Latin American Government/Economics Test/Quiz Study Guide Answers
1) Autocratic, democratic, & oligarchic. These are types of governments. Autocratic is the rule
of one, one party rule. An example would be the country of Cuba. Fidel Castro was the
dictator of Cuba and now his brother has assumed power. A dictator is the name of the
leader in an Autocratic government. Democratic government is when the “people” rule;
meaning, the citizens elect officials to represent them. The central government plays a
limited role and the elected officials work on behalf of their citizens. Oligarchic form of
government is when a small group, clan, family or clique rules over the country.
2) In an autocracy or autocratic type of government you typically find dictators, kings and/or
queens. ONE person makes the decisions for the entire country. In a democracy you may
have a president or a prime minister however he or she does not hold all the power. They
are elected by the people and do not have power beyond what their constitution or
declaration allows. It is not a one party or one person rule. Rules and laws are voted on and
input is received from its citizens. In an oligarchy or oligarchic form of government you will
3) Parliamentary System of Government is when the government has a head of state and a
head of government. The head of government is called the prime minister and the head of
state is usually a figure-head. They also have a different type of separation of powers
between the executive and legislative branch. In a presidential government, like the United
States, we have a president. However the president does not create laws, but he can veto
them. The president also has a fixed term in office.
4) Unitary, confederation and federal are all types of government participation ~ how the
citizens are allowed to participate (vote, voice their opinion, etc.). Some countries do not
allow citizens to participate, while others might have too much citizen participation and
citizen say-so; meaning their central government is weak.
5) Mexico is a Federal (Representative) Republic and has a democratic form of citizen
participation. Brazil is considered a Federal Republic and so is Venezuela. They are also
considered as democracies because they allow citizen participation. Mexico & Brazil are
presidential democracies. Cuba is considered a communist country and therefore exhibits a
unitary distribution of power. Power comes from one party/place/person. It is a unitary
socialist republic.
6) Voting is mandatory (required by law) in all 3 countries. (Refer to the article we read about
Latin American & Caribbean Governments.
7) Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, Cuba (least restrictive to most restrictive)
8) What goods and services should be produced?
How should these goods and services be produced?
For whom should these goods & services be produced?
9) In a Command economy the government decides what to produce and what to charge. In a
market or mixed economy, the private citizens and corporations make the decisions on what to
make and how to make it. This helps promote competition and is based on supply and demand.
In a traditional economy what to produce is based on what past generations have produced. For
example, if your grandfather was a farmer, then your father would be a farmer and then you
would be a farmer. There is little choice since the decisions are based on traditions passed
down.
10) All (3) countries have a mixed economy though each tends to be closer to one end of the
continuum than the other. Canada leans considerably towards a market economy. Private
Citizens can own businesses and can decide what to produce. Cuba is more of a command
economy and citizens have no choice or play no role in what to produce. Brazil has a blend of
economies and is probably more evenly mixed than the others. Private Citizens and
corporations for the most part decide on what to produce, but there is still some government
involvement in the form of laws to protect property rights and safety of its citizens.
11) If all trade barriers were removed more products would be imported into a country, causing
prices to decrease, but many people living within the country may lose jobs due to the over
competition and supply of products. It could force the “little guy” to close his store.
12) Human Capital is the ability, skill set, and educational level an individual possesses and
contributes to the workforce. Investment in people (human capital) is important if a country
wants to be productive and have a thriving economy.
13) Tools, machines, and factories used to produce goods.
14) Land or raw materials that occur naturally within environments that exist relatively
undisturbed by man. Examples would be: fossil fuels, water, solar power, trees.
15) The higher a country’s literacy rate, the higher their GDP. If a country has people who are
highly educated (can read and write), the greater chance they will be productive citizens to
society and contribute to a country’s ability to produce and compete worldwide. Jobs which
require one to be literate would be teachers, doctors, lawyers, scientists. Jobs which do not
require a high reading and writing skill might be a laborer (one who performs mostly physical
work), farmer, or entry-level, fast-food employee. This does not mean that people holding
these positions have low reading levels; this just means that one with a low reading and writing
level would not be able to move into a profession requiring high levels of reading and writing.
Yet a person who can read and write would have the choice.