Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know that some countries that have come close and are improving but the gdp per capita and househould incomes in the best latin countries is still terribly low. With much of global economic power moving out of this hemisphere, has LAtAM missed the boat? Mexico being next door to the biggest economy on earth has not been able to completely capitalize on that like Canada has. Haiti, Venezuela and the northern triangle in central america are a lost cause. Other LAtam countries are doing much better but still not great.
There are only three countries in a region of over 20 that are closing the gap with developed countries (Chile, Panama and Dominican Republic). The rest are either maintaining the gap that currently exist or more often are increasing the gap. You can grow economically, but if over the long term taking into account the effect of economic crisis developed countries grow more, then in a relative term you are worst off. In an absolute term you're better compared to how you were before.
With the case of Venezuela, I wouldn't write off yet. Its currect crisis is home grown and it basically hinges on getting rid of the current government. That's the source of its economic problems at the moment. Having an idiot in power cerntainly doesn't help.
I also wouldn't say Latin America in general has a very low living standards. Sure, its quite modest compared to developed countries, but that's a very small group of countries. Together they form roughly 10% of the world's population. Most countries in the world are worst off than the typical country in Latin America. If anything, Latin America is the region as a whole that is the most developed and rich of the developing world. Development levels similar to India, Afghanistan, The Congo are almost unknown in Latin America. Most Latin Americans aren't aware they are ahead of most of the world and are more likely to think they are as bad as say Bangladesh or Mali, because most are focused on North America and Western Europe. Its as if the rest of the world almost doesn't exist for them. Reality is that the average Latin American has no idea what the average person lives like in places like Somalia, Tibet or Tajikistan. If they did, they woukdn't be complaining as if they and them are at the same level.
Uruguay is heavily dependent on Argentina and if anything, the Argentine government has done what it can to make Argentina one of the countries that suffer the most crisis decade after decade during much of the 20th Century and by the looks of it, what has been of the 21st. Uruguay also has a sort of letargy regarding its economic growth and development. Visiting Uruguay gives the feeling that the people there are complacent with the current situation and aren't doing much to further develop the place. They aren't destroying it either, that's a task they seem to leave it to their neighbors the Argentines.
While I'm at it, Montevideo seems more like Buenos Aires in the sense that its a great city that appears stuck in the 1960's or 1970's. It's an entirely different sensation from what's experienced in either Panama City or any of the other capitals. A person that is focused on making money and his career, certainly is in the wrong place if they live in Montevideo.
Most of Latin America is in the tropics, so it didn’t really have a chance to become developed.
Large scale agriculture doesn’t work well in the tropics for the major cereal grains (wheat/rice/corn). It’s possible to grow them in the tropics, but the yields are much lower than in the temperate zone. The grain yields need to be high to keep the price of food low. Low food prices allow for a larger, denser population with a developed economy.
That’s why the temperate part of South America is developed. That’s where the best land is for grain cultivation.
There are some models Latin America can look at to build more high income areas in the tropics.
1. Middle Eastern style oil-rich country: Carve out a small piece of land that has vast oil reserves, keep the population small and pay foreigners to make the place look opulent.
2. Singapore style trade hub: I think only Panama can do this because of the canal. I think Panama City can be like Singapore if it got more foreign investment.
Most of Latin America is in the tropics, so it didn’t really have a chance to become developed.
Large scale agriculture doesn’t work well in the tropics for the major cereal grains (wheat/rice/corn). It’s possible to grow them in the tropics, but the yields are much lower than in the temperate zone. The grain yields need to be high to keep the price of food low. Low food prices allow for a larger, denser population with a developed economy.
That’s why the temperate part of South America is developed. That’s where the best land is for grain cultivation.
There are some models Latin America can look at to build more high income areas in the tropics.
1. Middle Eastern style oil-rich country: Carve out a small piece of land that has vast oil reserves, keep the population small and pay foreigners to make the place look opulent.
2. Singapore style trade hub: I think only Panama can do this because of the canal. I think Panama City can be like Singapore if it got more foreign investment.
Let's not ignore the huge subsidies that the US government gives to its farmers, most of the benificiaries themselves are multimillionaires. It's relatively easy to flood other markets with cheap products when much of the costs is subsidized. Often times these "cheaper" imports wreck havoc on certain areas of the agriculture of many countries, particularly if they have very weak governments to effectively counter the pressure from abroad.
Case in point, ask Haiti how its agriculture industry is doing after getting flooded with "cheaper" American agricultural products, basically destroying entire crops production that before the onslaught were thriving sectors. Usually, the greatests opportunities in developing countries are in agriculture and these intromision doesn't help. People should go and see for themselves the true price of these policies that by all accounts are unfair to many countries, robbing them of the few things where they have opportunities to grow and further develop. Go and see the fields that were once covered in agricultural production and now are barren because the agricultural production went bankrupt as their market was flooded with artificially cheaper products from rich nations. See the people that were once employed in these places now with nothing to do and facing starvation. Go and see what it actually does on the ground in countries that if anything don't need their life to be made harder, its already hard as it is.
Every sector in each country hasn't developed in unison with the same sectors in other countries. How are you going to subject a sector that yet is not ready for free trade and then don't expect to destroy it? That's not fair competition and "survival of the fittest," that is simply being greedy and evil.
Most of Latin America is in the tropics, so it didn’t really have a chance to become developed.
Large scale agriculture doesn’t work well in the tropics for the major cereal grains (wheat/rice/corn). It’s possible to grow them in the tropics, but the yields are much lower than in the temperate zone. The grain yields need to be high to keep the price of food low. Low food prices allow for a larger, denser population with a developed economy.
.
Interesting theory, however rice and corn are both indigenous plants to the tropics. I'm pretty sure most rice in the world is cultivated in the tropics.
If you look at how many countries have had left wing goverments over the past century, there have actually very been very of few of them.
That's because CHe said he wanted to start Vietnam all over the place
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
