Works Cited

Brazilian Embassy in Wellington. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. < http://www.brazil.org.nz/page/country-information.aspx >

Gavin, Michael, and Ricardo Hausmann. Nature, Development, and Distribution in Latin America. Evidence on the Role of Geography, Climate, and Natural Resources. No. 378. Working Paper, Inter-American Development Bank, Office of the Chief Economist, 1998.

Jones, Gareth, et al. The Companion to Latin American Studies. Ed. Philip Swanson. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. Print.

McFarlane, Anthony. Pre-Columbian and colonial Latin America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.

How My Perceptions of Latin America Have Changed

Throughout the course of the last couple months my own perceptions of Latin America and its geography have been greatly changed.  After enrolling in a course pertaining to Latin American studies at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, my own view on the rich diversity within the region has been largely expanded.  Even on the first day, I was intrigued by the geography and its effect on people’s perceptions of the area.  With this blog, I hope I have at least scratched the surface and succeeded in sparking a small interest in this amazing, complex, (often) overlooked diversity of landscapes. 

Brazil

As promised, the following discussion attempts to take a closer look at Brazil and its incredible landscapes.  However, due to time constraints, this is not near as in depth as I had planned, but I hope it does give you a glimpse into at least one specific example of Latin America’s diverse physical geography. 

At 3,286,470 square miles, Brazil is Latin America’s largest country and covers nearly half of the continent of South America (brazil.org).  As you can see from the map shown, the country is located northeast corner of South American and occupies much of the coastline.  The country’s vast area traces all the way back to colonial Latin America when South America was divided between the two competing European powers present at the time: Spain and Portugal (McFarlane 10).  In 1494, at the Treaty of Tordesillas, the continent was split into Portugal’s territory, which later became Brazil, and the rest was claimed by Spain, becoming the other Latin American republics (McFarlane 10). 

 

Brazil is not only home to the Amazon (which most people already know), but also vast stretches of coastline, savannahs, and pampas (fertile plains).  In addition, the country also contains populated areas that range from major cities and popular tourist destinations all the way to tiny rural communities.  The country also contains a vast differences in climate: while rains are pouring in the tropical Amazon, the North East Region of the country is subject to chronic drought (brazil.org). 

As with the previous examples, it’s easy to get caught up in the grandeur and quickly peg Latin America as simply a place of gigantic wildness and remarkable beauty.  I’m certainly not trying to disprove this fact, but due to popular perceptions and interpretations of its landscapes, important – and less noticed – aspects of Brazil’s geography are often left out.  Since we are all aware of the old saying about a picture being worth a thousand words, I’ve included some of my favorites from Brazil.  I also found the following link to National Geographic very informative:

http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/countries/brazil-guide/

 

 

 

Resources

Our discussion of Latin American geography would not be complete without a large emphasis on the region’s remarkable abundance of natural resources. 

Traditionally, Latin America has been seen as a region rich in natural resources and an abundant labor force, but scarce in capital.  With increased globalization, the demand for an unskilled labor force and the production of labor-intensive products is continually expanding.  However, this image of Latin America as simply being capital poor with an abundance of unskilled workers is not entirely accurate.  Latin America’s true specialty lies in its huge endowment of natural resources (Gavin and Hausmann 1).  During the 1990s it started to become clear that the traditional view people had of the region was very misleading and leaves out import aspects of Latin America’s culture and identity.  This new appreciation can be attributed (at least in part) to an influential paper written by Sachs and Warner, which was the first to make an assessment of the association present between a region’s – or country’s – resource abundance and its economic growth (Gavin and Hausmann 1).  During this time, people started gaining a new appreciation for the region’s geography and its natural resources; realizing the impact these things have on other parts of the world.  The impact of this was clearly felt within several Latin American countries as they began to take advantage of global demand for their natural resources, leading to economic liberalization which was followed by growth in foreign investment and the export of natural-resource intensive products – while the growth of labor-intensive manufacturing began to slack off (Gavin and Hausmann 1). 

 

Further research by Gallup and Sachs (1998) has revealed more evidence showing a correlation between a country’s resource allotment and geography with its growth rate.  In both cases, evidence points to a slower growth of countries with a wealth of resources, as compared to those resource-poor emerging economies, such as the “Asian Miracle Economies.”  Convincing evidence has been provided to support the claim that geography has a substantial impact on this relationship (Gavin and Hausmann 1).  For instance, tropical countries, landlocked countries, and those countries located the greatest distance from major economic centers, show significantly slower growth rates than those with more temperate climates, coastal locality, etc. (Gavin and Hausmann 2).  Why?  Well, an obvious connection can be made between a country’s economic growth and its proximity to economic centers; those countries with a coastline also have the obvious advantage over landlocked countries because of their ability to ship export goods to overseas markets, further expanding economic opportunity.  But the question still remains concerning the correlation between climate and economic growth.  While Gavin and Hausmann pose similar important questions about what this all means for Latin America, they fail to provide a clear definition of the reasons as to why this relationship between climate and growth is present.  I feel there are several important factors contributing to this phenomenon, including the type of resources provided by these regions as well as the image that society has constructed about the ‘3rd World Countries’ common to the region.  The distribution of income also has a significant impact on this topic.  Income inequality, historically has been a serious issue within many Latin American countries.  One factor brought forward by Gavin and Hausmann in their research is a combination of economic growth and investment in human capital; investment in human capital, in the form of education, shows a highly positive correlation with economic growth (2).  Thus, a connection can be made between resource-rich economies and slower growth rates via a shortfall in education and an unskilled labor force.

In summary, this discussion made an attempt to take a deeper look into the correlation between Latin America’s geography (in the form of its abundant natural resources), globalization, and the impact this has on Latin America’s economic growth.  As you can see, it is impossible to investigate one topic without relating it to the others, which serves to demonstrate how all these aspects of a region are so closely tied together. 

If this discussion concerning the role of natural resources in Latin America’s economy has intrigued you as much as it has me, the full paper is available at the following link: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/87909

Representations and Misconceptions

Throughout the years, literature about Latin America has had a huge impact on its image.  Early on, travel accounts written by Europeans who visited Latin America helped shape outsiders view on the region.  As Jones discusses in the Companion to Latin American Studies, these travel writings more often than not depicted Latin America as an exotic place of grandeur where the landscape was portrayed as vast and untamed.  While not entirely inaccurate (Latin America is home to a number of breath-taking places), the accounts tend to exaggerate about untamed wilderness and would depict the indigenous peoples as primitive and barbaric, as wild as the land, or entirely absent from the picture.  These misrepresentations often lead to the minimization of important aspects of Latin America’s culture…a culture shaped and bound to its land.

More Than a Landscape

A region’s geography has a strong influence on its image.  Or perhaps I should say, it has a strong impact on its perceived image.  For one thing, geography is more than simply the physical characteristics of a place.  Of course, the first thing one thinks of when describing geography is the physical characteristics of a place, but in truth, there are multiple forms of geography.  For instance, cultural geography refers to the culture, traditions, and society within an area, rather than focusing on physical traits such as mountains and rivers.  Indeed there is also more to physical geography than just landscapes.  For example another aspect of geography describes the geographical location of a region.  This becomes an important question with Latin America.  Besides encompassing a large area on the map (as shown to the right), it can be argued that Latin America extends beyond these boundaries.  The boundaries of Latin America are becoming more and more blurred.  In “the Companion to Latin American Studies,” Gareth Jones describes Latin America as being deterritorialized and says that “Latin America might be a distinct place on a map, but its geography is everywhere” (Jones, 2003). 

Globalization has contributed significantly to this aspect of geography through the transfer of commodities as well as ideas.  Jones also talks in depth about “imaginative geographies” and their effect on global cultural flows (Jones, 2003).  Instead of describing a landscape, these imaginative geographies describe different aspects of a culture and are called ethnoscapes, mediascapes, technoscapes, financescapes, and ideoscapes.  As you might infer from the names, these terms describe things like ethnicity (or the people who make up a culture), media, ideas, technology, and finances – which deal with global markets (Jones, 2003).  These “imaginative geographies” illustrate the point that different forms of Latin America’s geography are spreading across the world, which brings us back to Jones’ point about deterritorialization.  Besides extending Latin America’s culture, people, and ideas to other countries, there is a negative side to this evolution.  These global cultural flows have contributed to a displaced Latin America, where there is a disconnect between the perceived location of Latin America and its actual cultural and geographic make-up.

What’s the first image that comes to mind when you think of Latin America?  When referring to Latin America, many people immediately picture the vast, limitless rainforests of the Amazon, such as the image shown to the right.  Others see the vast expanses of prime sun bathing opportunity present on Mexico’s sandy shores.  And yet others only see a cruise in the Caribbean.  While all of these references may be correct, it is a myth to belief that all of Latin America can be represented by a few select images.

In truth, the geography of Latin America is much more than the typical images painted for us in books, brochures, and even on TV and movies. The region is home to a diverse collection of landscapes and climates, including everything from sandy beaches, grassy plains, and mountain ranges, to vast deserts and rainforests (and pretty much everything in between).

In this blog, we will explore some of the fascinating diversity present in this unique part of the world.  The purpose being to disprove some common myths about its landscape by becoming more familiar with the actual geography.  Due to the multitude of regions and types of geography within Latin America (and because of certain time constraints), a focus will be placed on one country rather than the whole of Latin America.   For the emphasis, I have chosen Brazil.  Being the largest country in South America, Brazil alone is home to a variety of landscapes and unique features so broad it is impossible to investigate them all thoroughly, but, with the time I do have, I hope to expand your knowledge and open your eyes to some of the geographical wonders of this country.