Slide 1: Middle and South America
Chapter 3—Part 3 Human Patterns and Current History
Slide 2: Population Growth: Why were growth rates so high?
Until recently, most people worked agricultural jobs
Children helped in the fields, cared for aging parents Children had high mortality rates Catholic church discouraged family planning Men and women validated their masculinity or femininity through having more children
It’s taken a while for birth rates to slow and match lower death rates
Slide 3: Why are growth rates declining now?
In those areas where education, basic health care, and meaningful work are available, families are having fewer children Strong connection between education of women and the reduction of family size
Also influential: male/female equality of education Women in the work force The “costs” of raising children
Where poverty is more widespread, rates of natural increase are higher
Slide 4: Women in the Workforce
Why are so many women working?
Low cost, passive Women move to factory jobs when they are passed over for mechanized job training (farm machines) in agricultural regions In cities, they most often work in factories or as domestic servants
Slide 5: Men and Work
What do men do when they first move to urban areas?
Short-term, low-skill day work (construction, maintenance, small-scale manufacturing and commerce, street vendors, car washers, etc.) Some engage in crime (true of every place with poverty and high unemployment rates)
Slide 6: Migration and Urbanization
Primate City
• Vastly larger than other cities in the country/region • Account for as much as ¼ of the country’s population
Slide 7: (note the smog…)
Mexico City
Slide 8: Primate Cities
Vast numbers of people from rural and smaller urban areas flock to these large urban areas for work and opportunities
Brain drain! (may also occur from this region to another)
Wealth and power become concentrated The needs of other areas are overshadowed by primate cities
Uneven spatial development Urban bias
City infrastructure is unable to keep up with the influx
Slide 9: Where do people live in the city?
The Wealthy—Walled, guarded neighborhoods The Middle Class—Generally near the wealthy, not far from services (stores, etc.) The Working Class—Filling in the middle The Poor—Squatter settlements on the fringes or scattered throughout the city (in a park, along a railroad, next to an industrial center, etc.); often in less-than-desirable locations
CBD = Central Business District Where most of the commercial activity takes place
Slide 10: William Crowley’s model of urban land use in mainland Middle and South America
The pattern of squatter settlements in Vitória, Brazil
Slide 11: The Evolution of Squatter Settlements
Colonias, barrios, favelas, and barriadas
Slide 12: In Peru
Slide 13: Squatter community in Fortaleza, Brazil
Slide 14: Vila da Serra Squatter Settlement, Brazil
Slide 15: How do these settlements grow?
Middle of the night land grab Stealing water and power Political power of the poor
Why doesn’t the government kick them out? Agitating for resources—upgrading
Slowly able to improve their living conditions Becoming truly part of the city Redevelopment?
Slide 16: Economic Issues
Politics and economy have been inextricably linked in the region Colonial policies have crippled many of the countries in Middle and South America, even into the present day…
Slide 17: Three Phases of Middle and South American Economies
1.
Early extractive phase
Colonial period Mercantilist phase
2.
3.
Import Substitution Industrialization Phase Structural Adjustment Phase
Slide 18: Colonial Economies: The Early Extractive Phase
The Hacienda
Large, rural estates in the interior, granted to colonists as a reward for conquering territory and people for Spain, then passed down through the families of those colonists Produced crops for local consumption and some exports Rarely used all of the available land resources Locals worked as serfs; owners often lived in Europe
Slide 19: Colonial Economies: The Early Extractive Phase
The Plantation
Large, single-crop factory farms (sugar, coffee, cotton, bananas, etc.) Large investments in equipment and people (imported African slaves) Coastal locations w/ year-round growing seasons and access to transport
Slide 20: Colonial Economies: The Early Extractive Phase
Livestock ranches
Capitalizing on the European and N. American market for hides, meat, wool Cattle and sheep on grasslands and savannas, some cleared rainforest lands (not sustainable)
Mining
Metals and gemstones mined mainly in mountainous regions (oil and gas extraction important, today)
Slide 21: Colonial Economies: The Early Extractive Phase
Mercantilism
Spanish and Portuguese profits and extracted materials went back to Europe Finished goods were sent back to the colonies for trade Colonies were not allowed to trade with one another
This set the stage for the underground, informal economy, as well as rampant local corruption and a drastic disparity of wealth
Slide 22: Regional Independence Movements
Slide 23: Revolutionaries? Or Opportunists?
Who initiated many of the independence movements? (take a guess)
The elites! So they could stop bowing to Europe and take power for themselves.
Why?
Did they work to improve the economy?
Only where it lined their pocketbooks. Which is to say, not much. Perpetuation of the wealth and power gap
Slide 24: What happened to regional economies?
After independence, many of the extractive industries were bought up by wealthy European and N. American investors Profits continued to flow out of the country
Neocolonialism—Dominant countries further their own aims by attempting to control the economic and political affairs of other countries
Slide 25: The Import Substitution Industrialization Phase
Mid-1900s: Protests against local elites and foreign businesses
The rise of social democracy and new policies to weaken elite/foreign control Import substitution industrialization (ISI)
National governments seized control of extractive industries (sometimes payment was given) Profits were to be used to create local manufacturing and reduce dependency on imports from Europe/N.Am. High tariffs enacted on manufactured imports
Slide 26: Did it work?
Did not thoroughly transform economies, nor entirely reduce outside dependencies State-owned industries were unable to expand enough to increase exports, provide tax revenues for social programs, or provide jobs for migrants flooding cities People could not always afford the locally manufactured goods But with ISI, overall, they generally had better prospects than they do today—and things were improving
Slide 27: Some industries were a success…
Brazil
Aircraft, armament, auto Oil and gas Aluminum, oil and gas
Mexico
Venezuela
Current trend is marketoriented management and global competitiveness Dependence on raw goods exports continues
Slide 28: And then… DEBIT CRISIS
1970s oil crisis + drop in raw materials prices + continued national expansion of industry = big debts How did the governments of the region deal with the problem?
They borrowed money, of course! European and N. Am. banks…
Who did they borrow from?
Slide 29: The Power and Influence of the World Bank
• Created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1945 to help reconstruct Europe after WWII • Gives loans to countries • Major goals are: eliminating poverty, implementing sustainable development, ending corruption
Slide 30: Criticisms of the World Bank
Supports US business practices President of the World Bank is always an American, nominated by the President of the USA Bank has actually increased poverty and damaged the environment World Bank promotes western interests US has veto power on all decisions
Slide 31: The Debt Crisis Worsens
1980s: global recession + big debts = regional governments that can’t repay their loans Mexico and Argentina
The largest regional economies and best situated for growth were also the hardest hit because they had the biggest debts
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) steps in
Slide 32: IMF
Oversees the global financial system Headquartered in Washington DC Organization of 185 countries Goals: foster global economic cooperation, help international trade, reduce poverty, promote employment To provide short-term financial assistance to countries that are experiencing financial difficulties To approve a decision, 85% must vote yes United States voting power: 16%
Slide 33: IMF and SAPs
In order to qualify for IMF loans, the following policy changes, called Structural Adjustment Programs (SAPs) were mandated:
Believed these would achieve economic expansion which would allow debt repayment Remove tariffs on imports Encourage unregulated expansion of exports (mostly extractive) Fire civil servants Reduce spending on health, education, and infrastructure
Free trade and privatization
Reverse the expansion of social programs
Devalue local currency
Slide 34: Why devalue local currency?
“Devaluation makes their goods cheaper for foreigners to buy and theoretically makes foreign imports more expensive. In principle it should make the country wary of buying expensive foreign equipment. In practice, however, the IMF actually disrupts this by rewarding the country with a large foreign currency loan that encourages it to purchase imports.”
From: http://www.whirledbank.org/development/sap.html
Slide 35: SAPs
“Balancing national budgets can be done by raising taxes, which the IMF frowns upon, or by cutting government spending, which it definitely recommends. “As a result, SAPs often result in deep cuts in programmes like education, health and social care, and the removal of subsidies designed to control the price of basics such as food and milk.”
From: http://www.whirledbank.org/development/sap.html
Slide 36: SAPs
By devaluing the currency and simultaneously removing price controls, prices often rise three to four times, increasing poverty to such an extent that riots are a frequent result.
