Latin America Vocab Flashcards
Terraced farming
A farming method in which steep hillsides are fashioned into a step-like series of level terraces
Slash and burn agriculture
An agricultural technique that involves cutting and burning of forests to create fields
Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI)
A Mexican political party that held power in the country
Mestizo
A mixed race consisting the Spaniard race and the American Indian race
Immigration
The action of coming to live permanently in a foreign country
Emigration
Leave one’s own country in order to settle permanently in another
Maquiladora
A factory in Mexico run by a forge in company and exporting its products to the country of that company
Panama Canal
A canal across Panama that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans
Informal economy
A part of an economy that is not taxed, monitored, or included in GNP
Treaty of Tordesillas
A treaty that divided the newly discovered lands between Portugal and Spain
Pampas
Treeless plains in South America
Llanos
A treeless, grassy plain
Amazon River
A major South American River; the world’s second longest river
Deforestation
Clearing an area of forests or trees
Global warming
A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere
Debt-for-nature swap
A transaction in which a foreign exchange debt is transferred to another organization on the condition that the country use local currency for a designated purpose
Oligarchy
A small group of people having control of a country, organization, or institution
Junta
A military or political group that rules a country after taking power by force
Caudillo
A military or political leader
Land reform
The statutory division of agricultural land and its reallocation to landless people
Income gap
Economic inequality is the difference between individuals or populations in the distribution
Mercosur
A customs union between Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay
