Recent Changes in Latin America

Jordan Ferguson

RST 281 Sec. 01 Tuesdays

Mrs. Brads

May 24, 2011

 Urbanization has brought many drastic changes to Latin America over the last

50 years that range from both the good to the bad. As cities in Latin America have

grown larger and larger, so has the racial and economical diversity. In recent years, the

minorities and poor of Latin America have found their voice. The two most positive

changes have been increased representation for Indians and the progress countries are

taking to close the gap between the rich and poor.　The massive urbanization is recent

years has also brought some grim issues to the people of Latin America. Urban primacy

has made many massive cities that stand as the industrial kingpin of that state. These

industrial kingpins have countless factories that constantly turn out pollution.

Urbanization has also come to make all businesses more streamlined and efficient. This

even touches the darker side of Latin America. The drug Cartel is has grown very strong

in recent years. The two worst things are the pressing issues of pollution and the still

rampant drug cartel.

In recent times, the struggle for indigenous people’s equality has been meeting

more and more success. Many barriers that have stood since colonial times are being

shattered. The indigenous people are achieving worldwide recognition for their

endeavors and are gaining more rights all through Latin America.
 Probably the most direct example of their success has been increased

representation in politics. Elisa Camino, a presidential candidate of Argentina, asserts

that “we are electing leaders who look like the people they represent” (PPT April 5th).

Their bigger role of politics is clear when you look at Evo Morales. He won the 2005

election in Bolivia and is currently leading the country as an indigenous man (PPT April

5th). With his political power, Morales has begun fighting for indigenous rights in his

country. In fact, he worked out a new constitution in 2009 that gives the indigenous

many new rights such as community justice (PPT April 5th).

The initial social hierarchy set when the new world met the old has started to

crumble. Progressive thinking and fights for equality have begun to chip away at the

rigid ideals that have stood for so long. The once massive gap between the rich and poor

is beginning to close in. Poverty levels are steadily receding in many parts of Latin

America.

A drastic change has happened recently in Brazil. Being a country known for

its massive difference between rich and poor, this is truly a spectacular change. In 1995,

Brazil’s president Fernando Enrique Cardoso announced that Brazil needs affirmative

action (PPT April 12th). In the movie Brazil in Black and White, it is stressed that equal

opportunity is not alive in Brazil (Stephan 2007). The quota reserves a set amount of
spots where people considered “black” can get free college. The racial quota system

makes it much easier for the predominantly black poor population in Brazil to get a

higher education and work to close the gap.

The endeavors in Bolivia clearly show that some people are working to

eradicate poverty. An article in The Economist published on May 13th, 2010 tells how

Hugo Chavez has come to build both metrocables and health clinics among the favelas

in Bolivia. His efforts have been making a difference too. Poverty in his country has

fallen from 49.4% in 1999 to 27.6% in 2008 (The Economist).

Another way the gap is being shortened is through the endeavors of the

Catholic Church. They began a reform in 1968 that gave “preferential option to the

poor” (PPT April 19th). Thanks to this reform, the Catholic Church has started literacy

programs and nutrition projects to help better the living conditions of the poor all

throughout Latin America (Hillman 348). They have even urged “greater government

spending on health and tax reforms” (Hillman 348).

These great changes in Latin America have come forth thanks to the rapid

urbanization in the last 50 years. With the good, there is always the bad. Sadly, this

rapid urbanization has also brought forth several issues in Latin America.

The increased industrialization has also brought a very grimy side to Latin
America. That side is pollution. In the last 50 years, pollution is becoming a bigger and

bigger issue that is going to need pressing attention very soon. The damage pollution is

causing is becoming more and more apparent.

Massive industrialization in the last 50 years has led to pollution of Latin

America’s land (PPT April 19th). Although environmental regulations exist these days,

governments in Latin America frequently choose to look the other way (Hilman 220).

Oil has caused a massive amount of damage to the environment in several ways. Oil

drilling has led to spills and blowouts have occurred that release massive amounts of

crude oil into the environment. The oil from these spills “destroy everything in their

path” (Hillman 220). These issues with oil have come to devastate both aquatic and

coastal ecosystems.

Pollution has also come to affect the air too. Industrialization has made a town

in Brazil called Cubatao become “one of the most polluted places on earth” (Hillman

221). The air pollution in Cubato has led to a whole host of problems ranging from

increased chance of cancer to birth defects. Oil has also caused massive air pollution

too. There have been fires that rage out of control for weeks on end and cause serious

air pollution problems. A July 29th 2010 article in The Economist states that in places

such as Mexico City, there are days when a brown cloud of pollution descends down on
the city, making it hard for everyone to breathe.

Another ever-growing problem is the drug cartel in Latin America. It’s linked

with a plethora of problems that persist in both Latin America and here in the United

States of America. Modern technology and other advances thanks to urbanization have

made the drug cartel that much more efficient. It is an issue that must not go unchecked.

The drug cartel is a brutal business that leaves countless victims. In the movie

Brazil in Black and White, it touches on Catholic a woman who was killed in the slums

of Brazil by a drug lord while simply trying to help the poor (Stephan 2007). An April

14th 2011 article in The Economist states that Guatemala’s murder rate has doubled due

to the drug trade. Another country, Panama, has seen its murder rate triple in the last

three years thanks to the lucrative drug trade. It has naturally affected the United States

of America too. According to a congressional research report, more than 60 Americans

were kidnapped from the city of Nuevo Laredo near the border with Mexico (Cook).

These cartels even have gone as far to fight the government. In Columbia, cartels “…

declared war on the government, assassinating judges, prosecutors, and legislators who

attempted to thwart their efforts” (Hillman 196) It’s clear that the lives taken by the drug

trade are on a much bigger scale that just one country.

The drug cartel does more than cause untold bloodshed. It also puts a heavy
strain on the economies of more than one country. An April 14th 2011 article in The

Economist asserted that dealing with all of the crime and violence of the drug cartel

takes up 8% of Central America’s GDP. The almost uninhibited cartel has also caused

insurance to skyrocket in price. The April 14th Article also states one construction firm

in Honduras has had its security bill go up more than 20%. The congressional research

report also dictates that Cartels make billions of dollars annually from America. That’s a

lot of money that can go to aiding both the United States of America and the countries

of Latin America.

As times wears on, Latin America is beginning to hit a critical time. A time

where choices become crucial in deciding how not only Latin America, but the world

will come to be in future generations. There is some amazing progress being made in

recent years with recognizing the indigenous people of Latin America and with helping

the poor. The drug cartel still runs rampant and massive pollution is destroying Latin

Americans’ quality of life at this very moment. Once these issues are addressed with

fervor, all of Latin America can look forward to a much brighter future.