Latin America: Geography and Ecosystem - Essay Example

thousands of people moved in to work on the projects, an aspect which further led to a degraded environment and global warming. The subdivision of land led to reduced food, turning smallholder farmers into peasants ( Hobbs, 2008). Mining areas degraded farming lands and destroyed the natural environment for micro-organisms. These developments were both for the worse and better of the region. For worse, the natural environment had been destroyed, and better, it lead to the production of minerals which spurred economic growth.

2) How did what the people did, regarding the region's physical geography, affect its political future and institutions?
Initially, the entire Latin America was under a colonial government that also had many interests in the region. It had an America-based United Fruit company which functioned as a unifying factor in the region. The Company owned large tracts of land which covered or spilled in nearly all countries in Latin America. This means that Latin America during colonial times was treated like one region geographically ( Hobbs, 2008). As such, the company and thus, the United States had a lot of influence on regional politics.
However, local leaders started changing laws governing the land. For instance, the president of Guatemala, Arbenz developed land reform laws that were seen as a threat to the existence or interests of the American Based Fruit company. The president did not stay for long; he was ousted in 1954 by a group supported by the CIA.

This aspect disorganized the politics of the region. Some of the countries in the region have not been so stable in terms of leadership. They also play second fiddle to the US when it comes to international trade treaties. What is more, its institutions have lacked behind because of the unstable leadership. For instance, Mexico only started maximizing its petroleum potential in 2003, despite having discovered the mineral in 1960 ( Hobbs, 2008).

3) Make a final statement including your opinion and conclusions.
I think the challenges faced by the region were instigated or triggered by the colonial government. For instance, most of the forested land in Latin America was cleared by the colonial government for agricultural use. This aspect negatively affected the ecosystem of the region. In addition, the introduction of mining areas also served to accelerate the rate at which the natural ecosystem was destroyed. Land for agricultural use was affected, an aspect that reduced the food capacity of the region.
In conclusion, Latin America was negatively affected by both local forces and the colonial government. Whilst the colonial government started it, locals perfected it. The continued destruction of natural forests by the Brazilian authorities to set up dams is a good example. Read More