Agriculture
• Latifundia and Minifundia Large
agricultural estates owned by wealthy
families or corporations are called
latifundia. 
• These highly mechanized commercial
operations produce high yields in return
for low labor costs.
(pages 237–238)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Splash Screen
Agriculture
Section 1-6
Agriculture
(cont.)
• Small government-owned farms on
which rural farmers grow crops for their
families are called minifundia. 
• Campesinos have begun combining
their farms into large, jointly run
cooperatives.
(cont.)
• Cash Crops and Livestock Latin
American countries are the world’s
largest producers of coffee, bananas,
and sugarcane for export. 
• Argentina, Mexico, and Brazil raise
cattle for export on large ranches in
grasslands areas. 
• Countries are at economic risk,
however, if weather or other disasters
destroy their cash crops.
(pages 237–238)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(pages 237–238)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 1-8
Section 1-9
Industry
Industry (cont.)
• Industrial Growth Latin America’s
physical geography–high mountain
ranges and dense rain forests–has
made the growth of industry and
access to natural resources difficult
in many areas. 
• Countries with relatively stable
governments and sufficient human
and natural resources have begun
to overcome these obstacles.
• Political instability in some Latin
American countries has made foreign
investors wary of investing in Latin
American industry.
(pages 238–240)
(pages 238–240)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 1-11
Section 1-12
1
Industry (cont.)
Trade and Interdependence
• Maquiladoras Foreign-owned factories
called maquiladoras–most of which are
built along the U.S.-Mexico border–
provide jobs to people in the host
country. 
• NAFTA By encouraging trade among the
United States, Mexico, and Canada, the
North American Free Trade Agreement
(NAFTA) has strengthened Mexico’s
economy. 
• They also benefit the foreign corporations
by allowing them to hire low-cost labor
and provide duty-free exports. 
• Other Latin American countries are
watching to see whether a free trade
agreement like NAFTA could help their
economies as well.
• On the other hand, the maquiladoras
also keep wages down, may encourage
dangerous jobs, and often pollute the
environment.
(pages 238–240)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(page 240)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 1-13
Trade and Interdependence
Section 1-15
Transportation
(cont.)
• Foreign Debts Many Latin American
countries have used loans from foreign
countries to finance industrial
development. 
• Latin America’s physical geography has
limited the building of roads, but the
region does have a major highway
system, the Pan-American Highway. 
• The economic troubles of the 1980s
caused many of these countries to
restructure their loans to allow more
time to repay, but at a higher total cost.
• A trans-Andean highway runs through
the Andes and links cities in Chile and
Argentina.

• Repayment of foreign debt, in turn,
caused needed domestic programs to
be halted in some countries for lack of
funds.
(page 240)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(pages 240–241)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 1-17
Section 1-19
Transportation (cont.)
Communications
• Some Latin American countries have good
railroads; other countries lack the funds to
maintain their rail systems. 
• As a result, inland waterways such as the
Amazon River, the Paraná-Paraguay
Rivers, and the Panama Canal are still
major transport routes for both
passengers and cargo. 
• Air travel will help overcome the obstacles
of Latin America’s physical geography, but
it remains a relatively expensive mode of
transportation for most Latin Americans.
• Communications networks are still
developing in many countries of Latin
America. 
• Newspapers, radio, and television may
be censored during political unrest. 
• Few Latin Americans own phones or
computers, although some countries
are beginning to provide public access
to the Internet.
(pages 240–241)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(page 241)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 1-20
Section 1-22
2
Managing Rain Forests
• Latin American rain forests are gradually
disappearing. 
• More than 13 percent of the Amazon
rain forest has been destroyed for
roads, settlements, and mining. 
• Deforestation threatens the lifestyles
of indigenous people and risks the
extinction of many species of plants and
animals that grow or live nowhere else.
(pages 242–244)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
End of Section 1
Managing Rain Forests
Section 2-6
Managing Rain Forests
(cont.)
(cont.)
• As the rain forest is depleted, there are
fewer trees to absorb carbon dioxide,
a greenhouse gas that is increasingly
trapping more heat in the atmosphere
and contributing to global warming. 
• Farms and Ranches Versus Forests
Slash-and-burn farming–clearing land
by cutting and burning vegetation–
results in depleted soil that can be used
for only a year or two. 
• Brazil and other rain forest countries
are working to provide for the needs
of their populations–living space and
natural resources–without further
destroying the rain forest.
• Farmers and ranchers then move on
and clear more land.
(pages 242–244)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(pages 242–244)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 2-7
Managing Rain Forests
Section 2-8
Urban Environments
(cont.)
• Planting for the Future Commercial
logging operations also destroy the rain
forest. 
• Brazil has set aside about 10 percent of
its Amazon rain forest for national
forests or parks in which logging is
banned. 
• Citizens in Costa Rica are working to
conserve their forests, as well. 
• Reforestation, along with new farming,
mining, and logging methods can
protect the forests.
(pages 242–244)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
• Overcrowded Cities As Latin America’s
rural workers migrate to cities, they often
cannot find adequate housing or jobs. 
• Some are forced to live in makeshift
slums and shantytowns, where
diseases spread rapidly because of the
lack of sanitation systems or running
water. 
• Many countries have no clean air laws,
making air pollution a serious problem
for people in these cities.
(pages 244–245)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 2-9
Section 2-11
3
Urban Environments
Regional and International Issues
(cont.)
• Building a Better Life National and
local governments, international
agencies, and grassroots efforts have
begun to help Latin American countries
address the problems of their
overcrowded cities.
• Disputed Borders In Latin America
many territorial disputes have occurred,
usually over the rights to natural
resources.
(pages 244–245)
(pages 245–247)
Section 2-12
Section 2-14
Regional and International Issues
(cont.)
Regional and International Issues
(cont.)
• However, many skilled workers who
might otherwise remain in their home
countries and help address many
problems are emigrating from Latin
America.
• Governments in the region are
cooperating to help Latin Americans
prepare for and anticipate emergencies
rather than reacting after the fact.
• Population Growth and Migration
High birthrates that contribute to
overpopulation in some Latin American
countries have begun to slow down. 
• Disaster Preparedness Physical
geography makes Latin America
especially vulnerable to natural disasters
such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions,
and hurricanes. 
(pages 245–247)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
(pages 245–247)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 2-15
Section 2-16
Regional and International Issues
(cont.)
• Industrial Pollution Environmental
laws have not kept up with the growth
of industry and commercial farms. 
• Air and water pollution have increased.

• Chemical runoff is now crossing borders
and threatening neighbor countries.
(pages 245–247)
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Section 2-18
End of Section 2
4
Section 1: Living in Latin America
(pages 237–241)
Section 1: Living in Latin America
(pages 237–241)
• Latin America’s economy is based on the
export of agricultural products. 
• Geographic and economic realities have
presented obstacles to developing
transportation and communications in the
region.
Key Points
• A small group of wealthy families or businesses
owns a large percentage of the agricultural land
in Latin America. 
Key Points
• The economy of many Latin American countries
is linked to one or two cash crops. 
• The maquiladora system, trade agreements,
and international borrowing are attempts to
speed the industrialization of many Latin
American countries.
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Chapter Summary 1
Chapter Summary 2
Section 2: People and Their
Environment (pages 242–247)
Section 2: People and Their
Environment (pages 242–247)
Key Points
Key Points
• A key challenge for the Latin American region
is sustainable development. 
• Damage to the Amazon rain forest has both
local and global consequences. 
• Slash-and-burn cultivation contributes to Latin
America’s environmental challenges. 
• Latin America’s urban environmental problems
are a result of rapid urbanization.
• Solutions to the region’s environmental
concerns will come through cooperation among
local, national, regional, and international
governments and organizations.
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the information.
Chapter Summary 3
Chapter Summary 4
Checking for Understanding
Checking for Understanding
Define Match each definition in the left column with the
appropriate term in the right column.
Define Match each definition in the left column with the
appropriate term in the right column.
__
G 1. the loss or destruction of
forests, mainly for logging or
farming
__
A 5. farm workers; generally, people
who live and work in rural areas
__
C 6. in Latin America, small farms
that produce food chiefly for
family use
__
J 7. makeshift communities on the
edges of cities
__
D 8. in Mexico, manufacturing plants
set up by foreign firms
__
I 9. replanting young trees or seeds
on lands where trees have been
cut or destroyed
__10.
business that provides a service
H
instead of making goods
__
F 2. technological and economic
growth that does not deplete the
human and natural resources of
a given area
__
B 3. in Latin America, large
agricultural estates owned by
families or corporations
__
E 4. farm crop grown to be sold or
traded rather than used by the
farm family
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
campesino
latifundia
minifundia
maquiladora
cash crop
sustainable
development
G. deforestation
H. service
industry
I. reforestation
J. shantytown
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answers.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
campesino
latifundia
minifundia
maquiladora
cash crop
sustainable
development
G. deforestation
H. service
industry
I. reforestation
J. shantytown
Click the mouse button or press the
Space Bar to display the answers.
Chapter Assessment 1
Chapter Assessment 2
5