Latin america vocabulary

Latin AmericaKey Terms

Latin America

Mexico

Central America

Caribbean Islands

South America

traditional economy

• Families produce only what they need to live

• Families make decisions

fishing hunting gathering

market economy

• Decisions are made based on supply and demand

• Buyers and sellers make the decisions

command economy

• All decisions are made by the government

prices what can be sold who can work what you are paid

Raul Castro is the President of Cuba.

communism

• Government has strong control of the economy and society

• What happens is a command economy.

socialism

• type of economy • Property and labor

will be distributed (spread) more equally

embargo

• to stop (ban)• The U.S. used an

embargo to stop trade with Cuba

• An arms embargo means a country cannot get weapons

Free Trade Zone

• Area where people can buy goods from other countries without paying extra taxes

• This increases trade

A “F.T.Z.” doesn’t have this “wall.”

industrialized

• type of economy• more factories and

manufacturing• less farming

service industry

• Businesses that don’t make things

fast food worker hotel manager waiter nurse

Taxi driver in Buenos Aires, Argentina

migrant worker

• a person who moves from place to place to work

• usually plants or harvests crops

plantation

• large farms that grow crops for sale

• owned by rich people or large companies

• In L.A. they grow: coffee, bananas, cotton, sugarcane

coffee

hacienda

• large ranch• Many Spanish

people raised cattle on these when they came to Mexico

subsistence farms

• small farms• grow just enough

to feed their family

• Farmers raise animals and grow corn, beans, and rice

A campesino in Cuba working on his

subsistence farm.

wages

• money you earn for a job

Brazil’s currency

labor union

• Workers join together

• They fight for higher wages, workers’ rights and better working conditions

NAFTA

• North American Free Trade Agreement

• includes: Mexico, the U.S., and Canada

maquiladora

• Factory• Workers put parts

together and then ship products to another country to be sold

• 1/2 of Mexicans work in one

colony

• Land controlled by another country

√Mexico was a colony of Spain

Spanish colonies in L.A.

communist state

• Type of government

• Government believes in communism

• It has a command economy

Cuba is a communist state.

commonwealth

• A territory• They control a

part of the government (self-governing)

• Another country controls some of the government

Puerto Rico is a commonwealth. So far, the people have voted not to become a U.S. state.

nationalize

• The government takes control of

• Usually farms and businesses

Castro nationalized farms and factories in Cuba when it became a communist state.

republic

• type of government

• country with a president

• the president is elected

Panama is a republic.

parliamentary democracy

• Type of government

• Head of government is a Prime Minister

• PM is chosen by the legislature

Belize is a parliamentary democracy.

mestizos

• mixed people• They have Spanish

and Native American blood

• Many people in L.A. have a mixed heritage

smog

• pollution• haze of fog and

chemicals in the air

• problem in many cities

Smog in Mexico City.

samba

• party dance• important

tradition in Brazil• Popular in large

parades

Rio Carnival in Brazil.

campesino

• “farmer” or “farm worker” (peasant)

• Usually a campesino does only subsistence farming

absolve

• To judge someone as not guilty

eco-tourists

• People who visit natural wonders

rain forests natural parks

literacy rate

• Percentage of people in a country that can read or write

• Usually a country with a high literacy rate has a good economy A school in Mexico

favelas

• Poor areas in big cities

• “Brazilian slums”√ They get larger as

more people move to cities

topography• the land• Study of the

earth’s shapes and features

• The Andes Mts. are a topographical feature of Latin America

pampas

• grassy plains• located in SE

South America√Many cattle and

sheep are raised on the pampas

isthmus

• narrow piece of land

• connects to larger areas of land

Isthmus of Panama.

archipelago

• A chain or cluster of islands

There are many archipelagos in the Caribbean Sea.

selva

• The word used in Brazil for rain forest

• jungle

deforestation

• Permanent removal of woodland

• many animals lose their homes

• many plants die• big problem in the

Amazon rain forest