Questions About Latin America Countries
1) What is a maquiladora? Where are maquiladoras mostly located in Mexico? What products do maquiladoras currently produce in present-day?
Maquiladoras refer to the factories built by United States to lower labor costs. They are located near the US borders on Mexico. These factories produce clothing, furniture, appliances, electronic equipment and auto parts and due to the variety of these companies, they have expanded and they produce a wide range of goods.
2) What are some of the negative aspects of maquiladoras for Mexico? What are some of the criticisms of maquiladoras from the American point of view?
These factories do not meet legal standards for factories and thus their presence violates many aspects of the law. Other effects includes enhancing congestion, air pollution and long working periods for less pay. The workers face a lot of economic and social exploitation.
3) What is the role of coca production in Latin America? Where is it produced within the region and how has it impacted the nations that produce it?
The Coca that is produced in Latin America is usually smuggled and exported to other continents. The Coca is mainly produced in Bolivia, Peru and Colombia. The production of coca has led to massive environmental destruction in the countries that produce it.
4) What social and demographic shifts account for improvement in the lives of women in Latin America?
Women are able to provide for their families and are able to change traditional believes. Traditionally, woman are believed to just stay home and take care of the house, they are instead getting education and working to improve the lives of their families.
5) In present-day, what agricultural exports continue to be an important source of income for Caribbean countries? What Caribbean nations benefit the most from these exports?
The main agricultural exports from the Caribbean countries include sugar bananas and rice. These countries are also involved in the production of various vegetables and fruits. The Caribbean countries that benefit from these exports include Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada and Guyana.
6) When did Puerto Rico become part of the United States? What was the event that resulted in the U.S. taking possession of Puerto Rico? What is current status of Puerto Rico (what is it officially referred as in terms of designation)? What proportion of Puerto Rico’s population favors Puerto Rico becoming a U.S. state?
Puerto Rico became part of the United States after the Spanish-American war in 1898. When US won the war between America and Spain, they raised their flag in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico is described as a common wealth territory of the United States and most of the Puerto Rico’s population support that Puerto Rico should be a state of the US because this can improve their standard of living and their lives in general. In the local post, they say that 65% voted to full statehood.
7) According to the New York Times article “Mexico: The New China”, what factors have enabled Mexico to be considered a viable alternative to China for large-scale export-oriented manufacturing operations? What are some advantages of having manufacturing centers in Mexico instead of China?
International manufacturing companies are considering Mexico as an able alternative for various manufacturing operations. This is attributed to the presence of relatively cheaper skilled labor. Some of the benefits of using Mexico instead of China include lower operational costs.
8) The Economist article “Under-age and On the Move” discusses this year’s large influx of migrant children who have illegally entered the United States through Mexico and addresses a number of reasons why there has been such a large influx. According to the article, where are many of these migrant children coming from?
Most of the underage immigrants that enter the United States are through Mexico and Guatemala are from Honduras. Social and economic factors are the major sources of the influx. Poverty and domestic abuses on the children make them to flee their homes to seek refuge in the United States.