Global Studies: Latin America
Using Global Studies: Latin America
Selected World Wide Web Sites
U.S. Statistics and Map
Canada Statistics and Map
Global Map Latin America: Myth and RealityMexico: On the Verge of Change?Central America: Lands in Turmoil
Country Reports:
Belize
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama South America: An Imperfect Prism
Country Reports:
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela The Caribbean: Sea of Diversity
Country Reports:
Antigua and Barbuda
The Bahamas
Barbados
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Grenada
Haiti
Jamaica
St. Kitts–Nevis
St. Lucia
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago Articles from the World PressRegional Articles1. Female Leaders on Rise in Central, South America, Jack Chang, The Hartford Courant, October 25, 2007. Despite Latin America’s reputation as a patriarchal society, women have made startling inroads not only in higher education but also as national political leaders. Slower progress has been made in the business sphere. 2. Latin America’s Left Turn, Jorge G. Castañeda, Foreign Affairs, May/June 2006. “Latin America is swerving left, and distinct backlashes are under way against the predominant trends of the last 15 years: free-market reforms, agreement with the United States on a number of issues, and the consolidation of representative democracy.” 3. Reform and Corruption in Latin America, Kurt Weyland, Current History, February 2006. “Some level of corruption is endemic to the region’s states almost regardless of their economic policies. . . . There is some hope for improvement, however.” 4. Latin America’s Resurgence, Anoop Singh and Charles Collyns, Finance and Development, December 2005. “Today the region is in the midst of an election cycle that will set the policy agenda and shape the continent for years to come.” 5. Latin America’s Indigenous Peoples, Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos, Finance and Development, December 2005. “Over the past decade, significant political and policy changes have occurred with potential bearing on poverty and human development outcomes among indigenous peoples.” Yet much remains to be done. 6. The Lost Continent, Moisés Naím, Foreign Policy, November/December 2006. “For decades Latin America’s weight in the world has been shrinking. It is not an economic powerhouse, a security threat, or a population bomb. . . . The region will not rise until it ends its search for magic formulas.” 7. Stuck in a Rut, Jaime Saavedra and Omas S. Arias, Finance and Development, December 2005. Latin American recovery from the economic and political crises of the 1990s and early 2000s has been slowed by persistent poverty and inequality. Priority must be given to “poverty reduction strategies.” 8. Latin America’s Drug Problem, Michael Shifter, Current History, February 2007. “With violence mounting in Mexico and Brazil, and a real risk of deterioration spreading across much of the region, dealing with the drug crisis clearly requires a sharper focus and more imaginative approaches.” 9. China’s Latin Leap Forward, Joshua Kurlantzick, World Policy Journal, Fall 2006. China has enjoyed considerable success in achieving its goals in Latin America: improving China’s “global image, isolating Taiwan, and securing access to commodities. . . .” China has made few “difficult demands” on the region and Latin America has benefited “from aid, investment, and diplomacy without having to make significant sacrifices to win Beijing’s favor.” Mexico Articles10. An Early Harvest for Calderón, The Economist, April 7, 2007. Despite a contentious and disputed election, Mexico’s new president has a “sharp sense of priorities” and has achieved some laudable reforms. Central America Articles11. Youth, Violence, and Democracy, Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, Current History, February 2007. “The . . . deportation of large groups of people back to Central America appears to have created a generation of youth who do not have clear ties either to North American communities . . . or to their communities in El Salvador or Honduras.” Accordingly, they form youth gangs, which are targeted by governments in a way that threatens the “progress of both human rights and democracy.” 12. Shade Coffee & Tree Cover Loss, Allen Blackman, Beatriz Ávalos-Sartorio, and Jeffrey Chow, Environment, September 2007. “In Central America, shade coffee has often helped to preserve tree cover, along with the ecological services it provides, in areas that are under pressure from ranchers, farmers, loggers, and developers. Over the past two decades . . . declining international coffee prices, rapid urbanization, and other factors have undermined shade coffee’s ability to play this role. . . .” South America Articles13. Slaking a Thirst for Justice, The Economist, April 14, 2007. Courts in Argentina and Chile are finally bringing a sense of closure to those who suffered directly or indirectly from atrocities perpetrated by the military regimes of the 1970s and early 1980s. 14. The Return of Populism, The Economist, April 15, 2006. “A much-touted move to the left masks something more complex: the rebirth of an influential Latin American political tradition” that was born in the 1920s and persisted until the 1960s. 15. Venezuelan Women’s Organizing, Sara Yassky, Z Magazine, September 2006. The Venezuelan government’s good intentions with regard to empowering women at times lack a connection with the people they are trying to help. “Empowerment does not come from laws and government programs.” 16. Liberating Pachamama, Daphne Eviatar, Dissent, Spring 2006. A peasant perspective on Bolivia’s economic future argues that a revolution is needed that will defeat transnational companies and “Latifundios.” “The only way to save democracy is to create our own ideological direction” that is neither capitalist nor neoliberal. “We want a communitarian system, a system from out ancestors.” 17. Latin America’s New Petro-Politics, Nadia Martinez, Multinational Monitor, January/February 2007. Latin America’s nations have increasingly exercised greater control over their natural resources. Oil and natural gas have been “renationalized” and are used for political leverage. 18. Racial Disparities Threaten Economic Vitality, Peter Ortiz, DiversityInc, September 2006. “Underlying Brazil’s success are huge disparities in employment and income for the largely undereducated and poverty-stricken population of Afro-Brazilians, who . . . make up nearly half the country’s . . . citizens.” 19. Are You Driving on Blood Fuel?, Kelly Nicholls and Stella Campos, The Ecologist, 2007. “The UK and Europe’s demand for carbon-saving biofuel is leaving a trail of human and environmental devastation in its wake” in Colombia. 20. This Village Could Save the Planet, Paul Kaihla, Business 2.0, October 2007. An examination of how the village of Gaviotas became a model community of “sustainable development in the parched Colombian lowlands.” Caribbean Aricles21. A ‘Test-Drive’ Transfer of Power?, Karen DeYoung and Manuel Roig-Franzia, The Washington Post, August 2, 2006. Fidel Castro’s health crisis prepared the way for the succession of his brother, Raúl, as President of Cuba. Raúl is pragmatic and less ideologically committed than his brother. He understands the need to build consensus—but he can also be ruthless.
Glossary of Terms and Abbreviations
Bibliography
Index
