MIDDLE AMERICA I

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GEOG 310 Middle America Sriram Khé Associate
Professor of Geography
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MIDDLE AMERICA
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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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REGIONS OF MIDDLE AMERICA
Greater Antilles
Mexico
Lesser Antilles
Central America
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MIDDLE AMERICA
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Poverty

• Home to the poorest countries of the Americas
• Haiti
• Honduras
• Nicaragua

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PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

• LAND BRIDGE
• ARCHIPELAGO
• GREATER AND LESSER ANTILLES
• NATURAL HAZARDS
• EARTHQUAKES
• VOLCANOES
• HURRICANES

I wonder why?
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WORLD TECTONIC PLATES
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DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKES VOLCANOES
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WORLD HURRICANE TRACKS
Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America in
October 1998
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CULTURE HEARTH

• SOURCE AREAS from which radiated ideas,
  innovations, and ideologies that changed the
  world beyond.

Mesoamerica Hearths Aztecs Mayans
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MESOAMERICA

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

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COLONIAL HERITAGE
SPAIN
FRANCE
BRITAIN
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THE LEGACY OF COLONIALISM

• Land was appropriated - colonial commercial
  interests
• Lands devoted to food crops for local consumption
  were converted to cash cropping for export
• Land Alienation induces
• Famine
• Poverty
• Migration
• Little agricultural diversity

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COLONIAL SPHERES
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MAINLAND RIMLAND DISTINCTION
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MAINLAND/RIMLAND FRAMEWORK

• MAINLAND
• EURO-INDIAN INFLUENCE
• GREATER ISOLATION
• HACIENDA PREVAILED
• RIMLAND
• EURO-AFRICAN INFLUENCE
• HIGH ACCESSIBILITY
• PLANTATION ECONOMY

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MAINLAND vs RIMLAND
MAINLAND
RIMLAND

• Location greater isolation greater accessibility
• Climate altitudinal tropical
• zonation
• Physiography mountains islands
• Culture Euro/Indian African-European

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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

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AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTIONS
Plantation

• Production for export
• Single cash crop
• Seasonal Employment
• Profit motive
• factory in the field efficiency

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

• Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of
  industries in the 1970s
• Today
• gt4,000 maquiladoras
• gt1 million employees

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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

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MAQUILADORAS

• Maquiladora products

• Electronic equipment
• Electric appliances
• Auto parts
• Clothing
• Furniture

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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

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MAQUILADORAS
Tijuana
Ciudad Juarez
Nogales
Chihuahua
Reynosa
Matamoros
Monterrey
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GDP PER CAPITA ALONG THE US-MEXICAN BORDER
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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

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NAFTA
How has Mexico benefited from NAFTA?
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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?

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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 Mexicos imports originate in the United
  States.

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ECONOMIC TRENDS (Central America the Caribbean)

• Agriculture
• Industry
• Services
• Tourism
• Environmental Issues
• Deforestation

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle South Americas Vertical Climate Zones
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
Middle South Americas Vertical Climate Zones
TIERRA CALIENTE (Hot Land) Bananas, Cocoa, Sugar,
Rice
2500
750 m
Sea Level
Sea Level
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ALTITUDINAL ZONATION
TIERRA TEMPLADA (Temperate Land) Coffee, Rice,
Corn, Sugar
6,000
1800 m
2000
600 m
Sea Level
Sea Level
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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
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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

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ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

• Tropical Deforestation
• 3.5 million acres of woodland in Central America
  disappear each year!

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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

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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