Recitation Assignment Week 13: Latin America

For this week's assignment you must read Chapter 4 in the textbook (Latin America) before coming to recitation, and answer the following questions. Your answers do NOT have to be typed. Feel free to work together on this assignment.

BRING YOUR TEXTBOOK TO RECITATION.

1. In terms of socio-economic development is Latin America relatively homogenous?
2. What gives this "region" its regional identity?
3. Compared to India, Latin America has a relatively low or high population density?
4. Compared to the U.S., Latin America has a relatively low or high population density?
5. Why is Mexico City sinking? (You will need part of the "Environmental Geography" section - pages 130-132).
6. All over the world, humans are increasingly relying on ground water - as opposed to surface water, to meet their water needs.
   1. What is the term for an underground reservoir?
   2. True or False: underground reservoirs get recharged (i.e. filled) every spring, so their use is sustainable.
7. True or False: the most pressing problem for Latin America's urban poor is deforestation.
8. Latin America has a number of countries known for urban primacy.
   1. What migration pattern causes urban primacy?
   2. Why do people engage in this migration pattern?
   3. Why is urban primacy a problem?
9. We ask you to learn key terms (in boldface font) throughout every chapter, but learning just the definition of these terms won't always give you the key IDEA in a section. Read the Rural Landholdings section (pgs. 144-5) carefully. What is the main point? Hint: what process occurred during colonialism, and what are the ramifications today?
10. What provided the basis for the territorial holdings of modern Latin American States? Have these borders been uncontroversial?
11. Describe the trend, both politically and economically, in Latin America since the 1980s.
12. Place the following regions into three hierarchical groups based on their level of economic development: North America, Latin America, Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia.
13. Today more than 4,000 maquiladoras exist, employing 1.3 million people.
    1. Where are most maquiladoras located?
    2. What explains their location?
    3. Why do American companies locate plants in Mexico?
    4. What are the two types of complaints that Americans make about maquiladoras?
    5. What other regions of the world have developments similar to maquiladoras?
14. Farming in Latin America has undergone significant change over the last 40 years.
    1. What is the main benefit of modernizing/industrializing agriculture?
    2. What is the main drawback?
15. Explain "primary product dependency"?
    1. Why is primary product dependency problematic?
    2. Why would a country engage in this economic action if it is problematic?
16. Define the following according to Dependency Theory:
    1. Core
    2. Periphery
    3. Role of countries in the periphery
    4. Import Substitution
17. What three trends describe the changes for women in Latin America over the last 30 years?