1 Diversity AmidGlobalization The:modc:mskyline: of Shanghai. showc:ascof China's rtttnt Gnomic: boom,standsinstark l'Ofltl'1lstto traditional housingalongthe:muddy HuangpuRivt r. {Krt'('n Su/AufOlO it Duanta Productions} T mostimportant chalknges fadngme world in thetwenty-flrs!ccnturyareassociatedv.ith theincreasinginterconnectedness of people and places through converging processes of eco-nomie,polltical,andculturalchange.Formerlydistam regions andcultures arenowlncnasingly linkedthrough commerce,commUllications,andtravel.Althoughearlier formsof globalizationexisted,especiall y duringEurope's colonialperiod, the degree of planetary integration isnow stronger than ever.[nfact, many observers argue thaI con-temporary globalization is the mO!;I fundamentalreorgani-unionoftheplanet'ssocioeconomicstmcturesincethe IndustrialRevolution.Whilerewdisputethewidespread changesbroughtaboutbyglobalization,nOIeveryone agues on whether the benefilS outweigh the 1:0515. Althougheconomicactivitiesmaybethemainforce behind globa1i:tation,the consequences affectallaspectsof land and life in this new millennium. Cultural patterns, p0-litical arrangements, and social development are allunder-goi ng profound change. Bttausenatural n:soun;es arenow globalcommodities,theplanet'sphysicalenvironmentis alsoaffected.financial decisionsmadethousands of mlles awayalterlocalecosrstems,andthecumulativeeffectof these far-nnglng activities often has negative consequences for the world's clinutes, oceans, waterways, and forests . These immense, widespread global changes makeun-derstandingour worldachallenging,yetnecessarytask. Our future depends on understanding globalization inits varied expressions becauseour lives arenow deeply inter-twined with this worldwide phenomenon. Although exam-ining globalization cuts across many academic disciplines, worldregionalgeographyisaneffeetivestartingpoint because of its focusonregions, environment, geopolitics, culture, and economic and social development. This book seekstoimpartsuchknowledgebycarefullyoutlining thebasicpaUentSof worldgeogntphylindshowing how theyarebeingconstantlyreorganizedbyglobal Intercon-nections (f igure1.1). Aguft\, \GlobalCommullicatiolls Theimpacts of globalization, often through globq,"'it, Years Figure 2.14IncreaseinCO2 andTemperature Thesetwographs showtherelationshipbetweentherapid increaseof CO2 inthea mosphereandtheassociatedrisein averageannualtemperaturefortheworld. Thegraphsgobackd thousandyearsandshowbothCO2 andtemperaturetohavebeen relatively stable untiltherecentindustrialperiodwhenthe burningof fossilfuels(coalandoil)beganona largescale. EffectsofGl obal WarmingThecomplexity oftheglobal c1imalesyslem leaves some uncertaintyabout exactlyhowtheworld'sclimate maychangeasa resultof human-caused global warming. IncreaSingly,though, c1imale scientists using high-powered computer models are reaching consensus onthe probable effecls of global warming (Figure 2. 15). Unless counnies of the world drastically reducetheir emis-sion of greenhouse gases in the next rew years, computer models predict that averageglobal temperatureswill increase 2 to 4F (l to 2e ) by 2030. This may not seem dramatic at first glance, but itisaboUlthe samemagnilUde of changeasthe cooling that caused the IceAgeglacierstocover much of Europe and NOM America 30,000 years ago. More problematic is thislem-peralure increase is projected to double by 2100. Asmentionedearlier,thisclimate changecouldcausea shifl inmajor agricul tural areas.For example,the Wheat Belt intheUnited mightreceivelessrainfalland become warnler and drier,endangering grain production asweknow ittoday.While more northern countries,such asCanadaand Russia,might experience a longer growing season because of globalwarming,the soilsin thesetwo, areasarenotnearlyas fertile asintheUnitedStales.Asaresult,foodexpertsare predictingadecreaseinthe grninproductionby 2030. Additionally,the southern areas of the United Stales and the Mediterraneanregion of Europe canexpect a \\t"3rmer and drier c1imalethat will demand even more inigauon for crops. Figure 2. 15PolarBears Threatened byGlobalWarming Icefloesareanimportantpartof thepolar bear'shabitat. BecauseArctic iceismeltingmorerapidlynow duetoglobal warming,the20,000 bearslivinginthewild faceanuncertain future. Recently,polar bearshavebeenreporteddrowning tryingtoswimlongdistancesbetween icesheets.In this picturea mother andhercubwithbloody snoutsfromeating a sealwalk onthinice.(BobbeChristopherson) Chapter 2TheChanging Global Environment59 Warmerglobaltemperatureswillalsocause rising sea levelsasoceanswarmandpolaricesheeLSandmountain glaciersmelt.Although projections differ on the predicted sealevelrise-fromseveralinchestoalmost3feet (1meter}-eventhesmallestincreasewiUendanger low-lyingislandnationsthroughouttheworldaswellas coastalareasinEurope,Asia,andNorthAmerica.Island nations inthe Pacific andme Lndian Ocean areparticularly concerned, since they maybenoDded out of existence. Global izationand Climate Cha nge: TheInterna tional DebateonlimitingGreenhouseGasesBytheearly 1990s,the UnitedNations recognizedthat climatechange was"acommonconcernofhumankind"andthatall nationshavea "commonbutdi fferentiatedresponsibility" forcombating global warming.At the RiodeJaniero Earlh summi t in1992 thefirstinternational agreement on global warmingwaspresented.SignatOri eswereboundbyinter-nationallawtoreducetheirgreenhousegasemissionsby agreed-upontarget dates. Within a year,167 countries had signed.Unfortunately,thosecountriesemittingthemost greenhouse gases,namely,theUni tedStates, Japan,India, andChina,didnotcomeclosetomeetingtheemission reductions agreedupon inRio. Consequently,anotherauempttodevelopaninterna-tionaltreatywasmadeataDecember1997meetingin Kyoto, Japan.Fromthesediscussionsemergedthecurrent 60Chapter2The Changing GlobalEnvironment GEOGRAPHICTOOLS ReconstructingClimatesof th.e Past Geographers,alongwithscientistsfrommanyotherare deeply involvedin studying global warming. This research involvesnot only analyzingmodern-day weather recordsfor signs of climate changebut alsoreconstructingthe climates ofpastcenturiestoprovidea longertermviewofEarth's weather andclimate fluctuations.Becauseaccurateweather instrumentshavebeenusedonlyforthelast200years,a numberof toolsarenecessarytoprobeintotheclimateof pastcenturies;thesetoolsnowprovideafairlyaccurate recordof global climates goingbackat least15,000 years. Scientistsusethreemaintoolstoreconstructpast climates:tree-ring ordendrochronology;pollen orpolynology;andice-coreisotopeanalysisfrom theworld'sglaciersandice Onlythefirsttwoare discussedhere. Theannualgrowthringsofatreegivecluesabout thegrowingconditionsina givenyear.Becausetreesare sensitivetomoisture,a wider growthringsuggests a wetter year,whereas narrower rings imply drier years.Further, yearly growthringsalsogivecluesabouttemperature,withwider growthringsresultingfrommoremoderatetemperatures andnarrowringssuggestinga harsher(usually colder)year. Ratherthancuttingdowntreestoexaminetherings, scientistsinsteadextracfromthetrunkthincoresthat containgrowthringsshowingthecompletehistoryofthe tree'sgrowth. After theseringsaremeasuredprecisely under vehicleforinternationalactiononclimatechange-the KyotoProtocol.Inthisagreement, 38industrializedcoun-triesagreedtoreducetheiremissionsof greenhousegases below1990levels.Forexample,theUnitedStates,Japan, andCanadaagreedtoa reduction of about7 percent below 1990levelsbytheyear2012.However,theProtocolfaced numerous obstacles between the Kyoto meeting in 1997 and early 2005whentheagreement finallybecame law.Within theUnitedStates,whichuntilrecentlyemittedthelargest amount of greenhouse gasperyear,the debateover global warming andtheKyotoProtocol wascontentious,partisan, anddivisive.Althoughmanypoliticianssawtheneedfor greenhousegascontrols,othersemphaticallyresistedany actionfor fearthatemission controlsmight constrainbusi-ness,thereby slowingtheeconomy,andincreasingthecost of living for U.S.citizens. Early in 2001, while agreeing that globalwarmingwasaseriousissue,PresidentGeorgevv. Bush went on record opposing the Kyoto Protocol.Not only didhe voice concernthatrestrictions on atmospheric emis-sions would harm the U.s. economy, but President Bush also objectedtoitonthegroundsthatlargedevelopingcoun-tries, namely China andIndia, were not yet bound to specif-icgreenhousegasreductions(Figure2.16).Asaresultof a microscope,theyaresubjectedtoa numberof statistical tests to ensure validity in replicating past climatic One obstacle to the use of tree rings for constructingpast climates is that most trees live only for several hundred years. Sohowdo scientistsusetreeringstogobackthousands of years?Logsfoundinoldordeadtreesfoundin bogsorunderwaterinlakes,canbecoredandtreering chronologiesconstructedfortheperiodwhenthetreewas living.Whencobbledtogetherfromvarioussources,tree-ringchronologiescanprovidea goodsenseoftheclimate back3,000Thepollengivenoff byplants, andtreesisalso usefultoreconstructgrowingcondi tionshundredsand thousandsof yearsago.Plants,shrubs,andtreesproduce pollenaspartof theirreproductiveprocess,andcommonly thefine-grainedpollenmaterialiscarriedbythewindto otherplantsPollenalsocollectsonlakesurfaces,and eventually it sinksto the lake bottomwhereit collects inthe mudandis preservedforthousands of years. Palynologists, then, seekout these prehistoric lakes,many ofwhicharenowbogs,andtakesamplesfromthelake bottomtoretrievetheancientpollen.Usinghigh-powered microscopes. they thencanidentifythepollenandlinkit to specificplant,shrub,andtreespecies,thusreconstructing thevegetationthatcoveredthelandscapethousandsof years ago and,by inference, the climate of thatperiod. his opposition,the United Stateswasthe only industrialized country tonot ratify the KyotoProtocol. Thereisalsotensionbetweendevelopedandless-developedcountriesover theKyotoProtocol.Unrestricted emissionsintheindustrialworld(NorthAmerica,Europe, Japan) created the global warming problem, and these coun-Uiesstilltodaycontri buteabouthalf ofthetotalhuman-causedgreenhousegases(Table2.1).Manyinternational experrs arguethat these same developed countries should be requirednotonlytotakestringent stepstocurbtheirown emissions,butalsoshouldsubsidizeandunderwriteemis-sioncontrolsindevelopingcountries.Understandably,the lessdevelopedcountriesarereluctanttosignanemission control agreementthat willconstraintheireconomic future when, asthey argue,theyhavecontributed very little tothe global warming problem up to now.Furthermore,these less-developed counUies point the finger at the United States and say that it shouldtaketheleadinreduci,ng globalwarming emissions by ratifying the Kyoto Protocol. To becomeinternational law, the Kyoto Protocol had to beratifiedbythose counUies emitting atotal of 55percent oftheworld'sgreenhousegases.WiththeUnitedStates rejectingtheagreement,theProtocolstalledforseveral Figure 2. 16Auto Emissions in China Reportedly,Chinahas now surpassedthe UnitedStates as thelargest polluter of grtenhouSt gases. Themainreasonfor China's huge emissions isthewidespreaduseof coalto generatepower.However, therapid increase inprivate auto ownershipisanincreasingconcern because car traffic hasbecome a major cause of smoggy skiesin China's urban areas. Thistraffic jaminBeijing andtheleaden skies are expressions of that problem.(ClaroCartesIV/Reuters/Corbis) yearswhileRussia,theworld'sthird-largestsourceof greenhouse gasemissiOns,ponderedthe costs andbenefits of rati fi cation. Finally,in late 2004,Russia signed the agree-ment,thusmakingKyOloimernationallawinearly2005. Intotal,over100coumrieshaverati fi edtheagreement Althoughthe1997KyotoProtocol\\011not solvetheglobal warming problem, it is an important fi rst steptowardinter-nationalcooperationinmitigatingclimatechange.Asec-ond step Mil be taken in 2012 when phase two of the Kyoto emission reduction process begins. WATERONEARTH: A ScarceandPollutedResource Freshwaterisoneofthemostcritical- andscarcest-resourcesonEarthforitisneedednotonlylOsustain humanli feitself but alsotosupport agricultural systems, industry,trans portation,andevenrecreation.However, TABLE2.1TheWorld'sMajorCO2 Polluters Chapter2TheChanging GlobalEnvironmtnt61 waterisunevenlydistributedabouttheworld;some regionshave abundant water resources, while othershave seriousshortages.Currently,about40percentofthe world'spopulation lives in areas of the world where water shortages are common. TheGlobalWat er Budget Anyworldmapshowsthatmorethan70percentofthe surface areaof theworldiscovered by oceans.Asaresult, 97 percent of thetotal global water supply is saltwater and only 3percentisfreshwater.Of thcminuscul eamount of freshwateronEarth,almost70percentislockedupin polaricecapsandmountainglaciers(see"Preserving atureThroughInternationalAgreements:TheCaseof Amarctica").Groundwatersuppliesaccoumforalmost 30 percent of the world's freshwater,which leaves lessthan 1 percent accessible fromsurface rivers and lakes. Another waytoconceptualizethislimitedamount of freshwateristothinkofthetotalglobalwatersupply as 26gallons(100liters).Ofthatamount,0.8gallons (3liters)wouldbefres hwater;andofthatsmallsupply, only about hal f ateaspoon(0.003li ter) would be avai lable tohumans.Giventhislimitedamount of availablewater coupledwithgrowingdemandsforitsuse,politicaland economictensionsoverefficientwaterusagearepro-nounced andproblematic. Internationalplanners usethe concept of waler stress todescri be and predict where water resourceproblflns will be greatest(Figure2. 17).Watcr stressdataaregenerated fromtheamountof freshwateravailableonapercapita basis in different parts of the world.By dividing population growthratesintotheamountof water available,onecan develop a picture of fu ture problem areas. Africastandsout asaregionof highwater stress.More specifically, hydrologists predict that three-quarters of Africas population will experience water shortages by the year 2025. Other problem areas willbenorthern China, India, much of Southwest Asia,Me."(ico, and even parlS of Russia. Agricultureaccountsfor70percentof currentwater usage.Manywaterandfoodexpertspredictlh3tincom-TotalCO2 EmissionsPercent ChangePercent of\Vorld Total,PcrCapita Emissions CountryinMMT' (2005)(1995-2005)CO2 Emissionsof CO2, Tons United States5,9351221 20.2 China'5,32387193.6 Russia1,6964611.7 Japan1,230144.49.9 India1,166354.11 Germany844-4310.5 World Total28,19357.5 M!liionmclrictonS. )Somt agtnclo malnlaincnziS510IUjjjrp -UJHUIiI JJ A50." ......PACIFIC OCEAN . !! .., PACIFIC OCEAN . , . ....-HAWAIII ..a.: .. oIOOlnal Rowsto - destinations outside latin Amerka ATLANTIC OCEAN OCEAN Bolivia,Colombia,andVenezuela,agriculturalfrontier schemesinthelowlandtropicalplainsattractedpeasant farmersandlarge-scaleinvestors.Mexicosentcolonists, somedisplacedbydamconstruction,intotheforestsof Tehuantepec.GuatemaladevelopeditsnorthernPeten region.ElSalvador hadnofrontierleft,but many desper-atelypoor Salvadoranspouredintotheneighboring states ofHondurasandBelizeinsearchofland.Inshort,al-thoughthe dominant demographic trend has been a rural-to-urbanmovement,animportantrural-to-ruralflowhas turnedpreviouslyvirginareasintoagriculturalzones (Figure 4.20). 146Chapter 4latin Amt.rica The opening of theBrazilian Amazon for settlement wasthemostambitiousfrontiercolonizationscheme intheregion.Inthe19605,Brazilbeganitsfrontier expansionbyconslructingseveralnewAmazonian highways,anewcapital(Bras!lia),and state-sponsored mining operations.It wasthe Brazilianmilitary who di-rectedtheopening oftheAmazontoprovideanoutlet for landless peasants and to extract the region's many re-sources.Yetthegenerals'plansdidnotdeliverasin-tended.Throughoutthebasin,thinforestsoilswere incapable of supporting permanent agricultural colonies and,intheworstcases,degradedintobakedclaylike surfacesdevoidofvegetation.Government-promised landtitles,agriculturalsubsidies,andcreditwereslow toreachsmallfarmers,eveniftheywerefortunate enoughtobegivenlandonterraroxa,anutrient-rich purpleclaysoil.Instead,adisproportionateamount of moneywenttosubsidizinglargecattleranchesthrough taxbreaksandimprovementdealswhereuimproved" landmeantclearedland.Becauseof themanycompet-ingfact ions(miners,loggers,ranchers,peasants,and corporatefarmers )andtheuncertaintyoflandtitle andpoli ticalauthority,theAmazoncanbeaviolent place.ArecentvictimofthisviolencewasSister Dorothy Stang, an Americannun who had spent herlife inPants tateworking wi thpoor peasant farmerstoward amodelof sustainabledevelopment.In2005,shewas ki ll edbyhiredgunmenaftertryingtoSlOpranchers fromclearingaremoteareaofforest.Herassailants wereeventuallycaughtandconvicted,hut mostof the murdersthatoccurduetoresourceconfli ctsremain unsolved. Despite a concertedeffort by Brazilian omcialsLaset-tlethe entireregion, mostcommercial activities andresi-Fi gure 4.21Settlers inthe Amazon IntheBrazilianAmazonmany settlers optedtoraise cattle ratherthangrowcropsbecauseof theregion's relatively poor soilsand governmentalincentives toclear forestfor pasture.(Alamy Images) dentsareconcentratedinafewsitesandmuchresource extractionoccursillegally.Fourtimesmorepeoplelived inthe Amazon inthe 1990s thaninthe19605. The popu-lationof12millionpeople ' intheBrazilianAmazonin 2000 is projectedtogrow to15 millionby2010;thus,in-creasedhumanmodificationoftheBrazilianAmazonis inevitable (Figure 4.21). PopulationGrowthandMovements Thehighgrowthratesinlatin Americathroughoutthe twentieth century are attributed to natural increase as well asimmigration.The1960sand19705weredecadesof tremendous growthresulting fromhigh fertility ratesand increasinglifeexpectancy.Inthe19605,forexample,a LatinAmericanwomantypicallyhadsixorsevenchil-dren. Todaythe averagenumber of children per womanis betweentwoandthree.The2007 TFR was2.3forBrazil , 2.4forColombia,and2.4for Mexico(seeTable4.1).A number of factors explainthistrend:moreurban families, whichlend to be smaller thanrural ones; increased partic-ipationofwomenintheworkforce;highereducation levelsofwomen;statesupportoffamilyplanning;and better accesstobirthcontrol.Eventhemoreruralcoun-tries with a high percentage of Amerindians are experienc-ingsmallerfamilie5-'i n2007Bolivia'sTFRwas3.7and Ecuador's was 3.1. Evenwi thfamily sizes shrinking, and inthe casesof ChileandCostaRicafa ll ingbelowreplacementrates, thereisbuilt-inpotentialforcontinuedgrowthbecause oftherelativedemographicyouthofthesecountries. Approximately30percentofthepopulationarebelow theageof15.InNorthAmericathesimilarcohortis 20 percent of thepopulati on,andinEuropeitis just 16 percent.This meansthat aproportionallylarger segment ofthepopulationhasyettoenterintoitschildbearing years. Waves of immigrants intoLatin America and migrant streamswithinLatinAmericahaveinfluencedpopula tion size and patterns of settlement.Beginning in the late nineteenthcentury,newimmigrantsfromEuropeand Asiaaddedtothe region's size and ethnic complexity.Im-portantpopulationshiftswithincountrieshavealsooc-curredinrecent decades,aswitnessedbythegrowthof Mexicanbordertownsandthedemographi cexpansion of the Bolivian plains.In an increasingly globalized econ-omy,evenmoreLatinAmericansliveandworkoutside theregion,especiallyintheUnitedStatesandEurope (seeupeopleontheMove:LatinAmeri cansReturnto Iberia"). EuropeanMigrationAfter gaining their independence fromIberia, Latin America's new leaders sought to develop theirterritoriesthroughimmigration.Firmly believing in the dictum "to governistopopulate,"many countriesset upimmigrationofficesinEuropetoattracthardwork-ingpeasantstotillthesoilsand"whiten"themestizo population,thosepeopl eof mixedEuropeanandIndian latinAmericansReturntoIberia A recent televisionnewscast inBoliviashowed a newtype of immigrationservice. Amerindianwomen,locallyreferredto ascholos,werebeingremadeinto European-lookingwomen inordertoeasetheirwayintotheSpanishlabormarket Their longbraids were cut into more stylishhairdos and their layeredskirtswerediscardedformorecontemporarypants andMostwereplanningtoflytoMadridas ourists,buttheirrealobjectivewasafindjobsas domestics and earnNearly all international migrations, eventually,leadtoa countermigration.50itissurprising thatthemovementof LatinAmericanimmigrantstoIberia (sp'linandPortugal)hastaken solongtotakehold.But takenholdit especially over the last decade. SeveralfactorshaveconvergedtomakeSpainand PortugalfavoreddestinationsforSouthAmerican especiallyimmigrantsfromtheAndeanstates. Untilthelate I 990s,most SouthAmericanswho emigrated chosetheUnitedStates.Yetasbothlegalandillegal immigrationtotheUnitedStatesbecamemorecostlyand difficult, especiall y intheaftermath of September11,2001, Spainbecameanincreasinglymoreattractiveoption.Until recently,norequirementexistedorLatinAmericans travelingto Spain. Thus potential immigrants would enter as touristsandstayonillegallyasworkerstoservethe booming Spanish economy. Thefact that they speak Spanish andunderstandtheculture gives LatinAmericansanadded Figure4.3. 1l atinAmericanImmigrantsinSpain Animmigrant family fromEcuadorposesfor a portrait inthestreets of a smalltown in central Spain. (Lorry Mongino/lmogeWorks) '----- ---ATlANTIC OCEAN Figure4.3.2RemittancesfromSpain tolatin America In2006 immigrantsfroml atinAmerica workinginSpainsent $5 billioninremittancesto theirhome countries.Mostlatino immigrantsresideinmetropolitanMadridandBarcelona. advantageoverimmigrantsfromAfrica.Duetothe onsl aught of new Spainrespondedbyintroducing new visarequirements alongwitha regularizationplanthatI legalizedmanyforeignworkers.Anestimated1.8million LatinAmericansworkinginSpain(mostlyMadrid. Barcelona, and Valencia)sent home $5 billion inremitances in2006(Figures4.3.1and4.3.2).AccordingtoSpanish censusdatathemaingroups of Lati n Americanimmigrants areEcuadorians(414,000),Colombians(269,000), Argentines(262,000),Bolivians(136,000),andPeruvians (126,000). TheflowtoPortugalis considerably smaller, but it istheEuropean destination of choicefor TheIberiancountries,wi ththeirlongcolonialhistory, werenownuntilquiterecentlyforproducingemigrants, andwerenotnotedasmajorimmigrant With membershipintheEU andgrowingprosperity,bothsates haveseentheirforeign-bornpopulationssoarwith immigrantsfromNorthAfrica,Sub-SaharanAfrica,Latin America,andeasernEurope, creatinganextremely diverse immigrantpopulation.ThespeedoftheSpanish ransformationasanimmigrantdestinationforAndean immigrantsisthemostdramatic.In2000,theentire foreign-bornpopulationinSpainequaledjust4 percentof thetotalpopulaion;yet,by2005,theforeign-bornstoc accountedfor11.1percent of the totalpopulation-which is anunprecedentedsurge.Incomparison,theimmigrant stock inPortugal is7.3percenof thetotal population andit has increasedmore steadily overthe years. SoUI'C.'t: !\daptt:d (rom Intt:rAmt:rican Ot:Vtlopmcnt Bank2007. Remittances(rom Spain toLorin America.2006. 148Chapt(( 4latin Am(rica ancestry.TheSouthernConecountriesofArgentina, Chile,Uruguay,andsouthernBrazilwerethemostsuc-cessfulinamacting European immigran!SfTomthe1870s untilthedepressionofthe19305.Duringthisperiod, some8millionEuropeansarrived(morethancamedur-ingtheentirecolonialperiod),wi thItalians,Portuguese, Spaniards,and Germans the most numerous. Some of this immigrationwasstate-sponsored,suchasthenearly1 millionlaborers(including entirefamilies)broughtto the coffeeestatessurroundingSaoPauloatthestartofthe twentiethcentury.Othermigrantscame seasonally,espe-ciallytheItalianpeasantswholeftEuropeinthewimer foragriculturalworkinArgentinaandwerethusnick-named "the swallows. " Stillothers paid their own passage, intendingtosenlepermanently andprosper inthe grow-ing commercialcentersof BuenosAires, SaoPaulo,Mon-tevideo. and Santiago. AsianMigrationLesswellknownarethe Asianimmi-grantswhoalsoarrivedduringthelatenineteenthand twentiethcenturies.Althoughconsiderablyfewer,over timetheyestablishedanimportantpresenceinthelarge citiesof Brazil,Peru, Argentina, andParaguay.Beginning inthemid-nineteenthcentury,theChineseand Japanese who settledinLatinAmericawerecontractedtoworkon thecoffeeestatesinsouthernBrazilandthe sugarestates andguanominesof Peru.A sonof Japaneseimmigrants, AlbertoFujimoriwaspresidentofPerufrom1990to 2000. The Japanese in Brazil are the most studied Asianim-migrant group.Between1908 and 1978, a quarter-million Japanese immigratedto Brazil; today the country ishome tomorethan1 millionpeopleof Japanesedescent.Ini-tially,most Japanesewerelandlesslaborers,yetbythe 1940s they had accumulated enough capi tal sothat thrce-quartersof themigrantshadtheirownlandintherural areasofSaoPauloandParanastates.Asagroup,the japanesehave been closely associated withthe expansion of soybean and orangeproduction.TodayBrazilleadsthe worldinexportsof orangejuiceconcentrate,wi thmost oftheorangesgrownonJapanese-Brazilianfarms.In-creasingly,second- andthird-generationJapanesehave takenprofessionalandcommercialjobsinBrazilian ci ties.50mh America's economic turmoilin the 1990s en-couragedmanyethnicj apanesetoemigratetoJapanin searchofbetteropportuniti es.Nearlyone-quarterofa milli onethnic JapaneseleftSouthAmericainthe19905 (mostlyfromBrazilandPeru)andnowworkinjapan (Figure 4.22). ThelatestAsianimmigrantsarefromSouthKorea. Unliketheirpredecessors,mostoftheKoreanimmi-grantscamewithenoughcapitaltoinvestin smalJbusi -nesses,andtheysenledincities,ratherthaninthe countryside.Accordingtoofficial50mhKoreanstatis-tics,120,000KoreansemigratedtoParaguaybetween 1975and1990.WhilemanyhavestayedinParaguay, there seemstobeapatternof secondary immigrationto Figure4.22JapaneseBraziliilns Retired JapaneseBraziliansplaytheboardgameMGOin a city plaza.MostBrazilians of Japanese ancestryliveinthe southern statesof SaoPaulo,Parana,andSantaCatarina. Themajority are descendedfromJapanesewhoimmigratedtoBrazilinthe first half of thetwentiethcentury.(Gary Payne/Getty Images, Inc. - Liaison) BrazilandArgentina.RecentKoreanimmigrantsinSao Paulohavecreatedmorethan2,500smallbusinesses. UnofficialestimatesofthenumberofKoreanslivingin Brazilrange from 40,000to120,000. Asa groupthey are decidedlycommercialinorientationandurbaninresi-dence;their cities of choice areAsunci6n andCiudad del Este in Paraguay, SaoPaulo in Brazil, and Buenos Aires in Argentina. LatinoMigrationandHemisphericChangeMove-mentwithinLatinAmericaandbetweenLatinAmerica and North America has had a significant impact on sending andreceivi ngcommunitiesalike.Wi thinLatinAmerica, internationalmigrationisshapedbyshiftingeconomic and poUticalrealities. Thus, Venezuela'soilwealthduring the19605 and19705attractedbetween1and2million Colombianimmigrants whotendedtowork asdomestics or agricultural laborers.Argentinahaslongbeenadesti -nationforBolivianandParaguayanlaborers.And,of course,far mersintheUnitedStateshavedependedon Mexicanlaborersformostofthetwentiethcentury(see Figure 4.20) . Political[Urmoilalsosparkedwavesofinternational migrants. Chilean intellectuals fledto neighboring countries Figure4.23Mexican-U.S.BorderCrossing Mexicanday workerscrosstheborderinto EIPaso,Texas,from Ciudad Juarez.Mexicanshavelongusedthesebusyborder crossingsto entertheUnitedStates.OtherLa tinoimmigrants, especially fromCentralAmerica,now jointhem.(RobCrondafl/ www.robcrondoll.com) inthe1970swhenGeneralPinochetwrestedpowerfrom thesocialistgovernmentledbySalvadorAllende. Nicaraguanslikewisefl edwhenthesocialistSandanistas came to power in 1979. The bloody civil wars in EI Salvador andGuatemalasentwavesofrefugeesintoneighboring countries,suchasMexicoandtheUnitedStates.With democratizationontheriseintheregion,manyof today's immigrants are classified as economic migrants, not political asylum seekers. Presently,Mexico isbyfarthelargest country of ori-ginof legal immigrantstothe Uni ted States, foll owed by the Philippines, China, Korea, and Vietnam(Figure 4.23). Twenty-twomillion peopleclaimed Mexicanancestry in the2000 U.s.Census,of whom approximately 8million wereimmigrants. Mexican labor migrationtothe United Statesdatesbacktothelate1800swhenrelativelyun-skilledlaborwasrecruitedtoworkinagriculture,min-ing,andrailroads.Thispracticewasformalizedinthe 1940sthroughthe1960swiththeBraceroprogram, whichgrantedtemporaryemploymentresidenceto5 million Mexican laborers(muchlikethe "guest workers" thatWestGermanyrecruitedfromsouthernEuropeand Turkey).Todayroughly 60percent of the Hispanic popu-lation (both foreign-born andnative-born)intheUnited StatesclaimsMexicanancestry.Mexicanimmigrantsare mostconcentratedinCaliforniaandTexas,butincreas-inglytheyarefoundthroughoutthecountry.Although Mexicanscontinuetohavethegreatestpresenceamong LatinosintheUnitedStates,thenumberof immigrants fromElSalvador,Guatemala,Nicaragua,Colombia, Ecuador,andBrazilhassteadilygrown.The2000Cen-suscounted35millionHispanicsintheUnitedStates (bothforeign- andnative-born).Most of thispopulation hasancestraltieswithpeoplesfromLatinAmericaand the Caribbean(seeChapter 5) . 4Latin 149 Today,LatinAmericaisaregionof emigrationrather thanoneof immigration.The majority of states havenega-tiveratesof annualnetmigration,whichmeansthey are losingmorepeopleeachyearthantheyaregaining through immigration.Mexico and Ecuador have an annual rate of - 3.9 per1,000 and Guatemala'sis -5.0.By compar-isontheaveragerateof netmigrationforthedeveloping world as a whole is a much smaller figure of -0.5 (see Table 4.1).Bothskilled and unskilled workers fromLatin Amer- I . ieaareanimportant source of labor inNonh America,Eu-rope,and Japan.Many of theseimmigrantssendmonthly remi ttances(moniessentbackhome)tosustainfamily members.In2006,itwasestimatedthatimmigrantssent morethan$60billiontoLatinAmerica.Mostofthis money came fromworkersinthe United States,but Latino immigrantsinSpain,Portugal,Japan,Canada,andItaly also sent money backtotheregion. Throughremittancesandtechnologicaladvances thatmake communication faster and cheaper, immigrants maintainclose contact withtheir home countri esinways thatearliergenerationscouldnot.Scholarshavelabeled thisabi litytostraddlelivelihoodsbetweentwocountries astransnationalism. A cultural and economic outcome of globalization,transnationalismhighlightsthesocialand economiclinksthatformbetweenhomeandhostcoun-tries.Transnationalmigrantsmaintainadualorhybrid identity,whichisalsoseenasaculturalexpressionof globalization.SalvadoransworkinginWashington,DC, forexample,maintainregularcontractwiththeirrural villagesinEISalvadorthroughsendi nggoodsand forminghometownassociationswhilealsodeveloping vitalimmigrantsocialnetworksintheirnewhome (Figure 4.24). Figure4.24Salvadorans intheSuburbs Daylaborers wa it foremploymentina Marylandsuburboutside Washington,DC.Warandeconomichardshipdrovemany Salvadoransfromtheircountryinthe1980s and1990s.Today, SalvadoransarethelargestimmigrantgroupintheWashington, DC,metropolitanarea.(RobCrandall/ www.robcrandall.com) 1504latinPAITERNSOFCULTURALCOHERENCE ANDDIVERSITY: Repopulatinga Continent TheIberiancolonialexperience(1492tothe1BOOs)im-posedapoliticalandculturalcoherenceonLatinAmerica thatmakesitdistinguishabletodayasaworldregion.Yet this wasnot asimpletransplanting of IberiaacrosstheAt-lantic.OftenasyncreticprocessunfoldedinwhichEuro-peanandIndiantraditionsblendedasindigenousgroups were incorporatedinto eitherthe Spanish or the Ponuguese empires.InsomeareassuchassouthernMexico, Guatemala, Bolivia,Ecuador, and Peru, Amerindian cultures have showed remarkable resilience, asevidenced by the sur-Figure 4. 25Ti kal.Guatemala Thisancient Mayancity locatedinthelowlandforestsof thePeten waspart of a complexnetworkof citieslocatedintheYucatanand northernGuatemala.Atitsheight Tikalsupportedover 100,000 residents,untilitwasabandonedinthelatetenthcentury. Today, nomodernPetencityhasreachedthesizeof TIkal.(RobCrandall! www.robcrandaJl.comj vivalof indigenouslanguages.Yettheprevailingpatternis one of forcedassimilation inwhich European religion,lan-guages,andpoliticalorganizatienwereimposedonthe survivingfragmentsof nativesociety.Later,othercultures, arriving as both forced and voluntary migrants, added tothe regions culrural mix. Perhaps the single most important fac-torinthedominance of EuropeancultureinLatinAmerica wasthe demographic collapse of native populations. DemographicColl apse Beginning in 1492 and lasting until the nineteenth century, theculturalchangeandhumanlossresultingfromthe cataclysmicencounterbetweenEuropeanandIndian worlds was enormous.Throughout the region archaeolog. icalsites arepoignant remindersof the complexity of pre-contactcivilizations.Dozensofstonetemplesfound throughoutMexicoandCentralAmerica,wherethe MayanandAzteccivilizationsflourished,attesttothe abilityofthesesocietiestothriveinthearea'stropical forests and upland plateaus (Figure 4.25).The Mayan city of Tikal flourished inthelowland forests of the Pettn, sup-portingtensofthousands,beforeitsmysteriOUScollapse centuriesbeforethearrivalofEuropeans.IntheAndes, stoneterracesbuiltbytheIncasarestillbeingusedby Andeanfarmers;earthenplatformsforvillagesitesand raisedfieldsforagriculturearestillbeingdiscoveredand mapped.Evidence of the complexity of precontact civiliza-tions are ceremonial centerssuch asCuzco(thecore of the great Incanempirethat wasnearlyleveledbythe Spanish) andtheIncansiteof MachuPicchu(unknowntomost of theworlduntilAmericanarchaeologistHiramBingham investigatedthe site intheearl)'1900s). The Spanish,too, wereimpressedbythe sophisticationandwealththeysaw aroundthem,especiallyintheincomparableTenochtitlan, site of present-day MexicoCity.Tenochtitlan was the politi-calandceremonialcenter of the Aztecs, supporting a com-plexmetropolitanarea\vithsome 300,000residents.The largestcityinSpainatthetimewasconsiderablysmaller. ThemosttellingfiguresoftheimpactofEuropean expansion are demographic.Experts believe thatthe precon tact Americashad54 millioninhabitants;bycomparison, western Europe in 1500 had approximately 42 mill ion.Of the 54 million, about 47 mill ion werein whatis now Latin America,andtherestwereinNonhAmericaandthe Caribbean.Theregionhadtwomajor population centers: oneinCentralMexicowith14millionpeopleandthe otherintheCentralAndes(highlandPeruandBolivia) wi th nearly12million.By1650, after acentury and a half of colonization,theindigenouspopulation wasone tenth itsprecontact size.Thehumantragedyof thispopulation lossisdifficulttocomprehend.Therel,entlesselimination of90percentoftheindigenouspopulationwaslargely causedbyepidemicsof influenzaandsmallpox,but war-fare,forcedlabor, andstarvationduetoa collapseof food production systems alsocontributedtothe deathrate. ThepopulationlowpointforAmerindianswasin 1650, butthetragedycontinuedthroughoutthecolonial periodandtoamuchlesserextentit continuestoday. After the indigenous population began irs slow recovery in theCentralAndesandCentralMexico,therewerestill tribal bands in southern Chile (the Mapuche) and Patagonia (Araucania)that experiencedtheravagesof diseasethree centuriesafterColumbuslanded.Evennow,theisolation of someAmazoniantribeshasmadethemvulnerableto disease.Conflictswithoutsiderswhoinvadetheirterrito-riesinsearchof landorgoldstilloccur.Inanall-too-familiar story,acommoncoldcanprovedeadlytoforest dwellers wholacktheneeded immunities. TheColumbia nExchangeHistorianAlfredCrosby likensthe contact period between the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia)andthe New World(the Americas) as an immense biological swap,whichhetermstheColumbian exchange.AccordingtoCrosby,Europeansbenefited greatlyfromthisexchange,andAmerindianpeoplessuf-feredthe most fromit.On both sidesof the Atlamic, how-ever,theintroductionofnewdiseases,peoples,plants, and animals forever changed the human ecology.Consider, forexample,theimroductionofOldWorldcrops.The Spanish brought their staples of wheat,olives,and grapes toplantintheAmericas.Wheatdidsurprisinglywellin the highland tropiCSand became a widely consumed grain over time. Grapes andolivetreesdid notfareaswell , but eventually grapes were produced commercially inthe temwperatezonesofSouthAmerica.TheSpanishgrewto appreciatethedomestication skillsof Indianagriculturalw ists who had developed valuable starch crops such as corn, potatoes, and biuer maniac, as well ascondiments such as hotpeppers,tomatoes,pineapple,cacao,andavocados. CornneverbecameapopularfoodforEuropeans,but manyAfricanpeoplesadopteditasavitalstaplefood. Afterinitialreluctance,EuropeansandRussianswidely consumedthepotatoas a basicfood.Domesti catedinthe highlandsof PeruandBolivia,thehumblepotatohasan impressiveabilityLOproduceatremendousvolumeof foodina very smallarea,evenwhenclimaticconditi ons arenotideal.Thisrootcropiscreditedwithdriving Europe'srapidpopulat ionincreaseinthe eighteenthcenw tury whenpeasant farmersfromIrelandtoRussiabecame increasinglydependent onitasabasicfood.Thispotato dependence alsomade them vulnerabletopotatoblight, a fungal disease thatemergedinthenineteenth centuryand carneclose tounravelingIrish SOciety. Tropical cropstransferredfrom Asia and Africarecon-figuredtheeconomicpotentialof theregion.Sugarcane, anAsiantransfer,becamethedominantcashcropof the CaribbeanandtheAtlantictropicallowlandsofSouth America.Withsugarproductioncametheimportation of millionsof Africanslaves.Coffee, alatertransferfrom EastAfrica,emergedasoneoftheleadingexportcrops throughoutCentralAmerica,Colombia,Venezuela,and Brazilinthenineteenthcentury.lntroducedAfrican pasture grassesenhanced theforageavail abletolivestock. ThemovementofOldWorldanimalsacrossthe AtlantichadaprofoundimpactontheAmericas.Initially, ChaptC!r4Lain AmC!rica151 theseanimalshastenedIndiandeclinebyintrodUCing animal-borne diseases and by producing feraloffspring that consumedeverythingintheirpaths.Theutilityof 5\,;ne, sheep,cows,andhorses was eventuallyappreciatedbynaw tive survi vors.Draft animals were adopted, aswas theplow, whichfacilitatedthepreparationof soilforplanting. Wool becamea veryimportantfiberforindigenous communities intheuplands.And slowly,pork, chi cken,andeggsadded proteinanddiversitytothestapledietsofcorn,potatoes, andcassava.Ironically,thehorse,whichwasafearedand formidableweaponof theEuropeans,becameatoolof re sistanceinthehandsofskilledriderswhoinhabitedthe plainsoftheChacoandPatagonia.Muchlikenativepeo-ples of North America,these tribal groups challenged Euro-peanconquestbyusingtheirhorsemanshipincombator forflight.Withthe major exception of disease,many trans-fersof plants and animalsultimately benefited both worlds. Slill , il isdear that the ecologicaland materialbasisforlife inLatinAmericawascompletelyreworkedthroughthis exchange processinitiated byColumbus. Indi anSurvivalPresently,Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru,andBoliviahavethelargest indigenous populations. Not surprisingly,these areashadthedensest nativepopuw lationsatcomact.Indigenoussurvivalalsooccursin isolated settings where the workingsof nationaland global economiesareslowtopenetrate.TheisolatedMiskito Coast of Honduras ishome toMiskito, Peeh, andGarifuna. IntheBrazilian stateof RoraimainthenorthernAmazon, some15,000indigenousPemongspeakersorganizedin 2004tocreatetheRaposa/Serrado SolIndianreservation. Intheserelalivelyisolatedareas,smallgroupsof people have managedtomaintain a distinct way of life despite the pressuresto assimilate. Inmanycaseslndiansurvivalcomes downtoonekey resource-land.Indigenous peoples who are abletomaintain aterritorialhome, fonnallythroughlandti tleorinfonnally throughlong-tenn occupancy,aremorelikelytopreservea distinct ethnicidentity.Becauseof thisclose associationbew tweenidentityandterritory,nativepeoplesareincreasingly inSisting on a recognized space withinthei r coumries.These effortstodefineindigenousterritoryareseldomwelcomed bythestatebuttheyareoccurringthroughouttheregion (see "Geographic Tools:Participatory Mapping"). FromAmazoniatothehighlandsofChiapas,many native groups aredemandingformalpoli tical andterritorw ialrecogni tion as a means toredress centuries of injustice. Whetherlheseefforrswillactuallyreshapepolilicaland culturalspaceforLatinAmerica'sAmerindiansisstill uncertain.Yetthere arehopeful signs of increasedpolitical participationbyAmerindianpeoples.In2001,Peruvians electedPresidentAlejandroToledo,anAmerindianwho rosefromacutepovertytoobtain a doctorale in economics fromStanfordUniversity.In2005,Bolivianselectedaforw mer union organizer, EvaMorales, astheir firstAmerindian president.More sothanToledo,Moralesisseenasa pow errul symbol of therise of indigenous politicalpower inthe Andes(Figure 4.26). I CO-TOO lS .,...A_ ParticipatoryMapping LatinAmericahas beena criticalregionforthe ofparticipaorymappingtechniques.Indigenousgroups. environmentalists,andhumanrightsactivistshavecometo appreciaethepowerofmapstoservesocietyandthe environmentParticipatorymapping(PM)isacatchall labelthatreferstoanarrayofcommunity-basedresearch approachesusedto mapplaces.Theseapproachesrelyupon thecollaborationoflocalpeoplewithmapping GeographersPeterHerlihyandGregKnappexplainthatthe -methodologyrestsonthephilosophythat localpopulations havesomeofthebestandmostdetailedknowledgeof their surroundinglands andresources,andthatknowledgecanbe collectedandinterpretedgeographically'- Inthisprocess, communityrepresentativesmastercollectingdatawith handheld globalpositioning andlearnto interpreair photosandsatellite Workingwithaparticipatory researcher or a technicalteam,locals gather and interpret data hroughcommunity administeringquestionnaires. drawingsketch andrecordingplacenamesandother spatialinformation directly oncartographic sheets Anexampleofaparticipatorymappingproductis Figure4.4.1,showi ngtheareaaroundtheRioPlatano Biosphere Reservein northeastern Honduras.Thisisthelargest areaof road-freerainforest inCentralAmerica.Using Figure 4.4.1Communal l and-UseZonesandtheRio Plat'FTA),theCentralAmerican Common Market, andtheAndeanCommunity haveex-istedfordecades,buttheirabilitytoinfluenceeconom-ictradeandgrowthislimitedatbest.Inthe19905, MrcasurandNAFTAemergedassupranati onalstruc-lUresthatcouldinnuencedevelopment(Figure4. 33). For LatinAmeri ca,thelessonsof MercosurandNAFTA arecausingpoliticianstorethinkthevalueofregional trade. Mercosurwasformedin1991wi thBraziland Argentina,thetwolargesteconomicsinSouthAmerica, andthesmallerstatesof UruguayandParaguayasmem-Figure 4.32ProtestsAgai nst TortillaPri ces A p ~ a s a n twomanjoinedprotestors inMexicoCityin2007asMexicans marchedagainstthesudden increaseincornandtortillaprices, thestaplefoodsof thecountry. Peoplecardedbannersproclaiming, "without corn,thereisnocountry." Inheendthepresident of Mexico decidedtofreezetortilla prices.(Lu;s Acosta/ AFP/Gerry Images) bers.Sinceitsformation,tradeamongthesecountries grewtremendously inthe1990sbut falteredsomeinthe lastfewyearsduetoeconomiclUnnoilandpolitical infighting.Thesizeandproductivityofthismarkethave notgoneunnoticedby othertradeblocks.Between1991 and2001,tradebetweenthe European Union andMerco-surdoubled,from520billionto$40billion.Mercosur countriesaretheEU'slargesttradingpartnersinLatin America,andtherehavebeenrenewedeffortstoforma free-tradeagreement betweenMercosur andtheEU. This developmentisSignificantintwoways:itrenectsthe growthoftheseeconomiesandthewillingnesstoput asideoldrivalries(especiallylong-standingantagoniSms betweenArgentina andBrazil)fortheeconomicbenefits of regionalcooperation.(See"GeographyintheMaking: The Growth of Mercosur. ") TransportationandcommunicationbetweenSouth Americancountrieswillcertainlyimprovewiththeex-pansionofMercosur.Plansaboundtofundamentall y reworkthenow of goodsandcommunicationinthis area. Asprivatizationof thetelephone companieshas benefited telecommunication,major jointengi neeringprojectsare beingconsidered. Studiesareundenvaytoimprovenavi-gati onalongtheParam\andParaguayrivers,whichare alreadyimportantarteriesforthetransportofgrains. Other schemesincludebuilding abridgeacrossthePlata Riverestuarytoforma more direct link between the capi-talcitiesof UruguayandArgenti na,a tunnelthroughthe AndesbetweenChileandArgentina,andaregionalnet-workofnaturalgaspipelinesthatwouldlinkBolivia, Argentina,Peru, and southernBrazil.Inshort,theelabo-rationofMercosurcouldchangethewayindividuals inthemembercountriesrelatetooneanotherand thinkaboutthemselves.MuchliketheEuropeanUnion, PACIFIC OCEAN Figure 4.33Geopoli ticsand TradeBlocksinlatin America Of the:fiveeconomictradeblocksdepicted, Mercosur andNAFTAarethemost dynamic.In fact,severalAndeancountries arenowassociate members of Mercosur,whilemembers of theCentral AmericanCommonMarket signedanagreementin 2004toformCAFTA(CentralAmericanFreeTrade Association),whichalsoincludes theDominicanRepublic. whichhasfosteredasenseofEuropeanidentity. overtimeMercosurmayshapeaSouthAmerican identi ty. NAFTA took effect in1994 as a free-trade area that would gradually eliminate tariffs and easethe movement of goods amongthe member countries (Mexico,theUnitedStates,andCanada).Asa tradeblock,itincludesmorethan440million peoplethatcollectivelyproducemorethan$14 trillioningoodsandserviceseachyear.NAFTA hasincreasedintraregionaltrade; butconsiderable controversyragesaboutwhoarethebeneficiaries and who are the losers inthistrade block (see Chapter 3) .AFTAdid sti mulate trade and overall growth, but it alsobroughtdislocationandchangetotheeconomic landscape of thecountries involved. AlthoughNAFTAdid notdetourimmigrationtotheUnitedStatesbycreating jobs inMexico, it didprovethata free- tradeareacombin-ingindustrializedanddevelopingstateswaspossible.By somemeasuresthesuccess of NAFTAinspiredother free-tradeagreements, thenewest one being theCentral Amer-icanFreeTrodeAgreement(CAFTA)signedin2004to include the Dominican Republic along with Guatemala,EI Salvador, Honduras,Nicaragua,and Costa Rica.The push forCAFTAemergedafterit becameclearthatanoverly ambitiousFreeTradeAreaof theAmericas(including all Chapter4latin America161 300"" ..... ECONOMICTRADE BLOCKS: - lAfTA,.,""-CAFTA Mercosur associares ATLANTIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN states inthe hemisphere except Cuba)wouldfail,inpartdue ~toMercosur'soppositiontothe plan.LikeNAFTA,theCAFTA agreementrequiresopening marketsforgoodsandservices, dismamlingprotectionsoflocal industries, and enforcement of intel-lecmalpropertyrights.Inreturn, theUnitedStatedpromisesgreater marketaccessforCentral American and Dominican prod-uctsincludingtextilesandagriculturalcommodities. CAFTA islikely toincreasedirectforeigninvestment and jobs inthe block, although detraclOrs worry abouttherise of low-wagesweatshop employment andnot more skilled labor.Interestingly,itisresistancefromCostaRica-the most prosperousmember of thegroup-that hasdelayed its fullimplementation as of 2007. ! 'I I l '62Chapttr 4La'n Amtrica GEOGRAPHYIN THEMAKING TheGrowthof Mercosur WhenMercosurbeganin 1991ithad4 fullmembers-the SouthernConecountriesofBrazil, Argentina,Uruguay,and Paraguay.TodayMercosurhas10members:5associate members(allAndeancountries),and5fullmembers, pendingtheratificationofVenezuelaasthelatestfull member.Boliviamayalsobegrantedfullmemberstatus soon.ThedreamofMercosur,tointegratetradeinthe southerncone, hasextendedtoincludemostof continent. Yetexpansionhasbroughttensionsamongthemembers andassociates,aswellasanideologicalstruggleaboutthe purpose of the organization. Partofthemotivation forexpansioniseconomictrade power.Mercosurisnowtheworld'sfourthlargesttrade block,incl udingover260millionpeople.AddingVenezuela, andpossiblyBol ivi a,totheclubof fullmembersalsobrings major oi l andgas reserves to the group. This willgreatly assist the growing energy needs fo r Chile, Brazil, andArgentina. As onelargeblock,thesecountrieswillalsohaveresourcesto enhanceregionalinfrastructuresuchastelecom-gasandinternationalwaterways. Furthermore,economiesofscalenowexistinnegotiation withothertrade suchastheEuropeanUnion. VetVenezuela'spopulistleader,PresidentHugoChavez, insiststhatMercosurshouldbe"decontaminatedof neoliberalism" and act as a political block. InChavez's mind,it is onlya strongSouthAmerican CommonMarketthatcan countertheneoimperialistactions of theUnitedStates.For Chavez, and some of his supporters,Mercosur shouldbefirst andforemosta politicalblock that usestradetofostermore equitablesocialdevelopmentintheregion.However,the originalintentofMercosur,certai nlybyitsfounding members,wastobuilda trade block withthe aimof regional economicintegrationintheEuropeanmodel.Brazil,the largestandmosteconomicallypowerfulmemberofthe group,insiststhat economicintegrationishappeningbutit willtakeawhileforthe details tobeworkedout. Giventheseconflictingandrapidexpansion, thereisintenseupheavalwithinthegroup,makingit unclearif acontinental -sizedMercosurcanbesustained. Thedifficultiesli einintegrati ngstatesatsuchdifferent scales(Uruguayhasba rely3 million people andBrazilhas nearly190million)andlevelsofdevelopment.Atthesame time,theexpansionofMercosurcouldmakeoneofthe region'soldesttradetheAndeanCommunityof unnecessary.Formedin1969withColombia, InsurgenciesandDrugTraffickingGuerrilla groups suchastheRevolutionaryArmedForcesofColombia (FARC) havecontrolledlargeterritories of their countries throughthesupportofthoseloyaltotheircause, along Ecuador,Peru,Bolivia,andChil e astheAndeanPact, the AndeanCommunityrecentlysignedanagreementwith Mercosur'sfullmembersallowingthemtobeassociatesof theorganization.Thusacompetinggeographyoftrade blockshasemergedinSouthAmerica.Thefullmembersof the AndeanCommunity andMercosur couldpeelawayfrom eachother,withMercosurmoreorientedtowardthe Atlantic side andthe AndeanCommuni ty towardthePacific. Or,through the gradual inclusionof Andeancountries as full members of Mercosur,a single continentalradeblock could emerge (Figure4.5.1). Figure 4.5,1FullMembersof theAndeanCommunityand Mercosur Andean Community oMercosur ATLANTIC OCEAN ATLANTIC OCEAN withtheft ,kidnapping,andviolence.TheFARC,along withtheNationalLiberationArmy(ELN),gainedwealth and might in Colombiathroughthe drug trade inthe1980s and19905.ThelevelofviolenceinColombiaescalated furtherwiththeriseof paramilitarygroups-well-anned vigilantegroups that seekto"cleanse"areas of insurgency sympathizers.Theparamilitary groupsareblamedforthe riseInpolitically motivated murders and there are clear in-dicationsthattheyreceivedhelp[romindividualsinthe government.Asmanyas2.5millionColombianshave been internally displacedby violence since thelate 1980s, most fleeingruralareasfortownsandcities.By2002,the levelof violence in Colombia had become intolerable, with an estimated 300,000 murders that year. In the major cities of Bogotd andMedellfn,people didnot goout at night for fearof crimeandkidnapping,economicactivitydeclined, and many people left the country. Colombian statistics sug-gestthat over 3millionColombians now liveabroad.For-tunately,thesituationinthelastfiveyearshasimproved considerably.UnderPresidentUribe,thepolicepresence increasedthroughomthestateandnegotiationswithin-surgenciesstopped,ultimatelyreducingtheirpower.The introductionofthe JusticeandPeaceLawalsobeganthe processofdisarmingparamilitarygroups.Afteryearsof violence,Colombiansdesperatelywantpeace.Fornow, at least,thelevelsof violencehavedeclinedinColombia. YetdrugcartelsandgangsinstatesasdiverseasMexico, EI Salvador,andBrazilhavebeenblamedforincreasesin violence andlawlessness. The drug tTade is often seen astheroot of many of the region'sproblems,butthisillegaltradealsogenerates billionsofdollarsforLatinAmericans,fromthesmall cocafannersinBoliviatothecarlelleadersinColombia. The drug trade began inearnest inthe1970s, with Colom-biaatitscenterof distributionandBoliviaandPeruthe zones of cocaproduction.Bythe1980s theMedellinCar-tel wasa powerfulandwealthy crime syndicatethatused narco-dollarslObribeormurderanyonewhogalinits way.Theorganizationwasweakenedbythedeathof its leader, Pablo Escobar,in1993but bythentheCaliCartel waspoisedtotakecontrol.Itspower wasreducedbyar-restsof keyleadersin1995.Noone cartel dominatesthe drugtradetoday;instead,iLhasdecentralizedintodozens of smaller productive syndicates. Initially,most L1tin governments caredlittle aboUl con-trolling thedmgtrade asitbroughtinmuch-neededhard currency. Withinthe region, drug consumption was scarcely aproblem.Somedruglordsevenbecamepopularfolk heroes,lavishlyspending money ontheircommunitiesfor housing,parks,andschools.Thesocialcostsofthedrug tradetoLatin Americabecame evident bythe1980s, when the region was Crippled by a badly damaged judicial system. Bypayingoffpolice,themilitary,judges,andpoliticians, the dmg syndicates\vieldedincredible politicalpowerthat threatened the civilfabricof the states in whichthey work. Andeventually drug consumption and addiction became a problem,especiallyinLatinAmerica'slargecities.Yearsof coumemarcoties work have done littletoreducethe overall flowof drugstoorthAmericaandEurope,butthepro-grams have changedthe areas of production. Inthe1980s, the major production centers were inthe cloudforeslSof PeruandBolivia,andtheproducerswere Chapter 4I4tin America163 peasantsworkingsmallplots.Duringthel9905,the productionof cocaleaf (themainingredientforcocaine) shiftedtotherainforestsofColombia,wherecocawas grownonlarge,modemestates.PlanColombia,intro-duced byPresident BillClintonin2000,uppedthestakes inthedrugwarwithacommitmentofSI.3billionto Colombiaalone.Since1990,theUnitedStateshasspent between$3billionand$4billiontoreduceAndeancoca andcocaineproduction.Proponentsofthisproduction-orientedstrategyareclaimingvinory,asBolivianand Peruvianproductionhastumbled(Figure4.34).Yetthe overallareaof coca cultivation hasnOlfallensignificantly, from516,450 acres(209,000 hectares)in1996to 45i,000 acres(185,000hectares)in2000and431,000acres (174,500 hectares) in2005. Figure4.34Coca-GrowingAreasin SouthAmeri ca Althoughtheoldest coca-growingregionsareinBolivia andPeru. Colombiantraffickersturnedtheprocessinganddistributionof cocaineintoaninternationalnarcoticstrade.Bythelate19905 thebulkof cocaproductionhadshiftedout of BoliviaandPeru andtoColombia.(FromU.s.Governmb