MIDDLE AMERICA II
(CHAPTER 4:  196-221)

 

MEXICO

·        Population distribution (map)

·        Natural resources (map)

·        Location of maquiladoras (map)

·        GDP per capita along the US-Mexican border (map)

 

MAQUILADORAS

•    Initiated in the 1960s as coupon houses

•    Assembly plants that pioneered the migration of industries in the 1970s

•    Today

–>4,000 maquiladoras

–>1.2 million employees

 

MAQUILADORAS

·        Modern industrial plants

·        Assemble imported, duty-free components/raw materials

·        Export the finished products

·        Mostly foreign-owned (U.S., Japan)

·        80% of goods reexported to U.S.

·        Tariffs limited to value added during assembly

 

Maquiladora products

·        Electronic equipment

·        Electric appliances

·        Auto parts

·        Clothing

·        Furniture

MAQUILADORAS

•    ADVANTAGES

– Mexico gains jobs.

– Foreign owners benefit from cheaper labor costs.

•    EFFECTS

– Regional development

– Development of an international growth corridor between Monterrey and Dallas - Fort Worth

 

NAFTA

•    Effective 1 January 1994

•    Established a trade agreement between Mexico, Canada and the US, which:

– Reduced and regulated trade tariffs, barriers, and quotas between members

– Standardized finance and service exchanges

 

NAFTA: HOW HAS MEXICO BENEFITED?

 

MEXICO AND NAFTA

•    Foremost, it promises a higher standard of living.

•    NAFTA creates more jobs for Mexicans as US companies begin to invest more heavily in the Mexican market.

•    Mexican exporters increase their sales to the US and Canada.

•    Is that the entire story?

 

US TRADE WITH CANADA & MEXICO

• Canada remains as the United States’ largest export market.

• Since 1977, Mexico has moved into second place (displacing  

  Japan).

• 85% of all Mexican exports now go to the United States.

• 75% of Mexico’s imports originate in the United States.

 

ALTITUDINAL ZONATION (MODEL)

·        Tierra Caliente

·        Tierra Templada

·        Tierra Fria

·        Tierra Helada

CENTRAL AMERICA (MAP)

 

THE REPUBLICS

  • Guatemala
  • Belize
  • Honduras
  • El Salvador
  • Nicaragua
  • Costa Rica
  • Panama

 

ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS

  • Tropical Deforestation
  • 3 million acres of woodland in Central America disappear each year!

 

CAUSES OF TROPICAL DEFORESTATION

  • Clearing of rural lands to accommodate meat production and export
  • Rapid logging of tropical woodlands to meet global demands for new housing, paper, and furniture
  • Population explosion: forests are cut to provide crop-raising space and firewood
  • What is the solution?

 

DEFORESTATION (PHOTO)

 

THE CARIBBEAN BASIN

  • The Greater Antilles

–    Cuba

–    Hispaniola

–    Jamaica

–    Puerto Rico

  • The Lesser Antilles

 

TOURISM: A MIXED BLESSING?

  • Advantages

–    State and regional economic options

–    A clean industry

–    Educational

  • Disadvantages

–    Disjunctive development

–    Degrades fragile environmental resources

–    Inauthentic representations of native cultures