Introduction South America is the fourth largest continent in the world with twelve countries and three dependent territories. Countries including Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, Guyana, and Suriname. Dependent territories include Falkland Islands, French Guiana, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands1. South America is tropical wet and dry regions which allows them to grow several types of fruits and vegetables. The two main cash crops grown in South America are cacao and coffee. Minerals such as gold, silver, tin, iron., ore, and petroleum are vastly found in South America. In this paper will talk about the current events of South America and how these events impact their …show more content…
In majority of the counties in South America the environment to conduct business is very hostile. According to Alexander Monge-Naranjo it is due to the economical position of the counties2. It takes longer to get permits and get access to electricity which makes it harder to do business in some countries in South America. In the chart above it stats how Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Mexico are they only counties where it is reasonably easy to do business. Doing business successfully in a county with the political and economic state of the country. For instance, it is the hardest to introduce a new business in Venezuela due to its corrupt politics and terrible economical state. Venezuela was one of the largest oil producing country with approximately 300 billion barrels3. After 2012 Venezuela’s GDP dropped due to the declining oil prices. It is predicted that Venezuela’s GDP per capita will be around $12,210 by 2022 which will be an enormous setback for its economy4. The potential for international businesses going to Venezuela are very low due to the current economic and political state of the
Major places like Peru Ecuador. And Bolivia have major industries such as food processing, mining, wood products, textiles, petroleum, and more. Their major agricultural products would be cacao, balsa wood, shrimp, cotton, sugarcane, and more. (Doc B)Some more major places in South America in South America like Chile and Argentina make most of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and employ over half of the population. They produce grains, fruits such as grapes, and beef cattle, (Doc C) South Americas history many interesting types of civilizations like Aztec of around A.D. 1200- A.D 1521. (Doc 1) South America has some amazing features but also has a downside. From the 1950’s to now more people live in urban areas rather than rural areas unlike 1950 with most of the population living in rural areas. (Doc D) Today in Brazil, one of the largest economies in the world, there is a very large gap between the rich and the poor. Government is trying to build a bridge between the gap but this is hard knowing that 2% of the population are higher class. (Doc E) Around the Amazon River there is forest. But deforestation is making all this go away based on a survey taken in 2000-2005, Most of it is caused by Cattle Ranches. About 35% is taken up by small-scale, subsistence agriculture, The rest taken up by fires, urbanization construction, logging and large scale commercial agriculture. (Doc
The first chapter focuses on Brazil’s founding and history up until present. When the Portuguese were blown off course to Asia onto the coasts of Brazil in 1500, the Portuguese knew they had found a land filled with opportunities. The main attraction was the abundance of brazilwood which could be used for manufacturing luxurious fabrics in Europe. Over the centuries, exploration led to the discovery of more resources such as sugar, coffee, and precious metals that had made it a sought after country for colonization. Even to this day, Brazil maintains the image of a land with limitless resources since the recent discovery of oil and gas reserves and other commodities.
Historically, Venezuela has been a considerably rich country. For instance, in the work of Cannon (2008), it is noted that Venezuela was among the richest countries in the world. All citizens experienced this richness because the population in late 18th Century and early 19th Century was considerably small. The country made an effort to buy slaves from Africa leading to over 100,000 slaves entering Venezuela. The population increased but these slaves were humiliated and stigmatized. As the population increased, the number of Venezuelans living in abject poverty increased rapidly. A large majority of income from oil and natural gas among other vast resources that Venezuela holds remained in the hands of a select few. By the end of the colonial rule, Venezuela had over 60 % of the population being Africans and an additional 25 % being from America (Cannon 2008, 735). Out of the 25 % Americans, an estimated 90 % were suspected to be of African descent. The per capita income has been historically high prior to 1992. However, Venezuela experienced a sharp decline in per capita income following the failed coup attempt by Hugo Chávez due to dwindling income to the populace. Cannon records that per capita income fell by almost half, from US $ 5192 to US $ 2858. On the other hand, human development index was noted to have fallen to 0.7046 from 0.8210 between 1990 and 1997. These challenges in economy led to Chávez’s election in 1998.
The setting for Stanley J. Stein's book Vassouras takes place in one of the most unique environments in the world. Housing large tracts of virgin rain forest, Vassouras represents the ideal climate for the coffee cultivation that has come to dominate Brazilian agriculture, and during the latter half of the 19th century proved as the foremost region for coffee growing in the world. However, by the beginning of the 20th century, Vassouras had declined as a major coffee producing region, and its decline demonstrates important aspects of Brazilian cultural and economic life. Vassouras ultimately lost its affluence as a coffee producer because of the destructive and ineffective agricultural practices of its farmers and the crumbling of the slave-based society that served as its dominant labor force. The experience of Vassouras also demonstrates larger themes in Latin American economics at the end of the 19th century.
The economy of Latin American countries such as Argentina have often focused on only one main product at a time and imported many of the other products needed. Argentina especially followed this economic strategy in the late 1800’s. Latin American countries focus on one product it does well and does not stray from that product. The countries were just following trends and taking advantage of what the market dictates is a worthwhile product. This strategy can fall short of having long-term success and lead to a land of poverty. This was the case in most every country in Latin America, and all the economy revolved around the growth of industry in each country. Technology, increased immigration, European influence, and political policy all influenced the economic state of Latin American countries and led to economic struggles.
Since the 1970s, Venezuela has gone from being South America’s richest nation into a nouveau-poor society in search of an identity. Once known as the Saudis of the West, Venezuelans have seen their economic fortunes decline in exact proportion to the general fall in world oil prices. Even so, Venezuela’s many problems were hidden from view until relatively recently, when severity measures heralded the sort of economic crises so painfully familiar to other Latin American countries. Runaway inflation, currency devaluations and even food riots have marked this new phase in Venezuelan history, to which the country is still trying to adjust.
“Capitalism is a world system. But some of its parts have more than their share of leadership.”(Cardoso xxi). Latin America, like much of the third and second world has received far lesser dividends from the fruits of capitalism. In fact due to its close geographic location to the united states and its strong early history of colonialism Latin America is a shining example of how economic dependency has evolved. From its moment liberation Latin America has been seen as a economic tool by the west, particularly by the USA, and continues to be economically dominated to this day. From the Eve of conquest the region has used its economic power mostly to the benefit of another nation.
Coffee took over the once prosperous sugar industry in Brazil. The efficiency and price of the sugar mill in the West Indies sugar mills in the 1860s drove Brazil off the international market (Burns 151). Also, is it important to note that other countries started to experiment with sugar beet, a plant whose roots have a high concentration of sucrose. This reduced the value of the exported sugar from Brazil. As E. Bradfurd Burns put it, the coffee industry repeated many old economic characteristic used in the sugar industry such as having a single crop raised mostly for export and a dependency on foreign markets for prosperity (151).
Executive Summary To be given an opportunity to do business in Mexico, one must understand where to start and how to deal with a totally different social and cultural environment from what one is accustomed to. To succeed in making a good first impression and in carrying out any type of business transaction, it is important to understand what these differences are. When conducting business in Mexico, there are specific things that must be understood and complied with. Just understanding how important building a relationship is, such as shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, can have a huge impact. What could potentially be the start of a bad or mediocre business trip now has the possibility of being a successful one.
Venezuela was one of the richest countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Colombia and Ecuador). For most of the first half of the 20th century, Venezuela was ruled by generally benevolent military strongmen, who promoted the oil industry and allowed for some social reforms. Democratically elected governments have held sway since 1959. Current concerns include: a polarized political environment, a politicized military, drug-related violence along the Colombian border, increasing internal drug consumption, overdependence on the petroleum industry with its price fluctuations, and irresponsible mining operations that are endangering the rain forest and indigenous peoples.
Hugo Chavez was a powerful and positive force in addressing social issues, however, his singular focus on social issues at the expense of other matters of the country left the Venezuelan economy in tatters. In 1998, 50.4% of the Venezuelan population was living below the poverty line, where as in 2006 the numbers dropped to 36.3% (Chavez leaves). Although he aggressively confronted the issue of poverty in Venezuela, many other problems were worsened. Some Chavez critics say he used the state oil company like a piggy bank for projects: funding homes, and healthcare while neglecting oil infrastructure and production. Without growth in the oil ind...
Venezuela is a country located on the northern coast of South America, bordering the Caribbean Sea, Brazil and Colombia. Venezuela is a country full of beauties and contrasts where people can find beautiful beaches, plains, mountains, and even the majestic highest waterfall of the world (Angel Falls). Also, oil rich nation, one of the upper 10 exporting countries worldwide. During more than four decades, this country lived in full democracy until 1999, when a former military officer, who was involved in a military coup years ago, Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias won the presidential elections, and who remained in the government until he died in 2013 from cancer.
In the past few decades, Brazil has turned around their economy from bust after boom to a strong and growing economy. Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Brazil was reliant on its sugar industry, until the Caribbean became a competitor for the country. Unfortunately, these sugar booms caused the plantation owners to receive all of the profit, which created a large gap between the very rich and very poor, with no middle class. The gold industry had some prospects, but because the gold rushes were in isolated areas, the mon...
Brazil is also the ninth largest economy worldwide in the terms of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Brazil Economy, 2015). The country is fortunate to have immense deposits of minerals, and natural resources and is also one of the quickest growing economies in the world. The country also prides itself on being the very first country to be engrossed in the deep water oil research. Brazil’s important economic divisions of the country include agriculture, manufacturing, services, and mining sectors (Countries and Their Cultures - Brazil, 2015). These divisions together provide almost ninety-nine percent of the country 's
With a GDP per capita of $4,100 Paraguay is the second poorest country in all of South America right behind Bolivia. In this paper I will look to explain some of the reasons behind the lack of growth in the Paraguayan economy. I believe that being a landlocked nation without direct access to a major ocean waterway, political instability over the last 110 years, and a large portion of the population that severely lacks proper water and sanitation resources, all combine to play a crucial role in Paraguay’s poor economic development.