Theme 3 : Geographical Issues on a Continental Scale

North and South America

The Americas: fractures,

competition & integration – The American

Continent between

tensions and regional

integration

The Americas: Power of the North

and Assertion

of the South

Challenges of

Integration of the

Americas

Key questions:• To what extent does the American

continent portray a model of unequal development?

• How extensive is North and South American integration?

• To what extent does Brazil pose a threat to American hegemony on a continental or global scale?

A. North America: Major Pole of the Triad

1. US and Canada - two major powers of North America– Trade between the 2 nations has

doubled since the creation of NAFTA in 1994

– Competition remains strong • Heavy industry, automobile, lumber

– Canadian economy very dependent on US market

Canadian Trade Statistics

2. US economy the most powerful and most diversified in the world– On continental scale, the U.S. embodies

an attractive model of a superpower giant

– Top investors in the continent, esp in Canada & MexicoChart Title

Real Estate14%

State/Local Govt10%

Finance, In-surance

9%

Health/Social Care9%

Durable Manufacturing6%Retail

6%

Wholesale6%

Non-durable manufacturing

6%

Fed Govt5%

Information4%

Arts/entertainment4%

Construction4%

Waste services3%

Other services3%

Utilities2%

Mining2%

Corporate Management2% Education services

1%Agriculture

1%

US Economy by Sector 2011

3. Canada: rich in natural resources and major exporter of raw materials– SE Canada contains major

metropolises (Toronto & Montreal)– Its extensive integration in the US

contributed to the emergence of a vast cross-border region referred to as Main Street by French geographers

Canada’s Industrial Heartland• Most of Canada’s Industries are Located near the St. Lawrence Lowlands and these 4 cities:– Quebec City– Montreal– Ottawa– Toronto

• Huge labor population• Near a great source of water

for manufacturing and power• 60% of Canada's wealth is located in these areas• Services: 83% of people live in cities

Canada’s Huge Heartland•agricultural•mining (iron, copper, nickel, uranium)•Energy (hydroelectricity, petroleum)

B. Integration of emerging countries in globalization1. Brazil stands out as the regional

power of South America– 1st country in FDI on the subcontinent,

acts as a counterweight to US domination

– Marked by major social inequalities

2. Mexico, Argentina and Chili sometimes referred to as “Jaguars”• Mexico– 1st foreign investor 2nd recipient of FDI in Latin

America– Proximity of US

• asset (exports) & drawback (dependence)– Role model of insertion in the world economy

• Chile (Copper, fruit) & Argentina (Wheat, soy bean)– Major exporters of raw materials and agricultural

foodstuffs

3. Venezuela, Colombia & Perudependent on exporting raw materials (rent economies)• Venezuela– 7th world petroleum exporter– Holds largest oil reserves on the planet

• Peru– GDP tripled from 2000 to 2010

• Colombia– Exports coffee and coal

Video: BBC Latin American boom 0-2’20

GDP of Countries in N. & S. America

Source: IMF, World Bank,

2015

CountryUnited StatesCanadaBrazil

GDP ppp in million $18,560,000

1,532,3403,259,000

GDP per capita56,116.0043,249.0015,941.00

Mexico 2,224,000 18,370.00Argentina 953,029 22,459.00Colombia 682,977 14,164.43Venezuela 550,226 17,430.39Chile 431,802 24,170.03Peru 403,322 12,638.84Ecuador 192,728 11,839.19Guatemala 125,318 7,704.20Panama 83,421 21,634.56Costa Rica 75,138 15,534.03Bolivia 74,836 6,530.17Uruguay 73,056 21,387.31

Paraguay 61,587 8,776.30

Haiti 19,576 1,846.12

GDP of Countries in North and South America

Country GDP/capita (dollars)The USA 47,283Canada 46,214Uruguay 11,997

Chili 11,827Brazil 10,817

Mexico 9,565Argentina 9,138Colombia 6,273

Bolivia 1,858Nicaragua 1,126

Haiti 672

Source: IMF 2010

Demographic and Social Indicators 2011

North America

Central America

Caribbean South America

Birth rate (%) 12 21 18 18Infant Death Rate (%) 6 17 32 19Fertility rate (# children per woman)

1.9 2.4 2.4 2.1Life expectancy at birth

79 76 72 74Proportion of under 15 yr olds (%)

19 31 27 27

Source: Population et sociétés, n° 503, INED, September 2013)

HDI (Human Development Index) 2012

USA 0.937 Haiti 0.456Canada 0.911

World Average

0.693Latin America and Caribbean

0.740

Source: Human Development Report 2013, UNDP

Gini coefficient• Expressed as a number between 0 and

1 (or between 0 and 100)• 0 meaning perfect equality of income

distribution • The higher the number, the more

unequal the wealth distribution

GINI COEFFICIENT INDEX1. CANADA 33.7 10. PARAGUAY 482. U.S.A. 41.1 11. MEXICO 48.13. URUGUAY 41.3 12. COSTA RICA 48.64. EL SALVADOR 41.8 13. CHILE 50.85. ARGENTINA 43.6 14. PANAMA 51.96. PERU 45.3 15. GUATEMALA 52.47. DOMINICAN

REPUBLIC45.7 16. BRAZIL 52.7

8. BOLIVIA 46.6 17. COLUMBIA 53.59. ECUADOR 46.6 18. HONDURAS 57.4

Source: World Bank, 2012

C. Periphery Countries falling behind in development

1. Several Latin American countries are dominated peripheries– Some benefit from price explosions in raw

materials & rising demand for exports from Asian markets• Trinidad & Tobago – petroleum

– Majority suffer from weak economies with no added value • Tropical fruit, aquaculture in Ecuador and Central

America• Single export countries – e.g. Bauxite from Surinam

2. Major gap separating countryside from the city– Agriculture unequally competitive & often

for self-consumption– Previously flourishing in Cuba, severely

affected by fall of USSR & US embargo (now lifted)

– Coca crops for cocaine trafficking both an alternative and a blight

3. The Poorest Populations and States excluded from the globalized economy– Haiti one of least developed countries– Indigenous populations (60% in Bolivia

& Guatemala) first people struck by poverty

– Corruption slows down development– Natural disasters add to the vulnerable

situation (cyclones, earthquakes in Haiti & Honduras)

Poverty Rates in South America

•End of 20th C. more than 40% population below poverty rate

•Since 21st C, been reduced to 33%

•Chili: poverty rate cut in half, now less than 15%

•10 million Latin Americans middle class consumers

Summing it all up• Video: 3’24How are the Americas interconnected?