Answer the following questions:
1) Summarize some of the major environmental issues impacting Latin America and how different countries in the region have tried to address them.
2) Demographically, Latin America has grown much faster than North America. What factors contribute to its faster growth, and is this growth likely to continue?
3) What is a maquiladora? Where are maquiladoras mostly located in Mexico? What products do maquiladoras currently produce in present-day?
4) What are the cultural legacies of Iberia in Latin America, and how are they expressed?
5) How has the export of primary products (food, fiber, and energy) shaped the economies of Latin America?
6) What environmental issues currently affect the Caribbean? Describe the risks and possible solutions.
7) How did the long-term reliance on a plantation economy influence settlement patterns in the Caribbean?
8) Which countries have had colonial or neocolonial influences in the Caribbean, and why have they engaged with the region?
9) The Economist article “Mexico’s New Megaprojects May Do More Harm Than Good” discusses a number of major infrastructure projects currently underway in Mexico. These
projects, all initiated by Mexico’s president Andrés Manuel Andrés Manuel López Obrador, is intended to provide immediate and direct benefits to Mexico’s economy. However, critics believe that these projects will not help Mexico as much as President López Obrador claims. Why?
10) The Economist article “Cuba’s Dictatorship has a Cultural Opposition That It Can’t Tolerate” describes the recent crackdown by Cuba’s communist government on government protesters. As mentioned in the article, Cuba’s communist-run government once enjoyed widespread popularity, but many Cubans have now become disillusioned with the regime. What major events have contributed to this sentiment?
