1. Impact of Poverty, War on Drugs, and Migration to the U. S
Impact of Poverty, War on Drugs, and Migration to the U.S. on Latin America

2. Impact of Poverty, War on Drugs, and Migration to the U. S
Impact of Poverty, War on Drugs, and Migration to the U.S. on Latin America
There are several issues which affect the lives of Latin Americans. Poverty, the war on drugs and migration of Latin Americans to the U.S. are major concerns for the region.

3. Poverty
For centuries Latin America has struggled with poverty. Many countries of the region have high rates of poverty today.

4. Poverty
Many Latin America countries have a small social class of rich people and a much larger social class of peasants who are extremely poor.

5. Poverty
This unequal distribution of wealth means that not everyone has all of their basic needs met.
For example in Brazil 1 out of 5 people live in poverty.

6. Poverty
The poverty problem is made worse by unstable governments, by spending too much money on military and too little on human services, and population that exceeds a country's food resources.

7. War on Drugs
A second issue negatively impacting Latin America is the illegal drug trade. The U.S. has struggled for many years to stop the abuse by its citizens of illegal drugs like cocaine. Much of these drugs come from Latin America.

8. War on Drugs
The U.S. began going after the suppliers of drugs in what became known as the “War on Drugs.” The U.S. and Latin American governments began destroying coca plants (source of cocaine) by spraying chemicals on the plants and also going after the drug growers.

9. War on Drugs

10. War on Drugs
However, the abuse of cocaine in the U.S. did not stop. The policing efforts just pushed coca farming to other places in Latin America. Meanwhile, a new problem emerged for Latin Americans.

11. War on Drugs
The illegal drug trade was taken over by major drug cartels, which used brutal violence against growers, police, and each other to become more powerful and gain control of the drug trade. Tens of thousands of people have been murdered or disappeared due to drug-related violence in Latin America since the late 1980s.

12. Migration to the U.S.
Thousands of Latin Americans cross the border into the U.S. each year in search of safer living conditions and better jobs.
However, many arrive without the proper immigration documents.

13. Migration to the U.S.
They arrive here illegally, though the children born in the U.S. to immigrants automatically become citizens of the U.S.
Policing the southern U.S. border by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol has varied from strong to weak since the 1960s, depending on political attitudes.

14. Migration to the U.S.
Many U.S. citizens have demanded a stronger border with Mexico and want more deportations of illegal immigrants while other Americans argue for a more compassionate approach and say the country benefits from the Latin American’s labor.

15. Migration to the U.S.
Migration has made it more difficult for Latin American countries to grow out of poverty. Too many skilled workers have left Latin America which has hurt the economies of those countries.