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INTRODUCTION TO MIDDLE AMERICA
DEFINING THE REALM MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, CARIBBEAN
ISLANDS
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES FRAGMENTED - PHYSICALLY AND POLITICALLY DIVERSE CULTURALLY – AFRICAN (CARIBBEAN),
NATIVE AMERICAN & SPANISH (MEXICO & CENTRAL AMERICA)
POVERTY IS ENDEMIC (LEAST DEV. IN THE AMERICAS
THE CARIBBEAN BASIN
The Greater Antilles Cuba Hispaniola – Haiti &
Dominican Rep. Jamaica Puerto Rico
The Lesser Antilles The smaller Islands, e.g.
Bahamas, etc.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY LAND BRIDGE ARCHIPELAGO (“ISLAND CHAIN”)
GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES (ABOUT 7,000 ISLANDS)
NATURAL HAZARDS EARTHQUAKES VOLCANOES HURRICANES MOST DANGEROUS REALM OF ALL!
I wonder why?
CULTURE HEARTH SOURCE AREAS FROM WHICH
RADIATED IDEAS, INNOVATIONS, AND IDEOLOGIES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD BEYOND.
STARTED IN WHAT IS NOW MEXICO
AZTECMAYA
MESOAMERICA (“MIDDLE”) CULTURE HEARTHS MAYA CIVILIZATION
3000 BC CLASSIC PERIOD 200-900 AD HONDURAS, GUATEMALA, BELIZE, YUCATAN
PENINSULA THEOCRATIC STRUCTURE
AZTEC CIVILIZATION 1300 AD VALLEY OF MEXICO TENOCHTITLAN (>100,000 PEOPLE)
THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM
LAND WAS APPROPRIATED - COLONIAL COMMERCIAL INTERESTS (MAP, PG 214)
LANDS PREVIOUSLY DEVOTED TO FOOD CROPS FOR LOCAL CONSUMPTION WERE CONVERTED TO CASH CROPPING FOR EXPORT
LAND ALIENATION INDUCES: FAMINE POVERTY MIGRATION LITTLE AGRICULTURAL DIVERSITY
MAINLAND / RIMLAND FRAMEWORK
MAINLAND EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE GREATER ISOLATION HACIENDA PREVAILED
RIMLAND EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE HIGH ACCESSIBILITY (surrounded by
oceans) PLANTATION ECONOMY
MAINLAND vs RIMLAND
LOCATION GREATER ISOLATION GREATER ACCESSIBILITY
CLIMATE ALTITUDINAL TROPICALZONATION
PHYSIOGRAPHY MOUNTAINS ISLANDS
CULTURE EURO / INDIAN EURO / AFRICAN
RACE MESTIZO MULATTO
LANDHOLDING HACIENDAS PLANTATIONPATTERNS
CULTIVATION LESS INTENSIVE MORE INTENSIVE, HENCE SLAVES
MAINLAND RIMLAND
HACIENDA vs PLANTATION
HACIENDA SPANISH INSTITUTION NOT EFFICIENT BUT BROUGHT
SOCIAL PRESTIGE WORKERS LIVED ON THE LAND
PLANTATION NORTHERN EUROPEAN ORIGINS EXPORT ORIENTED MONOCROPS IMPORTED CAPITAL AND SKILLS SEASONAL LABOR EFFICIENCY IS KEY
AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
PLANTATIONPLANTATIONPLANTATIONPLANTATION HACIENDAHACIENDAHACIENDAHACIENDA
•PRODUCTION FOR EXPORTPRODUCTION FOR EXPORT•SINGLE CASH CROPSINGLE CASH CROP•SEASONAL EMPLOYMENTSEASONAL EMPLOYMENT•PROFIT MOTIVE $$$PROFIT MOTIVE $$$•MARKET VULNERABILITYMARKET VULNERABILITY
EJIDOEJIDO
•DOMESTIC MARKETDOMESTIC MARKET•DIVERSIFIED CROPSDIVERSIFIED CROPS•YEAR ROUND JOBS YEAR ROUND JOBS •SMALL PLOT OF LANDSMALL PLOT OF LAND•SELF-SUFFICIENTSELF-SUFFICIENT
•SMALL SURPLUSESSMALL SURPLUSES•LAND “OWNERSHIP”LAND “OWNERSHIP”•COMMUNAL VILLAGECOMMUNAL VILLAGE•COLLECTIVECOLLECTIVE
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
MAQUILADORAS
Initiated in the 1960s
Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s
Today
>4,000 maquiladoras
>1.2 million employees
MAQUILADORAS
Maquiladora products
MAQUILADORAS
Electronic equipment Electric appliances Auto parts Clothing Furniture
Advantages Mexico gains jobs. Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs.
Disadvantages – U.S. Jobs Effects
Regional development Development of an international growth corridor
between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth
MAQUILADORAS
NAFTA
Effective 1 January 1994 Established a trade agreement between
Mexico, Canada and the US, which: Reduced and regulated trade tariffs (taxes),
barriers, and quotas between members Standardized finance & service exchanges
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.
Downside – cheap U.S. corn now floods Mexico, leading to bankruptcies among local farmers.
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.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Tropical Deforestation 3 million acres of woodland in Central America
disappear each year! (we’ll talk about Brazil in South America later)
What are the causes of tropical deforestation?
CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION
Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export
Population explosion: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood
Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture