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Pacific South America Today

Pacific South America Today

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SECTION 3 Pacific South TEKS 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4B, 4C, 4F, 15B, 18B, 21B, America Today 21C, 22D What You Will Learn… If YOU lived there... Main Ideas You are at a political rally in Valparaíso, . Your family owns a 1. struggles with pov- vineyard nearby, so government policies about the economy affect erty and political instability. you personally. You listen carefully to the speakers at the rally. Some 2. ’s government is trying to gain stability and improve politicians are in favor of more with in North the economy. America. Others speak about different issues, such as housing and 3. has made progress against poverty and violence. education. 4. Chile has a stable govern- ment and a strong economy. What would you like to ask the politicians?

The Big Idea The countries of Pacific are working to over- Building Background All the countries of Pacific South come challenges of poverty and America have faced similar issues in recent years. These include political instability. poverty, unstable governments, economic development, and how to encourage development and still protect the environment. ­Several Key Terms and Places of these countries are making progress, while others still have , p. 289 ­problems. , p. 289 , p. 290 coup, p. 291 , p. 292 Ecuador Today In recent decades, the countries of Pacific South America have all experienced periods of political instability. Ecuador, in particular, has faced recent instability. Widespread poverty is a constant threat to a stable government in this . Use the graphic organizer online to take notes on Pacific South America today. Government Ecuador has been a democracy since 1979. Still, the country has experienced great political instability and corruption. From 1996–2007, the country had nine different presidents. In 2004, Ecuadorian president Lucio Gutiérrez fired the majority of the nation’s supreme court judges because they did not support him. Soon after, to quiet his political opponents, Gutiérrez declared a . In response, the Ecuadorian Congress forced Gutiérrez from power in 2005. In 2006, elected president. In 2009, Correa was the first Ecuador- ian president to be re-elected in more than 30 years.

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Economic Regions Morales, as president. Re-elected president Ecuador has three different economic in 2009, Morales continues to work to regions. One region, the coastal lowlands, improve the lives of Bolivia’s poor. has agriculture and industry. The countr­ y’s largest , (gwy-ah-keel), is Economy located there. It is Ecuador’s major port Bolivia is the poorest country in South and commercial center. America. In the plains of eastern Bolivia The Andean region of Ecuador is poorer. there are few roads and little money for Quito, the national capital, is located there. investment. However, foreign aid has Open-air markets and Spanish colonial provided funds for some development. buildings attract many tourists to Quito In addition, the country has valuable re- and other towns in the region. sources, including metals and natural gas. A third region, the , Reading Check Analyzing Why might politi- has valuable oil deposits. The oil industry cal revolts slow development? provides jobs that draw people to the region. Oil is also Ecuador’s main export. But the oil industry has brought problems as well as benefits. The country’s economy connecting to suffers if the oil price drops. In Economics addition, some citizens worry that drilling for oil could harm the rain . The Informal Economy Many people in the countries of Pacific South America are part Reading Check Generalizing Why has of the informal economy. Street vendors, like the ones shown Ecuador’s government been unstable? here in Quito, are common sights in the region’s . People visit street vendors to buy items like snacks, small electronics, or clothing. The informal economy provides jobs for many peo- ple. However, it does not help the national economy because Bolivia Today the participants do not pay taxes. Without income from taxes, Like Ecuador, Bolivia is a poor country. the government cannot pay for services. Poverty has been a cause of political unrest Analyzing How does the informal economy affect taxes? in recent years.

Government After years of military rule, Bolivia is a democracy. Bolivia’s government is divided between two capital cities. The supreme court meets in (soo-kray), but the congress meets in La Paz. Located at about 12,000 feet (3,660 m), La Paz is the highest in the world. It is also Bolivia’s main industrial center. In the early 2000s, many dis- agreed with their government’s plans for fighting poverty. National protests forced several presidents to resign. Then in 2005, Bolivians elected an indigenous leader, Evo

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Settlements around Lima

Lima has three main types of settlements. The wealthier people tend to live in houses and apart- ments in town. Poor people live mostly in slums PERU or in recently built “young towns.”

Lima

Independencia imac Vitarte Rio R Central Callao Lima

Port of Callao La Molina N

W E San Lorenzo Island S Cuidad Houses and Apartments Most housing in Lima is HRW Middle School World Geography de Dios Villa María made up of high-rise apartments and private houses, mg7fvs_psamap013baChorrillos del Triunfo some of which are from the colonial era. Pacific South America: Houses and Apartments Settlements of Lima Slums LOCATE IT Young Towns

0 2.5 5 Miles Final pass – 6/22/05 industry, universities, and government 0 2.5 5 Kilometers jobs, which attract many people from the countryside to Lima. Lima was the colonial capital of Peru, and the city still contains many beautiful Human-Environment Interaction People have built three different old buildings from the colonial era. It has HRW Middlebasic School types ofWorld housing Geography in and around Lima. 1. Use themg7fvs_psamap013ca Map What is the most common type of housing? high-rise apartments and wide, tree-lined Pacific South America: 2. Draw ConclusionsSettlements Whyof Lima are most young towns built far from boulevards. However, as in many big urban central Lima? LEGEND areas, a lot of people there live in poverty. Final pass – 6/22/05 In spite of the poverty, central Lima has few slum areas. This is because most

HRW Middle School World Geographypoor people prefer to claim land on the mg7fvs_psamap013aaoutskirts of the city and build their own Peru Today Pacific South America: Settlements of houses.Lima Often they can get only poor build- Peru is the largest and most populous ing materials. They also have a hard time Final pass – 6/22/05 country in Pacific South America. Today it getting water and electricity from the city. is making some progress against political Settlements of new self-built houses are violence and poverty. called “young towns” in Lima. Over time, as people improve and add to their houses, Lima the new settlements develop into large, Peru’s capital, Lima (lee-muh), is the largest permanent suburbs. Many of the people in city in the region. Nearly one-third of all Lima’s young towns are migrants from the Peruvians live in Lima or the nearby port highlands. Some came to Lima to escape city of Callao (kah-yah-oh). Lima has violence in their home villages.

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Slums Just outside downtown and near the port , Young Towns Many poor people in recent years have many people live in slum housing. These buildings are taken over land on the outskirts of Lima and have built permanent, but run-down. their own shelters.

Government Chile Today In the 1980s and 1990s, a terrorist group Like Peru, Chile has ended a long violent called the Shining Path was active. This period. Chile now has a stable government group carried out deadly attacks because and a growing economy. it opposed government policies. Some 70,000 people died in violence between the Government Shining Path and government forces, and In 1970 Chileans elected a president who Peru’s economy suffered. However, after had some ideas influenced by commu- the arrest of the group’s leaders, Peru’s gov- nism. A few years later he was overthrown ernment began making progress against and died in a U.S.-backed military coup political violence and poverty. The country (koo). A coup is a sudden overthrow of a has an elected president and congress. government by a small group of people. In the years after the coup, military rul- Resources ers tried to their political enemies. Peru’s resources are key factors in its eco- Chile’s military government was harsh nomic progress. Some mineral deposits and often violent. It imprisoned or killed are located near the , and hydro- thousands of people. electric projects on rivers provide energy. In the late 1980s Chile’s military dic- FOCUS ON READING Peru’s highlands are less developed than tatorship weakened and Chileans created a new, democratic government. In 2006 What can you the coastal areas. However, many Peruvian infer about the Indians grow potatoes and corn there. Chileans elected their first female presi- reason for the dent, , and in 2010 they end of the military government? Reading Check Identifying Cause and elected business leader Sebastián Piñera Effect How did the Shining Path affect Peru? president.

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Mediterranean climate allows farmers to grow many crops. For example, grapes grow well there, and Chilean fruit and wine are exported around the world. Farming, fishing, forestry, and min- ing form the basis of Chile’s economy. Copper mining is especially important. It accounts for more than one-third of Chile’s exports. A man in Chile Chile’s economic stability was rocked ­harvests grapes to be made into wine by a massive earthquake that struck on for export. February 27, 2010. The quake killed about 500 Chileans and caused about $30 ­billion of damage to buildings, homes, and streets. Today, Chile’s people and government continue to rebuild their nation. Resources and Economy Chile’s economy is in the Reading Check Identifying Points of View region. Poverty rates have decreased, and Why might Chile want to join a free trade group? Chile’s prospects for the future seem bright. Small businesses and factories are growing quickly. More Chileans are finding work, SUmmary and Preview In recent years and wages are rising. Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, and Chile have About one-third of all Chileans live struggled with political violence and in central Chile. This region includes the poverty. However, Peru and Chile are capital, Santiago, and a nearby seaport, recovering. Next, you will study the cul- Valparaíso (bahl-pah-rah-ee-soh). Its mild ture and economy of Southern .

Section 3 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ

Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and Places Critical Thinking 1. a. Identify What is Ecuador’s largest city? 5. Solving Problems Review Ecuador b. Make Generalizations Why have Ecuadorians your notes. Then, in a dia- Bolivia been unhappy with their government in recent gram like the one here, write Peru years? one sentence about each Chile 2. a. Identify What are Bolivia’s two capital cities? country, explaining how that b. Analyze Why might Bolivia’s economy improve country is dealing with poverty or in the future? government instability. 3. a. Recall Why did many Peruvians move to Lima from the highlands in the 1980s? Focus on Speaking b. Elaborate What challenges do you think people who move to Lima from the highlands face? 6. Thinking about Pacific South America Today 4. a. Define What is a coup? Add questions about each country in Pacific South b. Make Inferences What might happen to Chile’s America to your notes. How might you answer these economy if the world price of copper drops? questions in your interview? Write down the answer to each question.

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