Capital: Guatemala City Area: 42,042 sq. miles
Population – 16.2 million
Government:
Representative Democracy

14. Native Americans
In Guatemala, Native Americans make up the two-thirds of the population.
They form 23 ethnic groups that each have their own language and customs.
The largest group are the Quiche Maya.
They are often poor and raise corn on tiny plots of land.
Children often work to help support their families.
The Mayas have found it difficult to preserve their traditional culture as they become part of modern Guatemala.

15. ladinos
Much of the land belongs to rich landowners called ladinos. Ladinos are wealthy mestizos who are descended from Native Americans and Spaniards. Many Maya natives work the land owned by ladinos.
Native Americans who follow European ways are also considered to be ladinos.

16. land reform
Since the 1930s, land reform, the effort to distribute land more equally, has been a major goal of many reform and political groups.
The wealthy land owners, who have the greatest political power, have often resisted these reforms.
These clashes have led to violence and civil war
The Majority of Native Americans in Guatemala are illiterate, or cannot read or write.
This keeps them from being able to file papers with the government showing they own land.

17. Civil War
Beginning around 1960, a civil war raged in Guatemala for more than 30 years. Thousands of civilians died and many fled the country.
Those who fought for human rights or opposed the government were treated harshly.
Soldiers took over the Maya lands and many of them were forced out of their villages and lost a lot of their belongings.
The Guatemalan army walking down a road to keep things in order.

18. Political movements
Some Mayas remained in Guatemala during the civil war. They started political movements, which are large groups of people who work together for political change.
Nukuj Akpop is a political group that still works to fight poverty and bring human rights to Mayas.

19. strike Mayan political movements seek to defend campesino rights.
They help villages plan ways to protect themselves
They teach people the history of their own land and how to read.
They help organize meetings, protests, and strikes
A strike is a refusal to work until certain demands of workers are met.
They defend Native American land rights

20. Changes Come to Guatemala
These efforts brought change to Guatemala…
Mayas gained a voice in their government
Radio programs were broadcast in Mayan languages
Mayan-language books and newspapers
1996: agreements were signed ending the civil war

21. Guatemalan President
During his inauguration week in 2016, Morales petitioned the U.S. government to add Guatemala to the list of countries granted temporary protected status, which provides its eligible citizens in the U.S. a degree of temporary protection from deportation and allows them to work and travel.
El Salvador and Honduras already have the status known as TPS. It is usually granted in cases in which the country is suffering from an armed conflict or natural disaster that makes it difficult to receive its citizens.
Guatemala had been hurt by corruption scandals that forced President Otto Perez Molina and his vice president from office.
Current President: Jimmy Morales

22. Tourism in Guatemala Tikal Lake Atitlan Picaya Volcano (active)
Black sands at Monterrico Beach

23. Chapter 14 Mexico and Central America
Section 3: Panama

24. Vasco Nunex de Balboa
Balboa was a Spanish conquistador that was in search of gold. In 1513, he heard of “a mighty sea beyond the mountains” of what is now Panama. He also heard the streams flowing into it were filled with gold.
Balboa organized an expedition and they struggled across the isthmus for over a month.
They finally waded into the Pacific Ocean and claimed it for Spain.
Balboa hoped that a water route could be found through the isthmus but he also thought, “it might not be impossible to make one.”

25. Panama Canal
The Panama Canal, a manmade waterway across the Isthmus of Panama, is a shortcut through the Western Hemisphere.
The only way to get from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean by ship without going all the way around South America
It shortens the trip by
7,800 miles
This saves time and
money

26. The French Begin a Canal
In 1881, when Panama was part of Colombia, a French company gained the rights to build a canal through Panama.
The builders struggled with mud slides, a mountain range, and a dense tropical forest.
After several years the company went bankrupt and work on the canal stopped
In 1902, the United States government bought the French company’s equipment.

27. lock
The Americans also faced challenges when building the canal, including building a dam.
A lock is a section of waterway in which ships are raised or lowered by adjusting the water level.
It took eight years and more than 80,000 workers, mostly Caribbean islanders, to build the Panama Canal.
It still remains one of the greatest engineering feats of modern times.

28. Building the Canal: A Heroic Effort
One of the biggest problems was disease. More than 20,000 workers died of malaria and yellow fever.
1900s: doctors discovered that malaria and yellow fever were both carried by mosquitoes
The Panama Canal company hired a doctor and a large crew to deal with the problem
Sulfur was burned in every house
Every water vessel was covered with mesh
Swampy breeding grounds were filled in with dirt
Without these efforts, the Panama Canal probably could not have been built

30. canal zone
The canal zone was an area containing the canal, the land on either side of the canal, the ports, the port cities, and the railroad.
The treaty allowed the United States to govern this zone and invade Panama to protect the canal.
The United States built 14 military bases in the Canal Zone and stationed thousands of soldiers there.

31. Change of Ownership
Many Panamanians felt the United States had too much power in Panama and held talks about transferring control of the Canal to Panama.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed two new treaties with Panama’s government.
Gave panama more control over the canal
In 1999, Panama finally gained full control
Jimmy Carter and Omar Torrijos (the Commander of Panama's National Guard) shake hands moments after the signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.

32. Panama Today Panama has become an international crossroads for trade.
International trade is very important to Panama’s economy
The ships that pass through the Canal each day pay tolls according to their weight
The canal has made Panama a leading banking and finance center.
Every day, an average of 33 ships pass through the Panama Canal. It takes each ship around nine hours to cross from one ocean to the other. The Panama Canal is like a water elevator with lakes. Ships are raised and lowered in the locks as they travel from one ocean to the other.

33. tourism Another important industry in Panama is tourism. Panama Canal
Panama’s rain forests
Ecotourism, which is tourism in unspoiled areas to observe wildlife and learn about the environment
Howler monkeys, sloths, harpy eagles, and capybaras (huge rodents that look like guinea pigs)