Economy of Latin America. Economy of Latin America and territorial structure

The video tutorial allows you to get full information about the economy of Latin America. From the lesson you will get a description of the economic sectors of the region, learn about their characteristics and geographical location. The teacher will tell you in detail about the industrial areas and agriculture of Latin America, and name the main centers and countries.

Topic: Latin America

Lesson: general characteristics Latin American economies

Distinctive feature economic development Latin American countries over the past decades have seen a gradual decline in their share of national income Agriculture and increasing the share of industry. As part of the industrialization policy pursued by many countries, new industries such as ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, the chemical industry, etc. were practically created anew in the region.

However, the industrial development of the countries in the region has been uneven. Today, the industrial appearance of the region is determined by Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, as well as Chile, Venezuela, Colombia and Peru. Among them, the “Big Three” stand out - Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, concentrating almost 2/3 of the industrial production of Latin America and providing more than 90% of the industrial products consumed in them through domestic production.

One of the main industries in the region's economy is mining. In the structure of the cost of its products, about 80% comes from fuel (mainly oil), and the remaining approximately 20% from mining raw materials. Leading positions in the mining industry are occupied by Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil and Argentina, which are distinguished by a wide range of extracted resources.

The most dynamic sector of the economy in most continental countries of the region in recent decades has been the manufacturing industry. Moreover, the share of traditional industries in its products - textiles, food, as well as leather, footwear and clothing - has noticeably decreased, while the share of some basic industries producing industrial goods has increased. Chemistry and oil refining, ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering, manufacturing building materials. Today Brazil, Argentina, Mexico (belonging to the new industrial countries) have become famous in the world market for their cars, electronics, products chemical industry. The breakthrough of these and some other countries in the region in development modern industries manufacturing industry is based on a significant scale of the domestic market, a good supply of natural and human resources, and the skillful attraction of foreign technical experience.

As for the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, as well as Bolivia, Paraguay and some others, here the structure of industrial production is still dominated by traditional industries, primarily food. By the way, this industry in many Latin American countries has a pronounced export orientation (meat-slaughtering - in Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil; sugar - in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc.).

Currently, sectoral industrial districts with different specializations are being formed in Latin America. The largest of them were formed in the industrial capitals of Latin American countries. The largest industrial centers include:

2. Mexico City.

3. Rio de Janeiro.

4. Buenos Aires.

In addition, some experts consider Bogota, Santiago, and Caracas to be the largest industrial regions.

Many industrial areas of Latin America were formed on the basis of fuel or ore raw materials (for example, the oil region of Maracaibo (Venezuela), the mines of Chile).

Areas of ore production are identified (Jamaica, Brazil).

Rice. 2. Oil production on Lake Maracaibo ()

New development areas:

1. Oil and gas bearing region of the Gulf of Mexico.

2. Guayana (Venezuela).

3. Border areas (for example, Mexico and the USA).

4. Amazon.

In many areas of Latin America, “dirty” industries predominate, negatively affecting environment. Many such production facilities are located in Latin American countries by large multinationals.

There are still a huge number of agricultural areas throughout Latin America. Despite the emerging decline in the share of agriculture in the economy of Latin America, its role is still large, although it is mainly small-scale. In a number of countries (primarily Central America and the Caribbean), it remains the main area of material production, which employs the majority of the working population. IN last years Agriculture in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia developed relatively quickly. Using the methods of the “green revolution”, large capitalist farms in these countries managed to ensure a significant increase in agricultural and livestock production. However, the results achieved in these countries stand out noticeably against the backdrop of the stagnant position of the agricultural sector in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, etc. At the same time, the lag of agriculture, burdened with semi-feudal remnants in most countries, is especially noticeable due to the continued rapid growth population.

The leading branch of agriculture in Latin America is crop production. The acreage is dominated by grains, mainly wheat and corn. There is an accelerated increase in sorghum crops, which is associated with high demand for it from livestock farming, as well as soybeans - a food and feed crop. In many countries, signs of monoculture are clearly visible. In the agriculture of Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Haiti, the main crop and important export item is coffee (the leader is Brazil). In Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia, Honduras and Panama, these are bananas. The leading agricultural crop of Guyana and the Dominican Republic is sugar cane, and that of Brazil, Paraguay, and Mexico is cotton.

Major plantation crops in Latin America:

1. Sugar cane.

3. Bananas.

5. Cotton.

Rice. 4. Cotton field in Brazil ()

Livestock farming accounts for approximately 1/3 of the region's agricultural output. For the production of livestock products, the agricultural and pastoral region adjacent to the mouth of La Plata within Argentina and Uruguay is distinguished. For example, Argentina is one of the main meat exporters in the world.

The brake on the socio-economic development of Latin American countries is the unsatisfactory state of transport. Many areas are practically devoid modern roads. The main type of land transport is road transport. Essential has the Pan-American Highway, which stretches from the US borders to Buenos Aires through many capitals of the countries of the continent, as well as the Trans-Amazonian Highway. Decisive role in foreign economic relations maritime transport plays (with the exception of Mexico).

Homework:

Topic 10, P.1

1. What are the features of the Latin American economy?

2. Tell us about agriculture in Latin America.

Bibliography

Main

1. Geography. A basic level of. 10-11 grades: Textbook for educational institutions / A.P. Kuznetsov, E.V. Kim. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2012. - 367 p.

2. Economic and social geography of the world: Textbook. for 10th grade educational institutions / V.P. Maksakovsky. - 13th ed. - M.: Education, JSC "Moscow Textbooks", 2005. - 400 p.

3. Atlas with set contour maps for 10th grade. Economic and social geography of the world. - Omsk: FSUE "Omsk Cartographic Factory", 2012. - 76 p.

Additional

1. Economic and social geography of Russia: Textbook for universities / Ed. prof. A.T. Khrushchev. - M.: Bustard, 2001. - 672 p.: ill., map.: color. on

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography: a reference book for high school students and applicants to universities. - 2nd ed., rev. and revision - M.: AST-PRESS SCHOOL, 2008. - 656 p.

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Thematic control in geography. Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade / E.M. Ambartsumova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 80 p.

2. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Astrel, 2010. - 221 p.

3. The optimal bank of tasks for preparing students. Single State exam 2012. Geography. Textbook / Comp. EM. Ambartsumova, S.E. Dyukova. - M.: Intellect-Center, 2012. - 256 p.

4. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2010. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2010. - 223 p.

5. Geography. Diagnostic work in the format of the Unified State Exam 2011. - M.: MTsNMO, 2011. - 72 p.

6. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography. Collection of tasks / Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 272 p.

7. Geography tests: 10th grade: to the textbook by V.P. Maksakovsky “Economic and social geography of the world. 10th grade” / E.V. Baranchikov. - 2nd ed., stereotype. - M.: Publishing house "Exam", 2009. - 94 p.

8. The most complete edition of standard versions of real Unified State Examination tasks: 2009. Geography / Comp. Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: AST: Astrel, 2009. - 250 p.

9. Unified State Exam 2009. Geography. Universal materials for training students / FIPI - M.: Intellect-Center, 2009. - 240 p.

10. Unified State Exam 2010. Geography: thematic training tasks / O.V. Chicherina, Yu.A. Solovyova. - M.: Eksmo, 2009. - 144 p.

11. Unified State Exam 2012. Geography: Model exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2011. - 288 p.

12. Unified State Exam 2011. Geography: Standard exam options: 31 options / Ed. V.V. Barabanova. - M.: National Education, 2010. - 280 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ( ).

2. Federal portal Russian Education ().

3. Erudition - Russian digital library ().

Abstract: Agricultural areas of Latin America

Agricultural areas of Latin America

Latin America has a prominent place in global agricultural production. This applies to crops of tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate zones, and to some areas of livestock development. It is clear that on such a vast territory various types of agriculture should have developed, and it is not surprising that Ya.G. Mashbitz, in his monograph on Latin America, identified seven such types. Basically, certain agricultural areas also correspond to them.

The largest area in Latin America, as in Africa, is occupied by areas of traditional consumer or small-scale agriculture, producing food crops, so to speak, for everyday demand. These include corn, rice, millet, legumes, sweet potato, cassava, potato, banana, pumpkin, tomato and other vegetables. Many of these cultures, according to the teachings of N.I. Vavilov, and arose in the Central American and South American centers of origin of cultivated plants. Consequently, they have been cultivated here for a very long time, and the use of some of them has acquired a unique universal character. For example, bananas, sometimes called the poor man's food, are eaten raw, fried, baked, boiled, dried; They are used to make flour, marmalade, syrup, and wine. In general, it is these crops that form the basis of people’s daily diet, although with the addition of wheat, sugar, and livestock products in some countries (Table 73).

Consumer and small-market crops are usually cultivated in small peasant farms (minifundia), which own 1/5 of all cultivated land in the region. These farms use hoe or plow farming with low agricultural technology and labor productivity. In the tropical forest zone, the slash-and-burn farming system is still quite widespread.

Against this background, in Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and some other countries, separate areas of commercial grain farming have emerged, where wheat, corn, barley, and rice are grown, including using new high-yielding varieties developed with the beginning of the “green revolution.” Such areas are no longer characterized by small peasant farms, but by large capitalist farms.

Against this background, certain areas of extensive cattle breeding arose, for example in Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Venezuela, working both for the domestic market and for export. They can serve as an example of the dominance of large landowners' estates (latifundia), but with the widespread use of peasant tenantry.

Table 1

MAJOR SOURCES OF CALORIES AND PROTEIN CONSUMED IN LATIN AMERICA.

Against this same background, certain areas of plantation tropical crops arose, which, perhaps, most determine the “face” of Latin America in world agriculture. Some of them formed back in the 16th century on the islands of the West Indies and the coastal plains of the mainland and were based on the use of slave labor. Most appeared already in the 19th century in connection with the needs of the US markets and Western Europe. And today, such plantations usually occupy the best land, make the greatest use of hired labor, machinery and chemicals, and send their products to foreign markets. They belong mainly to foreign monopolies, but sometimes to local latifundists.

There are five important plantation crops in Latin America: sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, bananas and cotton. They provide half of all agricultural exports in this region. It is with them that the idea of monocultural specialization of the corresponding regions is primarily associated. More than 150 years ago, K. Marx wrote, addressing his opponents: “You may believe, gentlemen, that the production of coffee and sugar is the natural vocation of the West Indies. Two hundred years ago, nature, which has nothing to do with trade, did not grow either coffee trees or sugar cane there.” Indeed, Latin America gives good example how monoculture stems primarily from the interests of consumers of land and agroclimatic resources in the tropical zone.

Historically, the first plantation crop in Latin America was sugar cane. The most favorable natural conditions for its cultivation existed on the islands of the West Indies and the tropical coasts of the mainland, where average temperatures for seven to eight months do not fall below 15 C, the sum of active annual temperatures reaches 8000 ° C or more, and summer precipitation exceeds 1000 mm This is how sugar cane plantations arose in Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and the states of Northeastern Brazil.

The natural conditions of Cuba are extremely favorable for growing sugar cane. These include fertile soils, flat or hilly terrain, and especially a climate with alternating wet and dry periods. Therefore, the monoculture of sugar cane has been established here for a long time. In fact, despite the development of other branches of agriculture, it continues to this day. Sugarcane plantations in Cuba are almost ubiquitous and collectively occupy 1.7–1.8 million hectares. The harvest of this crop is 30–35 million tons per year. The cane is supplied to dozens of sugar factories (centrals), producing an average of 2–3 million tons of sugar. Cuba ranks second in the world in cane sugar exports after Brazil.

Sugar cane plantations in Brazil also arose back in the 16th century - in response to the growing demand for sugar in Europe, which in those days was valued there, as they say, worth its weight in gold. As a result of the sugar boom, parts of the tropical forests in the coastal lowlands were cleared and replaced by sugarcane plantations. This primarily applies to the Northeast of Brazil, where for three and a half centuries there was a latifundist system of land tenure using slave labor, which was then replaced by wage labor and peasant land tenure. However, despite the fact that Brazil remains the world's largest producer of cane sugar (30 million tons), the times of the sugar boom are long gone and the power of the sugar barons of the Northeast is no longer nearly as great. And some of the sugar plantations “moved” to the states of the Southeast and South of the country. It should also be taken into account that the bulk of the sugar cane harvest in Brazil is now used for the production of ethyl alcohol.

Another sugar producer in Latin America is Mexico (6 million tons). This country is interesting because there has recently been a strong expansion of the area under sugar cane - primarily in newly developed agricultural areas. An example of this kind is the river basin. Papaloapan is in the southeast of the country.

Large coffee production areas appeared in the northern part of Latin America in the mid-19th century - first in Costa Rica, then in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, and some other countries. Most of them still exist today. As a rule, areas of coffee plantations - unlike sugar cane plantations - are located in foothill areas at an altitude of 500-1500 m above sea level, on fertile volcanic soils and in temperate climatic conditions"Tierra Templady" Coffee grown in Central America and Colombia is particularly distinguished high quality. It is believed that this is facilitated by the system adopted here, in which coffee trees grow under the cover of other, taller trees - fruit trees or palms. Arabica coffee is mainly grown.

In Brazil, coffee appeared much earlier, and the history of this very appearance is replete with downright detective moments.

This is how the popular American magazine National Geographic describes it. Back in 1706 with about. In Java, a coffee tree was brought to a botanical exhibition in Holland, which here (thanks to self-pollination) gave birth to offspring. Eight years later, the Dutch presented its sprouts to the French king Louis XIV. The military governor of one of the French possessions in the Caribbean, while in Paris, took with him one of the young shoots of the coffee tree. From here this tree migrated to French Guiana, where coffee cultivation began. When strife arose between the two colonies, a neutral Portuguese diplomat was sent from Brazil to work out an armistice agreement. At the same time, he managed to gain favor from the wife of one of the French officials, who gave him several coffee beans. He secretly took these beans to Brazil. First they came to the Northeast, and around 1760 to Rio de Janeiro.

The coffee boom in Brazil coincided with the end of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, and soon the southeast of this country became the main coffee producer, first in the region and then in the world. Natural conditions(volcanic soils, hilly terrain) turned out to be ideal for the growth of the coffee tree. Began in the second half of the 19th century. Mass immigration of Portuguese, Germans, Italians, and Swiss provided the necessary labor force. It was the coffee boom that led to rapid growth South-East Brazil, which has become the economic core of this country.

Nowadays, the number of coffee trees in the Southeast reaches 3.5 billion. Unlike, say, Colombia, these trees are not planted under the canopy of others, and this allows harvesting not by hand, but with the help of coffee harvesting machines. The annual harvest is approximately 40 million bags (60 kg each). The bulk of it is exported, with the USA and Canada alone buying 14–15 million bags. The main coffee “cell” here is the coffee hacienda, a typical plan of which is shown in Figure 234. As is easy to see, other crops are grown on such a hacienda, but the main cash crop is coffee.

It is also important to note that the geography of coffee crops within the Southeast itself has undergone significant changes over the past century and a half. Originating in the state of Rio de Janeiro, coffee plantations then migrated to the state of Sao Paulo, which retains its role as the main “coffee state” today. However, in recent decades, as a result of the depletion of the famous red soils (Terra Rosha), there has been a gradual movement of plantations to the south - to northern part State of Parana. This, by the way, increases the threat of frost. It is no coincidence that geographical literature often describes how in July 1975, cold air that unexpectedly arrived in Brazil from Antarctica killed more than 1 billion coffee trees. This natural disaster had an extremely negative impact on the Brazilian economy and led to a sharp increase in coffee prices around the world. In the summer of 1994, a similar cold wave again led to sharp growth coffee prices. And in the fall of 1999, the plantations were severely damaged by heavy rains. Therefore, their new movement began - this time to the state of Minas Gerais.

Fig. 1 Coca bush (coca) growing areas in Colombia

Bananas were brought to Latin America from Asia, but here they truly found their second home. The first banana plantations appeared in Central America in the mid-19th century, but became widespread there already at the beginning of the 20th century - after the United Fruit company, founded in Boston in 1899, received exclusive rights in this area. This company bought up land along the Atlantic coast of Central America, built towns, railroads, and ports, becoming, as is often said, a “state within a state” and turning the countries of Central America into “banana republics.”

Then, already in the 1930s, due to the spread of diseases of this plant, banana plantations began to gradually move from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.

Today, the main banana producers in Latin America are Brazil, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia. Let us add that this crop is very labor-intensive: planting, growing, collecting, packaging, and transporting bananas require both time and effort. The bulk of the gross harvest is then sent to Europe and the USA, and the ripening of the fruits occurs already during transportation on special banana ships. The main exporters of bananas are Ecuador and Costa Rica.

To what has been said, we can also add that in Latin America there are also large producers and exporters of cocoa beans (Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic), cotton (Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina). And Colombia has long been the largest supplier of one of the main narcotic substances- cocaine. Vast areas are occupied by coca bush plantations in this country (Figure 1).

Latin America has another agricultural region that is the largest in the entire developing world agro-industrial complex, including the production, processing and export of food and agricultural raw materials, both crop and livestock. This area is the famous Argentine Pampa, occupying approximately 1/5 of the territory of this country.

Pampa is an area generously endowed by nature. It is characterized by flat terrain, fertile soils, a subtropical climate and a relatively uniform distribution of precipitation. Nevertheless, within its boundaries it is customary to distinguish the Wet Pampa, located closer to La Plata and the ocean, with a moderately warm, humid subtropical climate and precipitation from 500 to 1000 mm per year, and the drier (250 mm of precipitation) Dry Pampa in the west and southwest district.

For a long time After the Spaniards arrived here, the vast expanses of Pampa remained very sparsely populated. In addition to the local Indian tribes, only gauchos lived here - an ethnic group formed as a result of the marriages of Spaniards with Indian women. At first, the gauchos made their living by hunting wild, unowned cattle, which were found here in abundance. Then they began to tame and graze these cattle. They spent almost their entire lives on horseback and, like North American cowboys, were surrounded by an aura of romance. Over time, when large latifundists and cattle breeders appeared in Pampa, the gauchos became shepherds. Nowadays, this ethnic type has virtually disappeared, since the descendants of the gauchos have joined the Argentine and Uruguayan nations.

Widespread colonization of Pampa began in the 80s. XIX century after the war of extermination against the Indians. At the same time, a stream of immigrants from Europe poured here, contributing to the creation of large agricultural and livestock farms in the area. All this led to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century Argentina became the largest producer and exporter of livestock products, as well as wheat and corn. In general, it has retained these functions to this day.

The modern specialization of Pampa's agriculture (Fig. 237) reflects its division into Wet and Dry Pampa. The rearing of young animals usually takes place in Dry Pampa, and it is carried out on large livestock ranches with an area of 2–2.5 thousand hectares. The young animals are then sold for fattening to the Wet Pampa farms, which have the best pastures. In addition, they usually grow alfalfa and other forage grasses, as well as forage crops. These are real “meat factories”, where on average there are 50-100 heads of livestock for every 100 hectares of agricultural area. In Argentina, such farms are called estancias. Figure 238 shows how complex their internal structure can be.

Fig. 2 Specialization of agriculture in the Argentine Pampa (according to R.A. Pimenova)

As for last stage this technological process, i.e. slaughter and meat processing, it is already concentrated in Greater Buenos Aires, a city that owes its rise to Pampa as much as São Paulo owes its rise to the coffee plantations of its state. Buenos Aires is often compared to another “meat capital”, called Latin American Chicago. The Swedish writer Arthur Lundqvist said well about the mutual connection between Pampa and Buenos Aires: “Pampa flows into the huge Buenos Aires: all highways, all railways, waterways and airlines lead here. Buenos Aires is a powerful spider that sits at the very edge of the web that envelops the country. Sprawling in breadth and rising up, the city absorbed all the great power of Pampa, concentrated here, as if in a giant focus.”

LITERATURE

1. Socio-economic geography of the world. Textbook for universities / Under general edition V.V. Volsky. – M.: Bustard, 2001

2. Countries of the world. Facts and figures - St. Petersburg: Norint, 2001

3. Countries of the world. Encyclopedia. – M.: Olma-press education, 2006

4. Economic and social geography of the world. Reading book for 10th grade students. / Compiled by A.P. Kuznetsov. – M.: Education, 2000

Latin America has a prominent place in global agricultural production. This applies to crops of tropical, subtropical, and temperate climate zones, and to some areas of livestock development. It is clear that on such a vast territory various types of agriculture, and it is not surprising that Ya. G. Mashbits, in his monograph on Latin America, identified seven such types. Basically they correspond to certain agricultural areas.

The largest area in Latin America, as well as in Africa, is occupied by areas of traditional consumer or small-scale agriculture, producing food crops, so to speak, for everyday demand. These include corn, rice, millet, legumes, sweet potato, cassava, potato, banana, pumpkin, tomato and other vegetables. Many of these crops, according to the teachings of N.I. Vavilov, originated in the Central American and South American centers of origin of cultivated plants. Consequently, they have been cultivated here for a very long time, and the use of some of them has acquired a unique universal character. For example, bananas, sometimes called the poor man's food, are eaten raw, fried, baked, boiled, dried; They are used to make flour, marmalade, syrup, and wine. In general, it is these crops that form the basis of people’s daily diet, although with the addition of wheat, sugar, and livestock products in some countries (Table 73).

Against this background, separate areas of commercial grain farming, where wheat, corn, barley, and rice are grown, including using new high-yielding varieties developed with the beginning of the “green revolution”. Such areas are no longer characterized by small peasant farms, but by large capitalist farms.

Against this background, certain areas of extensive cattle breeding, for example in Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay, Chile, Venezuela, working both for the domestic market and for export. They can serve as an example of the dominance of large landowners' estates (latifundia), but with the widespread use of peasant tenantry.

Table 73

MAJOR SOURCES OF CALORIES AND PROTEIN CONSUMED IN LATIN AMERICA

Against this same background, certain areas of plantation tropical crops, which, perhaps, most determine the “face” of Latin America in world agriculture. Some of them were formed back in the 16th century. on the islands of the West Indies and the coastal plains of the mainland and were based on the use of slave labor. Most appeared already in the 19th century. due to the needs of the US and Western European markets. And today, such plantations usually occupy the best land, make the greatest use of hired labor, machinery and chemicals, and send their products to foreign markets. They belong mainly to foreign monopolies, but sometimes to local latifundists.

There are five important plantation crops in Latin America: sugar cane, coffee, cocoa, bananas and cotton. They provide half of all agricultural exports in this region. It is with them that the idea of monocultural specialization relevant areas. More than 150 years ago, K. Marx wrote, addressing his opponents: “You may believe, gentlemen, that the production of coffee and sugar is the natural vocation of the West Indies. Two hundred years ago, nature, which has nothing to do with trade, did not grow either coffee trees or sugar cane there.” Indeed, Latin America provides a good example of how monoculture stems primarily from the interests of consumers of land and agroclimatic resources in the tropical zone.

Historically, the first plantation crop in Latin America was sugar cane. The most favorable natural conditions for its cultivation existed on the islands of the West Indies and the tropical coasts of the mainland, where average temperatures for seven to eight months do not fall below 15 ° C, the sum of active annual temperatures reaches 8000 ° or more, and summer precipitation exceeds 1000 mm . This is how sugar cane plantations arose in Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and the states of Northeastern Brazil.

Sugar cane plantations in Brazil also appeared in the 16th century. - in response to the growing demand for sugar in Europe, which in those days was valued there, as they say, worth its weight in gold. As a result of the sugar boom, parts of the tropical forests in the coastal lowlands were cleared and replaced by sugarcane plantations. This primarily applies to the Northeast of Brazil, where for three and a half centuries there was a latifundist system of land tenure using slave labor, which was then replaced by wage labor and peasant land tenure. However, despite the fact that Brazil remains the world's largest producer of cane sugar (30 million tons), the times of the sugar boom are long gone and the power of the sugar barons of the Northeast is no longer nearly as great. And some of the sugar plantations “moved” to the states of the Southeast and South of the country. It should also be taken into account that the bulk of the sugar cane harvest in Brazil is now used for the production of ethyl alcohol.

Another sugar producer in Latin America is Mexico (6 million tons). This country is interesting because there has recently been a strong expansion of the area under sugar cane, primarily in newly developed agricultural areas. An example of this kind is the river basin. Papaloapan in the southeast of the country.

Large production areas coffee appeared in the northern part of Latin America in the mid-19th century. - first in Costa Rica, then in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Colombia, and some other countries. Most of them still exist today. As a rule, areas of coffee plantations - unlike sugar cane plantations - are located in the foothills at an altitude of 500-1500 m above sea level, on fertile volcanic soils and in temperate climatic conditions of the “Tierra Templada”. Coffee grown in Central America and Colombia is of particularly high quality. It is believed that this is facilitated by the system adopted here, in which coffee trees grow under the cover of other, taller trees - fruit trees or palms. Arabica coffee is mainly grown.

In Brazil, coffee appeared much earlier, and the history of this very appearance is replete with downright detective moments.

This is how the popular American magazine National Geographic describes it. Back in 1706 with Fr. In Java, a coffee tree was brought to a botanical exhibition in Holland, which here (thanks to self-pollination) gave birth to offspring. Eight years later, the Dutch presented its sprouts to the French king Louis XIV. The military governor of one of the French possessions in the Caribbean, while in Paris, took with him one of the young shoots of the coffee tree. From here this tree migrated to French Guiana, where coffee cultivation began. When strife arose between the two colonies, a neutral Portuguese diplomat was sent from Brazil to work out an armistice agreement. Along the way, he managed to gain favor from the wife of one of the French officials, who gave him several coffee beans. He secretly took these beans to Brazil. They first came to the Northeast, and around 1760 to Rio de Janeiro.

The coffee boom in Brazil coincided with the end of the Napoleonic wars in Europe, and soon the southeast of this country became the main coffee producer, first in the region and then in the world. The natural conditions (volcanic soils, hilly terrain) here turned out to be ideal for the growth of the coffee tree. Began in the second half of the 19th century. Mass immigration of Portuguese, Germans, Italians, and Swiss provided the necessary labor force. It was the coffee boom that led to the rapid growth of South-East Brazil, which became the economic core of this country.

Rice. 234. Coffee plantation (hacienda) in the state of Sao Paulo

Rice. 235. Coffee plantations of South-East Brazil

It is also important to note that the geography of coffee crops within the Southeast itself has undergone significant changes over the past century and a half (Fig. 235). Originating in the state of Rio de Janeiro, coffee plantations then migrated to the state of Sao Paulo, which retains its role as the main “coffee state” today. However, in recent decades, as a result of the depletion of the famous red soils (Terra Rocha), there has been a gradual movement of plantations to the south - to the northern part of the state of Parana. This, by the way, increases the threat of frost. It is no coincidence that geographical literature often describes how in July 1975, cold air that unexpectedly arrived in Brazil from Antarctica killed more than 1 billion coffee trees. This natural disaster had an extremely negative impact on the Brazilian economy and led to a sharp increase in coffee prices around the world. In the summer of 1994, a similar cold wave again led to a sharp rise in coffee prices. And in the fall of 1999, the plantations were severely damaged by heavy rains. Therefore, their new movement began - this time to the state of Minas Gerais.

Rice. 236. Coca bush (coca) growing areas in Colombia

Bananas were brought to Latin America from Asia, but here they truly found their second homeland. The first banana plantations appeared in Central America in the middle of the 19th century, but became widespread there already at the beginning of the 20th century. - after the United Fruit Company, founded in Boston in 1899, received exclusive rights in this area. This company bought up land along the Atlantic coast of Central America, built towns, railroads, and ports, becoming, as is often said, a “state within a state” and turning the countries of Central America into “banana republics.”

Then, already in the 1930s, due to the spread of diseases of this plant, banana plantations began to gradually move from the Atlantic to the Pacific coast.

To the above, we can also add that in Latin America there are also large producers and exporters of cocoa beans (Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic), cotton (Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, Argentina). And Colombia has long been the largest supplier of one of the main narcotic substances - cocaine. Vast areas are occupied by coca bush plantations in this country (Fig. 236).

Latin America has another agricultural region that is the largest in the entire developing world agro-industrial complex, including the production, processing and export of food and agricultural raw materials, both crop and livestock. This area is the famous Argentine Pampa, occupying approximately 1/5 of the territory of this country.

For a long time after the Spaniards arrived here, the vast expanses of Pampa remained very sparsely populated. In addition to the local Indian tribes, only gauchos lived here - an ethnic group formed as a result of the marriages of Spaniards with Indian women. At first, the gauchos made their living by hunting wild, unowned cattle, which were found here in abundance. Then they began to tame and graze these cattle. They spent almost their entire lives on horseback and, like North American cowboys, were surrounded by an aura of romance. Over time, when large latifundists and cattle breeders appeared in Pampa, the gauchos became shepherds. Nowadays, this ethnic type has virtually disappeared, since the descendants of the gauchos have joined the Argentine and Uruguayan nations.

Widespread colonization of Pampa began in the 80s. XIX century after a war of extermination against the Indians. At the same time, a stream of immigrants from Europe poured here, contributing to the creation of large agricultural and livestock farms in the area. All this led to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century. Argentina has become a major producer and exporter of livestock products, as well as wheat and corn. In general, it has retained these functions to this day.

The modern specialization of Pampa's agriculture (Fig. 237) reflects its division into Wet and Dry Pampa. The rearing of young animals usually takes place in Dry Pampa, and it is carried out on large livestock ranches with an area of 2–2.5 thousand hectares. The young animals are then sold for fattening to the Wet Pampa farms, which have the best pastures. In addition, they usually grow alfalfa and other forage grasses, as well as grain forage crops. These are real “meat factories”, where on average there are 50-100 heads of livestock for every 100 hectares of agricultural area. In Argentina, such farms are called estancias. Figure 238 shows how complex their internal structure can be.

Rice. 237. Specialization of agriculture in the Argentine Pampa (according to R. A. Pimenova)

Rice. 238. Estancia in Argentina

As for the last stage of this technological process, that is, the slaughter of livestock and meat processing, it is already concentrated in Greater Buenos Aires, a city that owes its rise to Pampa to the same extent as Sao Paulo to the coffee plantations of its state. Buenos Aires is often compared to another “meat capital”, called Latin American Chicago. The Swedish writer Arthur Lundqvist said well about the mutual connection between Pampa and Buenos Aires: “Pampa flows into the huge Buenos Aires: all highways, all railways, waterways and airlines lead here. Buenos Aires is a powerful spider that sits at the very edge of the web that envelops the country. Sprawling in breadth and rising up, the city absorbed all the great power of Pampa, concentrated here, as if in a giant focus.”

Latin America (L.A.) is the name given to the region Western Hemisphere, located between the USA and Antarctica. As part of L.A. several subregions are distinguished. These are Middle America (Mexico, countries of Central America and the West Indies), Andean countries (Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile), countries of the La Plata basin (Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina), Brazil. The name "Latin America" comes from the historically prevailing influence of the language, culture and customs of the Romance (Latin) peoples in this part of the world. Countries L.A. unites a commonality of historical destinies and much in modern socio-economic development. Of the 33 countries in the region, only Paraguay and Bolivia do not have direct access to the sea. Agriculture in the region is divided into two sectors: high-quality, predominantly plantation farming, and the consumer sector low-market Agriculture. The main crops of the first sector are bananas, sugar cane, coffee, and corn, while farmers in the second sector grow corn, cassava, beans, vegetables, and potatoes. Livestock farming in the region is mostly extensive, with the exception of Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, where traditional livestock farming is intensifying. Among developing countries, the share of L.A. accounts for more than 1/3 of the livestock of beef and slightly less dairy cows and half of the meat and milk produced. A significant part of agricultural products is exported, and in some countries it is the export of any crops that determines the face of the country in MARCH. For example, Costa Rica. Honduras or Panama are often called "banana republics".

16. AFRICA COUNTRIES PROBLEMS OF POPULATION, PR-TI, AGRICULTURE. The mainland occupies 1/5 of the landmass globe. Almost all countries of Africa are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Swaziland, which still remain constitutional monarchies). The administrative-territorial structure of the states, with the exception of Nigeria and South Africa, is unitary. There is no other continent in the world that suffered as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa.

Population. A. stands out throughout the world for its highest rates of population reproduction. In 1960, there were 275 million people living on the continent, in 1980-475 million people, in 1990-648 million, and in 2000, according to forecasts, there will be 872 million. Kenya especially stands out in terms of growth rates - 4, 1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. Such high level The birth rate is explained by the centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as the increased level of healthcare. Most countries on the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy. The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Africa the proportion of children is high and is still growing (40-50%). This increases the “demographic burden” on the working population. Population explosion in Africa aggravates many problems of the regions, the most important of which is the food problem. Despite the fact that 2/3 of the population of Armenia is engaged in agriculture, the average annual population growth (3%) significantly outpaces the average annual increase in food production (1.9%). Many problems are associated with ethnic composition the population of A. which is very diverse. There are 300-500 ethnic groups. Some of them have already formed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities, and vestiges of the tribal system remain. 1% are residents of European descent. Important feature countries of Africa is the discrepancy between political and ethnic boundaries as a consequence of the colonial era of development of the continent. As a result, many united peoples found themselves on different sides of the border. This leads to interethnic conflicts and territorial disputes. The latter concern 20% of the territory. A legacy of the past is that the official languages of most countries of Africa are still the languages of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. The average population density of A. (24 people/km^) is several times less than in overseas Europe and Asia. A. is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. For example, the Sahara contains the largest uninhabited areas in the world. Rarely populated in tropical rain forests. But there are also quite significant population clusters, especially on the coasts. Even sharper contrasts are typical for individual countries. In terms of the level of urbanization, Azerbaijan still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world. General characteristics of the farm. After gaining independence, African countries began to make efforts to overcome centuries-old backwardness. Greatest successes along this path were achieved in mining industry, currently accounting for 1/4 of the world's production volume. In the extraction of many types of minerals, A. has a more important, and sometimes monopoly, place "in foreign world. The main part of the extracted fuel and raw materials

exported to the peripheral market (and accounts for 9/10 of the region’s exports). The manufacturing industry is poorly developed or absent altogether. But some countries in the region have a higher level of manufacturing industry - South Africa, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco. Second branch economy that determines A’s place in the world economy - tropical and subtropical agriculture. It also has a pronounced export orientation. The one-sided agricultural and raw material direction of economic development in most countries is a brake on the growth of their socio-economic indicators.

22. POLITICAL MAP AND PROBLEMS OF THE POPULATION OF AFRICA. The continent occupies 1/5 of the globe's land area. Almost all countries of Africa are republics (with the exception of Lesotho, Morocco and Swaziland, which still remain constitutional monarchies). The administrative-territorial structure of the states, with the exception of Nigeria and South Africa, is unitary. There is no other continent in the world that suffered as much from colonial oppression and the slave trade as Africa.

Population. A. stands out throughout the world for its highest rates of population reproduction. In 1960, there were 275 million people living on the continent, in 1980-475 million people, in 1990-648 million, and in 2000, according to forecasts, there will be 872 million. Kenya especially stands out in terms of growth rates - 4, 1% (first place in the world), Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda. This high birth rate is explained by the centuries-old traditions of early marriage and large families, religious traditions, as well as the increased level of healthcare. Most countries on the continent do not pursue an active demographic policy. The change in the age structure of the population as a result of the demographic explosion also entails great consequences: in Africa the proportion of children is high and is still growing (40-50%). This increases the “demographic burden” on the working population. The demographic explosion in Africa is exacerbating many regional problems, the most important of which is the food problem. Despite the fact that 2/3 of the population of Armenia is engaged in agriculture, the average annual population growth (3%) significantly outpaces the average annual increase in food production (1.9%). Many problems are also associated with the ethnic composition of the population of Armenia, which is very diverse. There are 300-500 ethnic groups. Some of them have already formed into large nations, but most are still at the level of nationalities, and vestiges of the tribal system remain. 1% are residents of European descent. An important feature of the African countries is the discrepancy between political and ethnic borders as a consequence of the colonial era of the development of the continent. As a result, many united peoples found themselves on different sides of the border. This leads to interethnic conflicts and territorial disputes. The latter concern 20% of the territory. A legacy of the past is that the official languages of most countries of Africa are still the languages of the former metropolises - English, French, Portuguese. The average population density of A. (24 people/km^) is several times less than in foreign Europe and Asia. A. is characterized by very sharp contrasts in settlement. For example, the Sahara contains the largest uninhabited areas in the world. Rarely populated in tropical rain forests. But there are also quite significant population clusters, especially on the coasts. Even sharper contrasts are typical for individual countries. In terms of the level of urbanization, Azerbaijan still lags far behind other regions. However, the rate of urbanization here is the highest in the world.

Lagging behind Asia and Africa in terms of territory and population, Latin America is ahead in terms of industrialization of production. Unlike these regions of the world, the leading role in the economy here has recently shifted to the manufacturing industry. Here they develop both basic manufacturing industries (ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, oil refining) and avant-garde industries (electronics, electrical engineering, automotive, shipbuilding, aircraft, machine tool manufacturing).

However, the mining industry continues to play a significant role in the economy. In the structure of product costs, 80% comes from fuel (mainly oil and gas) and about 20% from mining raw materials.

Latin America is one of the oldest oil and gas producing regions in the world. In terms of production and export of oil and natural gas, Mexico, Venezuela and Ecuador stand out.

Latin America is a prominent global producer and exporter of non-ferrous metal ores: bauxite (Brazil, Jamaica, Suriname, Guyana stand out), copper (Chile, Peru, Mexico), lead-zinc (Peru, Mexico), tin (Bolivia) and mercury (Mexico) ore

Latin American countries are also of great importance in the world production and export of iron and manganese (Brazil, Venezuela), uranium (Brazil, Argentina) ores, native sulfur (Mexico), potassium and sodium nitrate (Chile).

The main manufacturing industries - mechanical engineering and the chemical industry - are essentially developed in three countries - Brazil, Mexico and Argentina. The Big Three account for 4/5 of the manufacturing industry. Most other countries do not have mechanical engineering and chemical industries.

Specialization in mechanical engineering - automotive, shipbuilding, aircraft manufacturing, production of electrical household appliances and machines (sewing and washing machines, refrigerators, air conditioners), etc. The main directions of the chemical industry are petrochemicals, pharmaceutical and perfume industries.

The oil refining industry is represented by its enterprises in all oil-producing countries (Mexico, Venezuela, Ecuador, etc.). The world's largest (in terms of capacity) oil refineries were created on the islands Caribbean Sea(Virginia, Bahamas, Curacao, Trinidad, Aruba, etc.).

Non-ferrous and ferrous metallurgy is developing in close contact with the mining industry. Copper smelting enterprises are located in Mexico, Peru, Chile, lead and zinc - in Mexico and Peru, tin - in Bolivia, aluminum - in Brazil, steel - in Brazil, Venezuela, Mexico and Argentina.

The great role of textile and Food Industry. The leading branches of the textile industry are the production of cotton (Brazil), wool (Argentina and Uruguay) and synthetic (Mexico) fabrics, food - sugar, fruit canning, meat and cold processing, fish processing. The largest producer of cane sugar in the region and in the world is Brazil.

Agriculture The region is represented by two completely different sectors:

The first sector is a highly commercial, predominantly plantation economy, which in many countries has acquired the character of a monoculture: (bananas - Costa Rica, Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama; sugar - Cuba, etc.).

The second sector is consumer small-scale agriculture, not at all affected by the “green revolution”

The leading branch of agriculture in Latin America is crop production. The exception is Argentina and Uruguay, where main industry- livestock farming. Currently, crop production in Latin America is characterized by monoculture (3/4 of the cost of all products falls on 10 products).

The leading role is played by grains, which are widespread in subtropical countries (Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Mexico). The main grain crops of Latin America are wheat, rice, and corn. Largest producer and the region's wheat and corn exporter is Argentina.

The main producers and exporters of cotton are Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, sugar cane - Brazil, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, coffee - Brazil and Colombia, cocoa beans - Brazil, Ecuador, Dominican Republic.

The leading branches of livestock farming are cattle breeding (mainly meat direction), sheep breeding (wool and meat and wool), pig breeding. Large livestock size cattle Argentina and Uruguay stand out for sheep and Brazil and Mexico for pigs.

Llamas are bred in the mountainous regions of Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador. Fishing is of global importance (Chile and Peru stand out).

Transport.

Latin America accounts for 10% of the global network railways, 7% of roads, 33% of inland waterways, 4% of air passenger traffic, 8% of the world's merchant fleet tonnage.

A decisive role in domestic transportation belongs to motor transport, which began to actively develop only in the 60s of the 20th century. The most important highways are the Pan-American and Trans-Amazonian highways.

The share of railway transport, despite the large length of railways, is declining. The technical equipment of this type of transport remains low. Many obsolete railway lines are being closed.

Water transport is most developed in Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, and Uruguay.

In external transportation, sea transport predominates. 2/5 of maritime transport occurs in Brazil.

Recently, as a result of the development of the oil refining industry, pipeline transport has been rapidly developing in the region.

The territorial structure of the economy of Latin American countries largely retains colonial features. The "economic capital" (usually a seaport) typically forms the main focus of the entire territory. Many areas with specialization in the extraction of mineral raw materials and fuel, or plantation farming, are located in the interior of the territory. The railway network, which has a tree structure, connects these areas with a “growth point” ( seaport). The rest of the territory remains underdeveloped.

Many countries in the region are implementing regional policies aimed at mitigating territorial imbalances. For example, in Mexico there is a shift of productive forces north to the US border, in Venezuela - to the east, to the rich resource region of Guayana, in Brazil - to the West, to the Amazon, in Argentina - to the south, to Patagonia.

Economy of Latin America. Economy of Latin America and territorial structure

Abstract: Agricultural areas of Latin America

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