Region: Americas

Question 1

Who is Venezuela’s president since 2013?

Answer 1

Nicolás Maduro

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/04/25/nicolas-maduro-venezuelas-autocrat-is-winning

Question 2

How has the economy fared under Marduro?

Answer 2

Collapsed by 75%

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/04/25/nicolas-maduro-venezuelas-autocrat-is-winning

Question 3

Have the Venezuelan people stayed in their coutnty as the economy collapsed?

Answer 3

A quarter of the population have emmigrated

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/04/25/nicolas-maduro-venezuelas-autocrat-is-winning

Question 4

Who was Venezuela’s leader before Marduro?

Answer 4

Hugo Chavez

Question 5

What is current inflation level in Venezuela?

Answer 5

500%

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/04/25/nicolas-maduro-venezuelas-autocrat-is-winning

Question 6

Who leads Columbia and what did he do prior?

Answer 6

Gustavo Petro
Formerly M-19 guerilla

https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/04/25/nicolas-maduro-venezuelas-autocrat-is-winning

Question 7

What is the capital of Venezuela?

Answer 7

Caracas

Question 8

What are the four largest countries in the world by land mass?

Answer 8

1. Russia (double the size of…)
2. Canada and
3. USA (which are slightly larger than…)
4. China

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Question 9

How many timezones does Russia span?

Answer 9

11

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Question 10

What is GDP of USA?

Answer 10

$27 tn (2023)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)

Question 11

What percentage of GDP does USA contribute to the world?

Answer 11

20-25%

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Question 12

What regions make up the Western Hempisphere?

Answer 12

North, South, Central America and the Caribbean

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Question 13

How many people live in the Americas?

Answer 13

Over 1 billion

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Question 14

Which country has the largest proven oil reserves?

Answer 14

Venezuela

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Question 15

Which countries in the Americas are nuclear powers?

Answer 15

Only USA

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Question 16

Which region has the highest homicide rate?

Answer 16

Americas

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Question 17

What are 3 features of a democracy?

Answer 17

• Independent judiciary
• Free press
• Fair elections

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Question 18

Is the Americas now more democratic or authoritarian?

Answer 18

Balance is for democracy
E.g. Chile, Argentina, Brazil

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Question 19

Describe Cuba’s current political system

2 features

Answer 19

Communist, non-democratic

Led by Miguel Díaz-Canel

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Question 20

Which 2 countries divided much of the New World (Americas) between them?

Answer 20

Spain and Portugal

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Question 21

Why did Spain, Portugal leave their Americas colonies?

Answer 21

Because of wars they were fighting against Napolean in the early C19

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Question 22

What was the Monroe Doctrine (1823)?

Answer 22

American opposition to Europeans colonizing the Americas

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Question 23

Which person initiated the building of the Panama Canal? Seen as the father of the canal.

Answer 23

President Theodore Roosevelt
…
“I took the Isthmus, started the canal and then left Congress not to debate the canal, but to debate me”

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Question 24

Which guerilla overthrew the corrupt Cuban government in 1959?

Answer 24

Fidel Castro

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Question 25

In 1959 a CIA-led force invaded Cuba, to overthrow the Communist govenment (it failed). This was known as...

Answer 25

The Bay of Pigs Invasion ## Footnote p148

Question 26

USA stood up to Soviets when they wanted to install nuclear warheads in Cuba. This is known as ...

Answer 26

The Cuban Missile Crisis ## Footnote p148

Question 27

When was the Falklands War?

Answer 27

1982 ## Footnote p150

Question 28

The most problematic country in the Americas is

Answer 28

Venezuela ## Footnote p150

Question 29

What are the problems of Brazil?

Answer 29

* Endemic corruption * Large pulbic sector that cannot be sustained ## Footnote p150

Question 30

What are the 3 coutnries of the Northern Triangle?

Answer 30

Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador ## Footnote p150

Question 31

Canada has the --- largest economy in the world

Answer 31

Tenth ## Footnote p150

Question 32

Which countries are part of NAFTA?

Answer 32

Canada, USA, Mexico ## Footnote p152

Question 33

Who succeeded Bolsanaro as president of Brazil?

Answer 33

Lula da Silva ## Footnote p152

Question 34

What changes did Trump make to NAFTA in 2020, and give an example?

Answer 34

Made the agreement more favourable to the USA e.g. raised the requirement for North American content for cars to have zero tariff ## Footnote Web

Question 35

What's the issue with Brazil and climate change?

Answer 35

Will they do enough to protect the Amazon rainforest (important in the fight against climate change)? ## Footnote p153

Question 36

What are the four countries in the Americas where citizens are fleeing from, thousands a day?

Answer 36

Venezuela, and Northern Triangle - Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala | (Due to violence, poverty, political instability) ## Footnote p153

Question 37

Draw a map of the Americas

Answer 37

* see map

Question 38

How does Milei (Argentina) describe his politics?

Answer 38

anarcho-capitalism ## Footnote https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/11/23/javier-milei-will-be-argentinas-first-libertarian-president

Question 39

What has been Argentina's main political system in the last 20 years?

Answer 39

Peronism | 16 out of 20 ## Footnote https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/11/23/javier-milei-will-be-argentinas-first-libertarian-president

Question 40

Name 3 of Argentina's economic problems

Answer 40

* Inflation above 140% * 15 different exchange rates * Defaulted many times on sovereign debt (2001, 14, 20) * External financing is mostly closed * Covers its deficit by printing money * Complex capital, price, trade controls ## Footnote https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2023/11/23/javier-milei-will-be-argentinas-first-libertarian-president