Latin America has known extreme levels of economic inequality since the establishment of modern states in the region.  Currently, the richest one-tenth of the region's population earns 48 percent of the total income, while the poorest tenth earns only 1.6 percent (World Bank, 2003).  In the world's industrialized countries, for comparison, the richest one-tenth earns 29.1 percent of the total income, while the bottom tenth earns 2.5 percent (World Bank, 2003).  By regional comparison, the World Bank's most recent annual study on Latin America found that the region has more income distribution inequality than Asia, Eastern Europe, and the thirty countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (World Bank, 2003). 

Further, based on inter-country comparisons, there is only a very small degree of variation in inequality levels between the region’s countries.  For example, take the Gini coefficient, a statistical measure of inequality in which zero expresses complete equality.  The World Bank has found that Uruguay, the region's most “equal” country, has a Gini of 44.6, while Brazil, the region’s most “unequal,” has a Gini of 59–in Gini-jargon, this is not much of a difference.  More to the point, Uruguay’s inequality is still greater than the most unequal country in Eastern Europe and more than any of the world's industrialized countries (World Bank, 2003).  The report also found that Uruguay and the next two most equal Latin American countries, Argentina and Venezuela, have experienced recent rises in overall income inequality.

The problem of income inequality brings with it a number of negative socio-economic implications.  David de Ferranti, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean, states that "Latin America...exhibits unequal access to education, health, water and electricity, as well as huge disparities in voice, assets, and opportunity" (World Bank, 2003). 

The substantive and varied inequalities embedded in Latin American nations have continually impeded numerous efforts to stimulate aggregate economic growth.  These efforts have been both diverse and frequent, including a mix of both regional integration and free-market policies which extend beyond Latin America.

The most prominent of the regional integration efforts is Mercosur, a South American common market including Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Brazil, and Chile.  Mercosur is seen by its members as an effort to simulate the success of the European Union, through a similar integration of capabilities and resources among its member nations. 

The remaining South American nations not included in Mercosur make up South America's second major trading bloc–the Andean Community.  Currently, plans are in motion to unite these two trading blocs into a single entity, tentatively referred to as the South American Community of Nations.  This pact will, ideally, establish a continent-wide free trade zone, which will further integrate and enhance South America's global trading stature. 

For the Caribbean nations, their economic trade bloc, the Caribbean Community, has recently set lofty goals in terms of integration.  It hopes to establish a single market and economy in the future, along with both a single currency and some form of political union.  Member states have already begun issuing a common passport.

Politics

Latin America is home to many unique political situations. Many of the states in the region, such as Argentina, Brazil, and Mexico, are some form of republic or democratically elected government. However, Latin American history is marred with the skeletons of military coups, juntas, dictatorships, and corrupt leaders. For instance, through a revolution, Cuba has been fiercely controlled by the Cuban Communist Party, creating a debate whether the island state is Communist or simply run by an authoritarian. Also, Haiti is plagued with a weak, collapsing government, and Colombia’s government is so centralized and corrupt that lawlessness plagues much of the countryside.  The region is also home to many dependencies. Puerto Rico, for instance, is a dependency of the United States while French Guiana, Martinique, and Guadeloupe are dependencies of France.

Politics lately has been shifting further to the left. Ostensibly a reaction to the extreme inequality in the region, populist movements in Venezuela, Peru, and Bolivia are steadily taking root and growing in popularity.

Land disputes are also a continuing problem in Central America, affecting countries like Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala. In the northern part of South America, border disputes between Surinam and French Guiana has enveloped their foreign relations.  Nevertheless, peace treaties signed over the last decade and a half have curbed many civil wars, and will hopefully lead to constructive growth and development.

During the 1980s, stagnant economic growth throughout Latin America brought stress to already overburdened government budgets, resulting in across-the-board public service budget cuts in most Latin American countries.  The brunt of these cuts went to health and education, which affected the region's poor who rely on these state-provided services the most.  These trends continue today, and only serve to exacerbate the inequality of living standards and lack of economic growth. 

An instructive example of the region’s unequal distribution of benefits is the generous allocation of scarce government resources to higher education while primary and secondary educational facilities are starved of resources.  Persistently high dropout rates throughout the region are indicative of the neglect for the quality of public education.  Not surprisingly, the region’s schools consistently score near the bottom on international comparisons of educational achievement.

Latin America is also currently experiencing a growing problem of a lack of family planning services, which can be attributed to both declining health and educational services.  Overall (with the notable exception of Cuba), health services region-wide are under-funded, underdeveloped, and do not reach enough of the population, particularly the region's rural poor.

Geography

Latin America, with its size and placement on the globe, is home to almost every ecosystem on earth. A large portion of Latin America is made up of tropical rain forests. However, the snowy Andes Mountain range, running through Peru and Chile, and harsh deserts of Mexico add significant contrast.

The size of the Latin American states differs significantly. Because the area was originally subject to colonization efforts from European powers in the 17th and 18th centuries, most of the borders were decided for political reasons. As such, some states, like Brazil and Mexico, are huge, while others, like Belize, Suriname and the Central American states, are tiny.

Culture

Latin America is home to wide variety of diverse and distinct cultures. There are still many ties to the indigenous peoples who dominated the region before the arrival of European conquistadors. The majority of the residents in Latin America are considered “mestizos,” or people of both European and indigenous descent. Depending on the region, ties can be found to historically dominant Mayan, Incan and Aztec groups, along with a multitude of less well-known indigenous groups.

Most of Latin America speaks Spanish, as Spain was the predominant colonizer of the region. However, Portuguese is the official language in Brazil, whereas French is the official language in Haiti and French Guiana. Many of the Caribbean states are also home to various Creole dialects, combinations of French and the indigenous language.

Catholicism is the primary religion in the region. However, there are alcoves of other forms of Christianity, as well as Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, and Afro-Latin American religions throughout.

An offshoot of the poor economic conditions and political instability of Latin America has been the surge in immigration towards the United States and Canada.  The US Census Bureau estimates that the United States’ foreign-born population in 2003 was 33.5 million, approximately 12.5% of the population.  Of these immigrants, 53% are from Latin America, and about half of those are estimated to be residing in the country illegally.  This is a source of great tension between the United States and its southern neighbors, most notably Mexico. 

Although not often discussed, immigration between countries in Latin America is a source of great tension, as well.  Bolivian activists recently pushed for greater rights for their migrant poor, who have sought economic opportunity in Argentine sweatshops and other low-skill labor jobs.  Recent incidences of harsh treatment of these poor Bolivian workers have sparked a heated debate on the continent about its own strict immigration laws.  Much of the migrant population hopes that passage of the South American Community of Nations will bring about lenient migratory rights among the continent's citizens, not unlike the Caribbean Community.

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