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GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate Professor of Geography

GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate Professor of Geography. MIDDLE AMERICA. INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA. THE REALM MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY DIVERSE CULTURALLY POVERTY IS ENDEMIC.

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GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate Professor of Geography

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  1. GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate Professor of Geography Sriram

  2. MIDDLE AMERICA

  3. INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA • THE REALM • MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN ISLANDS • MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES • FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY • DIVERSE CULTURALLY • POVERTY IS ENDEMIC Sriram

  4. REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA Greater Antilles Mexico LesserAntilles Central America Sriram

  5. MIDDLE AMERICA Sriram

  6. Poverty • Home to the poorest countries of the Americas: • Haiti • Honduras • Nicaragua Sriram

  7. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY • LAND BRIDGE • ARCHIPELAGO • GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES • NATURAL HAZARDS • EARTHQUAKES • VOLCANOES • HURRICANES I wonder why? Sriram

  8. WORLD TECTONIC PLATES Sriram

  9. DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES & VOLCANOES Sriram

  10. WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America in October 1998 Sriram

  11. CULTURE HEARTH • SOURCE AREAS from which radiated ideas, innovations, and ideologies that changed the world beyond. Mesoamerica Hearths Aztecs Mayans Sriram

  12. MESOAMERICA • CULTURE HEARTHS • MAYA CIVILIZATION • CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD • HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN PENINSULA • THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE • AZTEC CIVILIZATION • 1300 AD • VALLEY OF MEXICO Sriram

  13. Sriram

  14. COLONIAL HERITAGE SPAIN FRANCE BRITAIN Sriram

  15. THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM • Land was appropriated - colonial commercial interests • Lands devoted to food crops for local consumption were convertedto cash croppingfor export • Land Alienationinduces: • Famine • Poverty • Migration • Little agricultural diversity Sriram

  16. COLONIAL SPHERES Sriram

  17. MAINLAND – RIMLAND DISTINCTION Sriram

  18. MAINLAND/RIMLAND FRAMEWORK • MAINLAND • EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE • GREATER ISOLATION • HACIENDA PREVAILED • RIMLAND • EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE • HIGH ACCESSIBILITY • PLANTATION ECONOMY Sriram

  19. MAINLAND vs RIMLAND MAINLAND RIMLAND Location greater isolation greater accessibility Climatealtitudinal tropical zonation Physiographymountains islands Culture Euro/Indian African-European Sriram

  20. HACIENDA vs PLANTATION • HACIENDA • SPANISH INSTITUTION • NOT EFFICIENT BUT SOCIAL PRESTIGE • WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND • PLANTATION • NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS • EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS • IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS • SEASONAL LABOR • EFFICIENCY IS KEY Sriram

  21. AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS Plantation • Production for export • Single cash crop • Seasonal Employment • Profit motive $$$ • “factory in the field” efficiency Sriram

  22. Natural Resources A major oil Producer: About 3.5 million barrels per day Saudia Arabia produces about 9 mil bpd

  23. MAQUILADORAS • Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s • Today • >4,000 maquiladoras • >1 million employees Sriram

  24. MAQUILADORAS • Modern industrial plants • Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw materials • Export the finished products • Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan) • 80% of goods reexported to U.S. • Tariffs limited to value added during assembly Sriram

  25. MAQUILADORAS • Maquiladora products • Electronic equipment • Electric appliances • Auto parts • Clothing • Furniture Sriram

  26. MAQUILADORAS • ADVANTAGES • Mexico gains jobs. • Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs. • EFFECTS • Regional development • Development of an international growth corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth Sriram

  27. MAQUILADORAS Tijuana Ciudad Juarez Nogales Chihuahua Reynosa Matamoros Monterrey Sriram

  28. GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER Sriram

  29. NAFTA • Effective 1 January 1994 • Established a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US, which: • Reduced and regulated trade tariffs, barriers, and quotas between members • Standardized finance & service exchanges Sriram

  30. NAFTA How has Mexico benefited from NAFTA? Sriram

  31. MEXICO AND NAFTA • Foremost, it promises a higher standard of living. • NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans as US companies begin to invest more heavily in the Mexican market. • Mexican exporters increase their sales to the US and Canada. • Is that the entire story? Sriram

  32. U.S. TRADE WITH CANADA & MEXICO • Canada remains as the United States’ largest export market. • Since 1977, Mexico has moved into second place (displacing Japan). • 85% of all Mexican exports now go to the United States. • 75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the United States. Sriram

  33. Sriram

  34. ECONOMIC TRENDS(Central America & the Caribbean) • Agriculture • Industry • Services • Tourism • Environmental Issues • Deforestation Sriram

  35. PRIMARY SECTOR DEPENDENCE • El Salvador • Agriculture accounts for 24% of GDP and 40% of the labor force and contributes to 60% of exports. • Economic losses because of guerrilla sabotage total $2 billion since 1979. • Honduras • Agriculture accounts for more than 25% of GDP, employs 62% of the labor force, and produces two-thirds of exports. • Economic loss because of natural disaster Sriram

  36. HIPC • Honduras and Nicaragua are on the HIPC list • Heavily indebted poor countries • The Initiative is designed to reduce debts to sustainable levels for poor countries that pursue economic and social policy reforms, • Used specifically in cases where traditional debt relief mechanisms will not be enough to help countries exit from the rescheduling process. Sriram

  37. The weight of debt • Nicaragua's external debt currently stands at 6.7 billion dollars.- 25% of the Nicaraguan budget is spent on debt payments • Contrast to … 14% on health care • 11% on education • Almost half the population falling below the poverty line. • High levels of infant mortality and maternal mortality, and a high level of infectious and parasitic diseases. • Malnutrition is widespread with around 20 per cent of children under five being chronically malnourished or stunted Sriram

  38. PRIMARY SECTOR DEPENDENCE • Dominican Republic (49% Agriculture) • Sugarcane, coffee, cotton, cocoa, and tobacco • Jamaica (22.5% Agriculture) • Sugar, bananas, and rum (Hurricane Gilbert -1988) • Cuba (20% Agriculture) • Sugar, tobacco, citrus, and coffee Sriram

  39. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones Sriram

  40. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION Middle & South America’s Vertical Climate Zones TIERRA CALIENTE (Hot Land) Bananas, Cocoa, Sugar, Rice 2500’ 750 m Sea Level Sea Level Sriram

  41. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION TIERRA TEMPLADA (Temperate Land) Coffee, Rice, Corn, Sugar 6,000’ 1800 m 2000’ 600 m Sea Level Sea Level Sriram

  42. ALTITUDINAL ZONATION TIERRA FRIA (Cold Land) Corn, Wheat, Potato 12,000’ 3,600 m 6,000’ 2,000 m 2000’ 600 m Sea Level Sea Level Sriram

  43. THE TOURISM OPTION • Antigua and Barbuda • Direct contribution of 13% to GDP and affects growth in other sectors • The Bahamas • Tourism alone provides 50% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs 40% of the population. • Cuba • Growing industry Sriram

  44. ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS • Tropical Deforestation • 3.5 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year! Sriram

  45. CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION • Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export • Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture • Population growth: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood Sriram

  46. Internal Wars • Nicaragua • Sandinistas v. Contras • Panama • Remember Manuel Noriega? • Honduras • Drawn into conflicts in Nicaragua and El Salvador • El Salvador • 12-year civil war ends in 1992 • Guatemala • A peace agreement in 1996 ends a 36-year civil war • Costa Rica? • The only stable country • Best standards of living in the region • Intel comes to town … Sriram

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