GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate Professor of Geography

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

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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

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

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

25. 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

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

27. 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

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

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

30. 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

31. NAFTA How has Mexico benefited from NAFTA? Sriram

32. 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

33. 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

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

36. 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

37. 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

38. 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

39. 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

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

41. 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

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

43. 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

44. 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

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

46. 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

47. 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