The following Latin America PowerPoint slides were submitted by Col Penny (NC-939)

1. The following Latin America PowerPoint slides were submitted by Col Penny (NC-939)

2. Latin America

3. Alvaro Uribe Who is the President of Colombia?

4. Hugo Chavez in Venezuela Which current South American President was jailed in the early 90s for leading a coup against the government?

5. What is significant about Manta, Ecuador? It’s a Forward Operating Location in the war against drugs

6. Why should you care about Latin America? • Latin America is our closest neighbor to the south • Latin America is one of our biggest trading partners and a huge market for US goods • Many Americans have ethnic roots in Latin America Latin America for the most part practices democracy just like us • They play baseball just like us • You could find yourself serving there in the future …well sorta like us …maybe better than us

7. Latin America • Overview/Background • People, Culture and Religion • Poverty in Latin America • Crime and Violence • Political Environment

8. Latin America • Cultural Awareness • SCIS Documentaries and Student Presentations • Guided Discussion Addressing U.S. Interests

9. Latin America

11. Background • Geography: To understand the culture of the region, it’s helpful to have an understanding of the geography and population distribution. • There are 33 states in Latin America and the Caribbean • It is 4000 miles from the Rio Grand River in the North to Argentina and Chile on the Southern tip of South America Rio Grand Gorge

12. Background • Geography: continued • Despite its vastness South America is barely settled • Most of the population lives within 100 miles of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans • Two of the world’s largest cities are located in Latin America: Mexico City, Mexico (27M) and Sao Paulo, Brazil (23M).

14. Background Geography: continued • Large cities are grossly overpopulated. • Overpopulation of the key cities presents huge challenges to Latin American governments: • Lack of infrastructure to support the population, overcrowding, unemployment, crime, and poverty are all exacerbated by the overwhelming population. • Brazil recognized the problem and moved its capital, Brasilia, inland in the 1960s

15. People, Culture and Religion • People of Latin America • Latin America is made up of a very diverse population • Much of the Latin American population can trace its roots to Europe and Africa • Prior to the Spanish and Portuguese arrival in the 15th century, indigenous groups had built vast empires throughout Central and South America • Aztecs in central Mexico • Mayas in southern Mexico, • Incas in western South America

16. People, Culture and Religion • Between 25M and 100M Native Americans occupied Latin America when Spanish arrived in the 15th century • When the indigenous population died off due to abuse, war and disease, slaves were brought from Africa • Since the 16th century, Europeans and Native Americans have intermingled forming a large mestizo population in Latin America • The 20th century has seen a large increase in Chinese and Japanese immigrants to Latin America

17. People, Culture and Religion Culture • Latin America is a multicultural society. Some of its more distinguishing characteristics are: • Machismo – What is expected of men in Latin American culture • Most common image is that of the Latin lover –tough, debonair, manly • Less known attributes of machismo include: showing respect, behaving honorably, acting with dignity, being generous

18. People, Culture and Religion Culture • Marianismo – What is expected of women in the Latin American culture • Latin Americans honor and respect motherhood • Latin American women play a dominant role in family life • Latin American families are mostly matriarchal in nature

19. People, Culture and Religion Culture • Family– extremely important in Latin American culture • Family is extended and typically includes: parents, grandparents, godparents, cousins and even close friends -- all warrant respect • Attitude toward work, leisure & time • Many see the Latin Americans as the guy sleeping on the sidewalk with a sombrero pulled down over his head – implies laziness, slow – not true

20. People, Culture and Religion Culture • Attitude toward work, leisure & time (cont) • Latin Americans view time differently than North Americans • Latin Americans are rarely pressured by time, promptness means little, tomorrow is soon enough • “Manana, manana” is the phrase often used throughout Latin America meaning tomorrow, tomorrow • Latin Americans work to gain money so they can better enjoy themselves. • Americans often work to make money so they can make more money.

21. People, Culture and Religion Religion: • Catholicism: 90% of Latin Americans are Catholic • 45% of the world’s Catholics live in Latin America • Brazil (73% of a population of 183M is catholic) • Mexico has the largest Catholic population in the world • Catholicism came to Latin America in the 16th century • Spanish and Portuguese insisted the indigenous population convert to Catholicism—those who did not, were often killed • Catholic Church has been a major influence on politics, economics and social culture

22. People, Culture and Religion Religion: • Islam: Latin America is the home of a sizeable and diverse Muslim population. • In recent years, Latin America has experienced a steady stream of Muslim migrants from the Middle East and South Asia • As a result of intermarriage and conversion, Islam is becoming one of the fastest growing religions in Latin America Mosque in Guyana

23. Poverty in Latin America • Latin America Poverty is a primary U.S. interest • 44% of 515M inhabitants live in poverty • 18.6% of the total population (Approximately 97M) is classified as extremely poor. • Approximately 52M of those in the extremely poor category reside in urban areas and 45M reside in rural areas. • 80% of the region’s 50M indigenous people (Approximately 40M) live below the poverty line

24. Poverty in Latin America Latin American poverty--A primary U.S. Interest • This overwhelming issue impacts the U.S. on multiple fronts • Trade • Immigration • The poverty also flows into another primary U.S. interest, the flow of drugs from the region • As long as the deplorable economic situation exists, people will resort to whatever means is necessary to survive, and that includes producing illegal drugs.

25. Poverty in Latin America • Latin American Poverty • Poverty rates in Latin America are double those in the Middle East • Though the number of Latin America’s living in poverty decreased by 5% between 1990 and 1997, the percentage has not changed since 1997 • Because the population continues to grow, the actual number of Latin American’s living in poverty has increased steadily since 1990

26. Poverty in Latin America Root causes for Latin American poverty include: • Latin America has historically held a disadvantaged place in the global economy • Spain and Portugal were not interested in the development of the colonies and used the colonies as a source of wealth • Industrialization in the colonies was discouraged or banned

27. Poverty in Latin America Region has the highest economic disparities in the world • In 2003, the richest 10% in Latin America and the Caribbean earned 48%--poorest 10% earned less than 2% • In Brazil, the poorest 40% of the landowners possess only 1% of the country’s arable land. • 4.6M peasants own no land. • Social inequality in Latin America is also based on race and ethnic background. • In Brazil, people of African descent earn only 45% of the wages of their white counterparts • Political instability and corruption are impediments to reducing Latin American poverty

28. Crime and Violence • Latin America leads the world in most crime and violence categories. “In recent years, Latin America has been identified as the most violent region on the planet, with a homicide rate three times the average for the rest of the world.” Rep Dan Burton, Subcommittee Chairman for the House Committee on International Relations Crime and Violence:

29. Crime and Violence • Crime in Latin America, like other places, is linked closely with gang violence. • According to a Newswire article in April 2005, some of the most violent gangs in the Western Hemisphere operate in Central America and Mexico. • In 2004, El Salvador’s national police reported that 60% of all homicides in El Salvador were gang related.

30. Crime and Violence • Latin America’s decrepit democracies are easy prey. • The court systems barely function in most countries; the police are often corrupt and uncooperative. • Many politicians can be easily bribed and paramilitary positions are perceived as opportunities for self enrichment

31. Crime and Violence • “Latin America’s per capita gross domestic product would be 25% higher if the region’s crime rate were equal to the world’s average.” • “Business associations in the region have identified crime as the number one issue negatively affecting trade and investment in Latin America.

32. Crime and Violence • Crime is not an easy problem to solve in Latin America and will continue to thrive where rule of law is weak, economic opportunity is scarce and education is poor. • Factors contributing to high crime rates include: • Extreme inequality between rich and poor • Rapid and large scale urbanization with no supporting infrastructure • Police abuse • Corruption • Exclusion and lack opportunity for youth • Easy access to guns, drugs and alcohol.

33. Democracy and Government • Many government institutions in Latin American countries are weak and discredited. • According to the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), 20% of government funds earmarked for spending are lost to corruption. • IDB further claims 10% of the region’s GDP is lost each year to corruption Democracy and Government

34. Democracy and Government • Politics in Latin American is best described as a pendulum swinging between democracy and authoritarian rule • At the end of World War II, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Venezuela became democratic--Costa Rica survived • By 1975 only Venezuela, Colombia and Costa Rica had democratically elected governments • During the 80s, the pendulum swung back to democracy

35. Democracy and Government • Liberal Democracy • Social Welfare Democracy • Quasi Democracy

36. Democracy and Government Challenges to Latin American Democracies • Economics • Uneven distribution of wealth creates threats to democracy from both the poor and the rich • Inability of state to provide the basic services • As the urban populations in the region grow, the ability of many governments to deliver basic services deteriorate • Weak administrative capacity • Many Latin American elected officials come to office with little or no understanding of how to administer a country

37. Democracy and Government Challenges to Latin American Democracies • Expectation of the voters • Politicians depend on the consent of the voters and often make promises they can’t deliver • Disloyal opposition • Those in the country that do not want to see democracy succeed (i.e., military coups, drug traffickers and guerilla insurgents) • Military coups • Haiti in 1991 • Venezuela in 1992 (led by current President, Hugo Chavez) and 2001 • Ecuador in 2000 (led by Lucio Gutierrez, President of Ecuador, Jan 2003 – April 2005)

38. Democracy and Government Challenges to Latin American Democracies • Drug Traffickers • Prevalent in Colombia, Bolivia and Peru. Often bribe or threaten police and elected officials to escape prosecution and gain the freedom to operate outside the law • Colombia produces nearly 90% of the cocaine and 60% of the heroin that is sold in the US Colombian Drug Lord

39. Democracy and Government Challenges to Latin American Democracies • Guerrilla movements • What often starts in response to inequality, repression of large sections of the population and loss of faith, especially among indigenous groups has developed into a money making operation closely tied to the drug trafficking Che Guevara

40. Democracy and Government • Guerrilla movements • Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso) • A Maoist guerrilla insurgent organization in Peru. Its stated goal is to replace Peruvian bourgeois institutions with a communist peasant revolutionary regime

41. Democracy and Government • Guerrilla movements • FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) • Established in 1964 as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party, it is Latin America’s oldest, largest, most capable and best equipped insurgency of Marxist origin

42. Democracy and Government • Guerrilla movements • ELN (National Liberation Army) – Colombia • Marxist insurgent group formed in 1965 by urban intellectuals inspired by Fidel Castro and Che Guevara. Pablo BeltranELN leader

43. Democracy and Government • Many in Latin America are losing their faith in democracy and turning to the left-leaning politicians • Populism – In many parts of the world, “populist” is used to describe a politician who seeks popularity through means disparaged as appealing to the baser instincts of voters • Populism—A political philosophy directed to the needs of the common people and advocating a more equitable distribution of wealth and power.

44. Latin America • Overview/Background • People, Culture and Religion • Poverty in Latin America • Crime and Violence • Political Environment

45. Latin AmericaSCIS Videos and Student Presentations

46. Latin America • Politics and Democracy • SCIS Video • Student Presentations

47. Latin America

48. Latin America • Politics and Democracy • SCIS Video • Student Presentations

49. Latin America • Economic Development and Regional Integration • SCIS Video • Student Presentations