GEOG 2400 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Berta Cáceres, Paul Romer, Lenca People
14 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
GEOG 2400
South America
Defining Latin America and the Caribbean
• Most unequal
o GINI coefficient 10 points higher than Asia, 17 higher than OECD countries, 20 points higher
than Eastern Europe
• Most urbanized region in the world, 80%
Population
• Largest share of population in 2 countries
o Mexico (18.5%)
o Brazil (33%)
o Makes up more than 1/2 of the regional population together
Most urbanized: Southern cone, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay
Inequality: Haiti, Honduras, Guatemala
Uruguay: Most equal in the region, but still more unequal income distribution than any European
country
• Social spending (contributory pensions, health, and education)
• Taxes (progressive), higher taxes geared towards people with higher income
• Income redistribution (capitalism, Keynesian economics)
Honduras: manufacturing, agriculture, remittances
• One of the most dangerous countries outside a war zone, highest murder rate in the world
• 63% below poverty line
• GINI: 57.7
• Homicide rate among worst in the world, with 90/100,000
• Capital city: Tegucigalpa, 1.2 million
• 2009 military coup
o Sluggish economy since, all income gains in 2010 and 2011 have gone to wealthiest top 10%
o Violence and assassinations, persecutions of journalists and social justice advocates have
skyrocketed
o Roughly 16 homicides/day
o Berta Caceres
• Indigenous and environmental rights activist to protect Lenca people against dam
project that threatened their lands
• Gunned down on March 2015
o Between 2010-2014, over 100 environmental activists have been killed in Honduras
• Charter cities
o Developed by Paul Romer
• Law passed in 2013 to enable creation of autonomous free-trade cities that are
governed by corporations
• Own courts, laws, and police force
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