GEO 135 Unit 4 Latin America (Key terms)

Agrarian reform

A set of policies, laws, or movements aimed at redistributing land and improving the social and economic conditions of people who work in agriculture—especially landless farmers, tenants, or smallholders.

Altiplano

a high plateau in the central Andes Mountains of South America.

Altitudinal Zonation

the natural layering of ecosystems that occurs at different elevations in mountainous regions.

Bolsa familia

a social welfare program in Brazil that provides cash transfers to low-income families, with the goal of reducing poverty and breaking its cycle across generations.

Columbian exchange

the widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, technology, culture, and diseases between the Americas (New World) and Europe, Africa, and Asia (Old World) after Christopher Columbus’s voyages (starting in 1492).

Dollarization

when a country adopts the U.S. dollar (USD) as its official currency

El Niño

a climate phenomenon that happens when the surface waters of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean become unusually warm, disrupting normal weather patterns around the world.

Environmental lapse rate

the rate at which air temperature decreases with an increase in altitude in the atmosphere.

Grassification

the process of converting forested land or other ecosystems into grasslands, usually for cattle ranching or other grazing purposes.

Informal sector

the part of the economy made up of jobs and businesses that are not regulated, taxed, or protected by the government.

Maquiladoras

factories in Mexico, often near the U.S. border, that are run by foreign companies and import materials duty-free to assemble or manufacture products for export.

Mestizo

a person of mixed European (usually Spanish) and Indigenous American ancestry.

Minifundia

a very small plot of farmland, usually too small to support a family efficiently.

Neoliberalism

an economic and political approach that emphasizes free markets, privatization, deregulation, and reducing the role of the state in the economy.

Neotropics

one of Earth’s major biogeographic regions, covering the tropical areas of the Americas.

Organization of American States (OAS)

a regional international organization that brings together countries from North, Central, and South America, plus the Caribbean, to promote cooperation.

Outsourcing

when a company hires another company (often abroad) to perform tasks, services, or produce goods that it could otherwise do itself.

(Usually for cheaper labor costs)

Pacific Alliance

a regional trade bloc in Latin America that promotes economic integration and free trade among its member countries on the Pacific coast.

Pristine Myth

the idea that the Americas were mostly untouched, wild, and sparsely populated by humans before Europeans arrived in 1492.

Remittances

money that immigrants send back to their home countries, usually to support family members.

Rural to urban migration

the movement of people from the countryside to cities, usually in search of better jobs, education, and living conditions.

Shields

a shield is a large area of exposed, ancient, and stable rock, usually part of a continent’s craton (the old, stable interior).

Subnational organizations

groups or governing bodies that operate below the national (federal) level, such as within a state, province, region, or city.

Supranational organizations

entities made up of multiple countries that cooperate and give up some national authority to achieve common goals. (Ex. EU & the UN)

Syncretic religions

belief systems that blend elements from two or more different religions or cultural traditions into a new, combined faith.

Treaty of Tordesillas

an agreement between Spain and Portugal in 1494 to divide newly discovered lands outside Europe.

Union of South American Nations (UNASUR)

a regional organization aimed at promoting integration and cooperation among South American countries.

Urban primacy

a situation where one city in a country is much larger and more important than all the others, dominating the economy, politics, and culture.