Exam 1: Latin America Flashcards
What major types of landforms do we find in Latin America?
- High mountains
- Upland plateaus (shields)
- River basins
Historically, where have the most important areas of settlement been found in tropical Latin America,
and how is that different from what we might expect?
In tropical areas, the most significant settlement areas have been found across shields and mountain
valleys (not along river
How does climate vary throughout the region?
- Tropical areas see minimal seasonal
change in temperature, but have
distinct wet and dry seasons - Midlatitude climates are found in
Argentina, Uruguay, and parts of
Paraguay and Chile - Desert climates are found along the
Pacific coasts of Peru and Chile and in
Patagonia, northern Mexico, and the
state of Bahia in Brazil
What factors may impair Latin America’s ability to adapt to climate change? What are major immediate
and longer-term concerns?
- Poverty, inequality, population growth, and land use change all impede the region’s ability to adapt to climate change
- Greatest immediate concerns include
agricultural productivity, access to water, melting glaciers in the Andes,
composition and productivity of
ecosystems, and incidence of vector-
borne diseases (e.g., malaria, dengue
fever) - Long-term impacts are less clear; some areas may experience more rainfall while others experience less
Why are tropical rainforests so important?
biodiversity
What are some of the largest contributors to deforestation? What is grassification?
Expansion of beef and soy
production has been a significant
contributor to rainforest deforestation
- Grassification: converting forests into
pasture
What are some differences in population distribution between Central and South America?
Major population clusters of C. America and Mexico are in interior plateaus and valleys, whereas interior lowlands of S. America are relatively empty
What proportion of the region’s population is urban today? Why is this different than what we might
expect?
What criteria determine whether a city is a primate city?
primate cities:
* Definition: when the largest city in a country has at least twice the population and at least twice
the significance of the next-largest city
What are some key elements of the Latin American city model?
- Core is CBD
- Elite commercial spine
- Middle & Lower Class
How have we seen population growth rates in L. America change over time?
High growth rates throughout the 20th
century due to natural increase as well as immigration
What effect did the Columbian exchange have on indigenous populations?
Within 150 years native populations were reduced to 1/10 their original size
* Influenza, smallpox, warfare, forced labor, and starvation among
major contributors
What are the 4 broad racial categories found in Latin America? Which group tends to be highly represented among the elites? Is this the same group that makes up most of the population?
- Blanco (European heritage)
- Mestizo (mixed heritage)
- Indio (indigenous heritage)
- Negro (African heritage)
* Blancos continue to be well-represented among the elites, but
the vast majority of the population is of mixed ancestry
What is the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino/a?
“Hispanic” refers to people with ancestry from Spanish-speaking countries, while “Latino/a” refers to people with ancestry from Latin America
What types of exports has the region typically specialized in? Why is this potentially not the best
long-term development strategy?
- nat. resources
- Commodity prices can be highly volatile; also not all resources are easily replenished
Why were neoliberal policies introduced in the 1990s unpopular in many cases?
seemed elites have to benefit the most
What is the difference between formal and informal labor?
- Formal = taxed, measured, regulated, “above board”, usually licit
(legal) - Informal= not taxed, hard to measure, “under the table”, can be
licit or illicit
What are remittances?
money sent back to families from workers located elsewhere
What is dollarization, and why might a country do this (in full or in part)? What is a major disadvantage?
when a country adopts the US dollar instead of (or in addition to) its own currency
* Reduces inflation and fears of currency devaluation and facilitates
trade, but you lose control of your own monetary policy
How does wealth inequality in L. America compare to the rest of the world, and why is this potentially
undesirable? What are some major contributing factors?
-Wealth inequality is estimated to be among the highest in the world
* Roots extend back to the colonial era; recent contributing factors include technological change and neoliberal policies
Why is widespread corruption a big problem?
Endemic corruption hampers economic
growth and trust in society
Historically, where have most Latin American migrants to North America come from? How has that
changed over time?
Previously the majority of Latin American migrants to N. America came from Mexico; increasingly migrants are also coming from Central America and Venezuela
Why do we prefer the term “undocumented” over “illegal”?
people themselves cannot be illegal
What are some major obstacles to legal migration for Latin American migrants?
-lack of proof of residence, financial barriers, language
