Latin America (Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela) Flashcards
(16 cards)
Cuba and the United States (Timeline)
- 1898-1906: USA gained Cuba as a protectorate from Spain
- 1906-1959: Cuba & USA are on good economic terms
- Trade between countries
- Cuba is led by Fulgencio Batista and he makes the nation a place of luxury
Communist Revolution in Cuba
- 1957-1959: Communist revolution is led by Fidel Castro
- This makes Cuba an enemy of the USA
- 1962: Cuba is placed under an embargo by the USA
- Cubans are allowed to enter the USA as political refugees and can stay legally for an indefinite period of time
Cuban Immigration - 1st wave
- 1962-1979
- Freedom flights
Operation Peter Pan
- Organized by the CIA and the archdiocese of Miami
- Sent over 3,000 children (10 and under) on planes to the USA to foster parents to be raised in Catholic schools
Pan-Am Flights
- Brought families to the USA
- Middle/upper class families were flown either to Miami or New York
- 2 flights a day
Cuban Immigration - 2nd wave
- 1980-1981
- Mariel boatlifts
- President Carter makes an agreement with Castro to send more Cubans to the USA
- Castro sends the homeless, prisoners, the mentally ill, and Haitians with the AIDS virus
Cuban Immigration - 3rd wave
- 1981 - 2000s
- Rafters
- Cubans make their owns rafts to get to the USA
Wet Foot, Dry Foot Policy
- 1990s
- If US Coast Guard catches a Cuban out at sea, they will be sent back to Cuba
- Cubans who made it to US land were made legal migrants who can seek residency
What does NAFTA stand for?
North American Free Trade Agreement
NAFTA’s original goal
To create the world’s largest free trade area within Canada, the United States, and Mexico
Mexico’s benefits from NAFTA
- Foreign direct investment (FDI) tripled
- The United States increased the FDI in Mexico from $15.2 billion in 1993 to $104.4 billion in 2012
- Mexico’s investment in the United States increased by 1283%
Negative effects of NAFTA in Mexico
- Because local farmers could not compete with subsidized prices set by the United States, 1.3 million farmers were put out of business
- Farmers crossed the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, increasing the number of illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States to 6.9 million in 2007
- Unemployed Mexican workers began working in the maquiladora program, increasing the number of these workers from 120,000 in 1980 to 1.2 million in 2006
- U.S. companies have severely impacted Mexico’s environment to keep costs low, resulting in contribution to global warming, increased pollution, and increased deforestation
- Mexican trucks were allowed to cross into the United States, however; these trucks are not held to the same safety provisions as American trucks
Background of Venezuela
- Country in South America
- Neighbors Colombia
- Produces an abundance of oil
- Socialist country
- First major socialist president was Hugo Chavez
Socialism
- Equal distribution of property
- Government controls/owns certain industries
Hugo Chavez
- Ally of Fidel Castro
- Enemy of the USA
- Makes oil deals with Cuba and other enemies of the USA
- Makes oil more expensive for the USA
Nicolas Maduro
- Succeeds Chavez after his death
- Becomes president through a fixed election
- Policies cause hyper inflation
- Hyper inflation causes food to be more expensive/more scarce
- Starving people from Venezuela flee to Colombia