The following Latin America PowerPoint slides were submitted by Col Penny (NC-939)

The following Latin America PowerPoint slides were

submitted byCol Penny (NC-939)

Latin America

Who is the President of Colombia?

Alvaro Uribe

Which current South American President was jailed in the early 90s for leading a coup against the government?

Hugo Chavez in Venezuela

What is significant about Manta, Ecuador?

It’s a Forward Operating Location in the war against drugs

Why should you care about Latin America?

Latin America is our closest neighbor to the southLatin America is one of our biggest trading partners and a huge market for US goodsMany Americans have ethnic roots in Latin America Latin America for the most part practices democracy just like us They play baseball just like usYou could find yourself serving there in the future

…well sorta like us…maybe better than us

Latin America

Overview/Background People, Culture and Religion Poverty in Latin America Crime and Violence Political Environment

Latin America

Cultural AwarenessSCIS Documentaries and Student PresentationsGuided Discussion Addressing U.S. Interests

Latin America

Background

Geography: To understand the culture of the region, it’s helpful to have an understanding of the geography and population distribution.

There are 33 states in Latin America and the Caribbean

It is 4000 miles from the Rio Grand River in the North to Argentina and Chile on the Southern tip of South America Rio Grand Gorge

Geography: continuedDespite its vastness South America is barely settledMost of the population lives within 100 miles of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Two of the world’s largest cities are located in Latin America: Mexico City, Mexico (27M) and Sao Paulo, Brazil (23M).

Background

Geography: continuedLarge cities are grossly overpopulated. Overpopulation of the key cities presents

huge challenges to Latin American governments:

Lack of infrastructure to support the population, overcrowding, unemployment, crime, and poverty are all exacerbated by the overwhelming population.Brazil recognized the problem and moved

its capital, Brasilia, inland in the 1960s

Background

People, Culture and Religion

People of Latin America

Latin America is made up of a very diverse populationMuch of the Latin American population can trace its roots to Europe and Africa Prior to the Spanish and Portuguese arrival in the 15th century, indigenous groups had built vast empires throughout Central and South America

Aztecs in central MexicoMayas in southern Mexico, Incas in western South America

•Between 25M and 100M Native Americans occupied Latin America when Spanish arrived in the 15th century

•When the indigenous population died off due to abuse, war and disease, slaves were brought from Africa

•Since the 16th century, Europeans and Native Americans have intermingled forming a large mestizo population in Latin America•The 20th century has seen a large increase in Chinese and Japanese immigrants to Latin America


Latin America is a multicultural society. Some of its more distinguishing characteristics are:

Machismo – What is expected of men in Latin American cultureMost common image is that of the Latin lover –tough, debonair, manly Less known attributes of machismo include: showing respect, behaving honorably, acting with dignity, being generous

Culture


CultureMarianismo – What is expected of women in the Latin American culture

Latin Americans honor and respect motherhoodLatin American women play a dominant role in family lifeLatin American families are mostly matriarchal in nature


Culture

Family – extremely important in Latin American culture

Family is extended and typically includes: parents, grandparents, godparents, cousins and even close friends -- all warrant respect

Attitude toward work, leisure & timeMany see the Latin Americans as the guy sleeping on the sidewalk with a sombrero pulled down over his head – implies laziness, slow – not true


Culture

Attitude toward work, leisure & time (cont)Latin Americans view time differently than North

Americans Latin Americans are rarely pressured by time, promptness means little, tomorrow is soon enough “Manana, manana” is the phrase often used throughout Latin America meaning tomorrow, tomorrow

Latin Americans work to gain money so they can better enjoy themselves.

Americans often work to make money so they can make more money.


Religion: Catholicism: 90% of Latin Americans are Catholic

45% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America Brazil (73% of a population of 183M is catholic) Mexico has the largest Catholic population in the world

Catholicism came to Latin America in the 16th century Spanish and Portuguese insisted the indigenous population convert to Catholicism—those who did not, were often killed

Catholic Church has been a major influence on politics, economics and social culture


Islam: Latin America is the home of a sizeable and diverse Muslim population. In recent years, Latin America has experienced a steady stream of Muslim migrants from the Middle East and South Asia As a result of intermarriage and conversion, Islam is becoming one of the fastest growing religions in Latin America

Religion:


Mosque in Guyana

Poverty in Latin America

Latin America Poverty is a primary U.S. interest 44% of 515M inhabitants live in poverty18.6% of the total population (Approximately 97M) is classified as extremely poor. Approximately 52M of those in the extremely poor category reside in urban areas and 45M reside in rural areas. 80% of the region’s 50M indigenous people (Approximately 40M) live below the poverty line

Latin American poverty--A primary U.S. Interest

•This overwhelming issue impacts the U.S. on multiple fronts

•Trade •Immigration

•The poverty also flows into another primary U.S. interest, the flow of drugs from the region•As long as the deplorable economic situation exists, people will resort to whatever means is necessary to survive, and that includes producing illegal drugs.


•Latin American Poverty•Poverty rates in Latin America are double those in the Middle East •Though the number of Latin America’s living in poverty decreased by 5% between 1990 and 1997, the percentage has not changed since 1997•Because the population continues to grow, the actual number of Latin American’s living in poverty has increased steadily since 1990


Root causes for Latin American poverty include:

Latin America has historically held a disadvantaged place in the global economySpain and Portugal were not interested in the development of the colonies and used the colonies as a source of wealth

Industrialization in the colonies was discouraged or banned


Region has the highest economic disparities in the world

In 2003, the richest 10% in Latin America and the Caribbean earned 48%--poorest 10% earned less than 2%

In Brazil, the poorest 40% of the landowners possess only 1% of the country’s arable land. 4.6M peasants own no land.

Social inequality in Latin America is also based on race and ethnic background.

In Brazil, people of African descent earn only 45% of the wages of their white counterparts

Political instability and corruption are impediments to reducing Latin American poverty


Crime and Violence

Latin America leads the world in most crime and violence categories.

“In recent years, Latin America has been identified as the most violent region on the planet, with a homicide rate three times the average for the rest of the world.” Rep Dan Burton, Subcommittee Chairman for the

House Committee on International Relations

Crime in Latin America, like other places, is linked closely with gang violence.

According to a Newswire article in April 2005, some of the most violent gangs in the Western Hemisphere operate in Central America and Mexico. In 2004, El Salvador’s national police reported that 60% of all homicides in El Salvador were gang related.

Crime and Violence

Latin America’s decrepit democracies are easy prey.

The court systems barely function in most countries; the police are often corrupt and uncooperative. Many politicians can be easily bribed and paramilitary positions are perceived as opportunities for self enrichment

Crime and Violence

“Latin America’s per capita gross domestic product would be 25% higher if the region’s crime rate were equal to the world’s average.” “Business associations in the region have identified crime as the number one issue negatively affecting trade and investment in Latin America.

Crime and Violence

Crime is not an easy problem to solve in Latin America and will continue to thrive where rule of law is weak, economic opportunity is scarce and education is poor. Factors contributing to high crime rates include:

Extreme inequality between rich and poorRapid and large scale urbanization with no supporting infrastructurePolice abuseCorruptionExclusion and lack opportunity for youthEasy access to guns, drugs and alcohol.

Crime and Violence

Democracy and Government

•Many government institutions in Latin American countries are weak and discredited.

•According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), 20% of government funds earmarked for spending are lost to corruption.•IDB further claims 10% of the region’s GDP is lost each year to corruption


Politics in Latin American is best described as a pendulum swinging between democracy and authoritarian rule

At the end of World War II, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Venezuela became democratic--Costa Rica survivedBy 1975 only Venezuela, Colombia and Costa Rica had democratically elected governments During the 80s, the pendulum swung back to democracy

Liberal Democracy Social Welfare Democracy Quasi Democracy


Challenges to Latin American Democracies

EconomicsUneven distribution of wealth creates threats to democracy from both the poor and the rich

Inability of state to provide the basic servicesAs the urban populations in the region grow, the ability of many governments to deliver basic services deteriorate

Weak administrative capacity Many Latin American elected officials come to office with little or no understanding of how to administer a country


Expectation of the votersPoliticians depend on the consent of the voters and often make promises they can’t deliver

Disloyal opposition Those in the country that do not want to see democracy succeed (i.e., military coups, drug traffickers and guerilla insurgents)

Military coups Haiti in 1991Venezuela in 1992 (led by current President, Hugo Chavez) and 2001 Ecuador in 2000 (led by Lucio Gutierrez, President of Ecuador, Jan 2003 – April 2005)



Drug TraffickersPrevalent in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Often bribe or threaten police and elected officials to escape prosecution and gain the freedom to operate outside the law Colombia produces nearly 90% of the cocaine and 60% of the heroin that is sold in the US



Colombian Drug Lord

Guerrilla movementsWhat often starts in response to inequality, repression of large sections of the population and loss of faith, especially among indigenous groups has developed into a money making operation closely tied to the drug trafficking



Che Guevara

Guerrilla movementsShining Path (Sendero Luminoso) A Maoist guerrilla insurgent organization in Peru. Its stated goal is to replace Peruvian bourgeois institutions with a communist peasant revolutionary regime


Guerrilla movementsFARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, it is Latin America’s oldest, largest, most capable and best equipped insurgency of Marxist origin


Guerrilla movementsELN (National Liberation Army) – ColombiaMarxist insurgent group formed in 1965 by urban intellectuals inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara.


Pablo Beltran ELN leader

Many in Latin America are losing their faith in democracy and turning to the left-leaning politicians

Populism – In many parts of the world, “populist” is used to describe a politician who seeks popularity through means disparaged as appealing to the baser instincts of votersPopulism—A political philosophy directed to the needs of the common people and advocating a more equitable distribution of wealth and power.


Latin America

Overview/BackgroundPeople, Culture and ReligionPoverty in Latin AmericaCrime and ViolencePolitical Environment

Latin AmericaSCIS Videos and

Student Presentations

Latin America

• Politics and Democracy– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

Latin America

• Politics and Democracy– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• Economic Development and Regional Integration– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• Economic Development and Regional Integration– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• The Environment– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• The Environment– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• Poverty, Human Rights and Social Change– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• Poverty, Human Rights and Social Change– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• U.S. Interests in Latin America – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Latin America

• U.S. Interests in Latin America – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

Documents

The following Latin America PowerPoint slides were submitted by Col Penny (NC-939)