Q/A

Geopolitics “The Geography of International Relations”

North and Middle America

• The United States • “The United States and the North and Middle American geopolitical

region within it is located will be discussed first. As the world’s leading military and economic great power, the United States is uniquely suited to leading the maritime realm because of its central location within that realm. The United States is the only major power that fronts on the world’s two great oceans– the Atlantic and the Pacific.” (Cohen, 2015, p. 95)

United States

• The United States has entered its postindustrial age at a time of considerable geopolitical upheaval. The challenges of the United States in the 2nd decade of the 21st century includes:

• 1) waning US influence in the Middle east • 2) the military assertiveness of China in the East and South China Seas • 3) the competition between Russia and the European Union over

Ukraine • 4) domestic economic strain • 5) political dysfunction and demographic change

United States

• “The economy is entering the era of deindustrialization as manufacturing shifts to services. Manufacturing now accounts for only 12 percent of the US economy…. Services represent 70 percent of the economy and government another 18 percent. Millions of well- paid union factory jobs have been lost, as cheaper imported goods have flooded the country, to be replaced by lower-paid health service, retail, restaurant, and entertainment work.” (Cohen, 2015, p.95)

United States

• Geopolitical Features • 1) Historic Core– “Most scholars, accord Philadelphia the status of the

historic core around which the United States was organized…. Whether the honor goes to Massachusetts or Pennsylvania, the birthplace of the revolutionary American state was in the northeastern and middle colonies, not the plantation south. It was among the small merchants and farmers of the colonies that lay along the northeast coast that the unique American state ideas were formulated– freedom, individual liberty, religious tolerance, and egalitarianism.” (Cohen, 2015, p. 98)

United States

• Political Capital • Washington, the federal capital, was chosen because it would serve as

“neutral ground” between the northern and southern states. The capital was laid out in 1790, first occupied by Congress a decade later, and became coincident with the district of Columbia in 1878.

United States

• Ecumenes • At the close of World War II, the US ecumene extended along the

Atlantic Seaboard from southern New England to Washington, DC, and westward across New York State and Pennsylvania in two prongs– along the Great Lakes to Detroit and then Chicago, and from Pittsburgh across the southern parts of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois to St. Louis.

• The second ecumene is southern and central California. It extends from San Diego to Los Angeles and Santa Barbara. The region connects to Silicon Valley, and then to San Francisco-Oakland.

United States

• Effective National Territory • Approximately two-thirds of the country that is not taken up with its

ecumenes is ENT. Within the ENT, Texas and the lower Mississippi valley, much of the pacific Northwest, and the western Midwest and eastern Great Plains are capable of absorbing substantial population growth, as their large cities and isolated industrial centers expand into the vast farmland acreage of rural America.

• The ENT also includes the dry western high Great Plains, which extend from the one hundredth meridian to the Rockies.

United States

• A revolutionary impact upon the Great Plains’ economy has been oil production boom experienced in the fifteen-thousand –square mile Bakken rock formation. This is centered on North Dakota and extends westward into eastern Montana and northward into Saskatchewan and Alberta. In a matter of a few years, North Dakota has become the second largest oil-producing state within the United States.

• The Bakken output, combined with reduced oil demand led to a drop in the county’s oil imports from 60% of the country’s needs to slightly over one-third in 2013.

• The carbon-rich Canadian tar sands oil basin represents a major source of petroleum for the United States.

United States

• The Keystone XL pipeline has been proposed in order to transport the oil to the United States. Current plans call for the 1700-mile line to carry 830,000 barrels per day with the intention of eventually doubling its capacity.

• The building of Keystone has triggered considerable controversy in the United States.

• 1) Environmentalists argue that its development would sharply accelerate the emission of carbon dioxide from the burning the tar sands as part of the production process.

• 2) Environmentalists fear that this would have negative climate consequences

United States

• Proponents contend that the line will increase US and North American energy security and that the environmental impact would be minimal.

• Empty Areas • Another major feature for the United States is its empty areas. Within

the “lower forty-eight” states, the empty areas covers approximately one million square miles from the Rocky Mountains to the sierra Nevada and the Cascades, embracing mountains and deserts to the west. This empty area plays an important role in the defense strategy and economy of the nation.

United States

• International Boundaries and External Territories • 1) Canadian border • 2) Alaska- Canadian border • 3) Border with Mexico • a) Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo • b) Gadsden Purchase 1853

United States

• “The US-Mexico border has become a major focus of tension between the two countries centering on the flow of illegal immigrants and drugs from Mexico and through Mexico from Central America into the United States. Efforts to control this penetration include border controls, cameras, and other security measures. A security fence is being built along a portion of the boundary, parts of which are walls that cut through border twin cities.” (Cohen, 2015, p.105)

United States

• The Four Stages of US Geopolitical Development • 1) The Maritime Stage– prevailed from colonial times through the

Revolutionary War and the Louisiana Purchase of 1803 • 2) The Continental Stage– Highlights of the continental stage were the

Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1803- 1806, and the War of 1812. For nearly a century– until the Spanish- American War– the focus was on conquest of the continental interior, to expand the nation’s border from “sea to shining sea.”

• 3) The Continental-Maritime Stage– began with the Spanish-American War and ended in the decades between World War I and II.

United States

• The Continental-Maritime Stage • a) Spanish-American War 1898 • b) Building of the Panama Canal 1903-1914 • c) Intervention in the Caribbean (1915-1934) • d) World War I– 1914-1918 • e) The Depression Years

• 4) The Maritime-Continental Stage– began with the outbreak of World War II

Canada

• Historic Core-- For French Canadians, Old Quebec, the lower part of Quebec City, is their historic core. The location of the historic core for English Canada is more ambiguous. For some it is the Plains of Abraham where English General James Wolfe defeated the French, under the command of General Louis Montcalm, giving birth to English supremacy in Canada. To others it was the flight to Canada of American loyalists during and at the end of the Revolutionary War.

• Political Capital– Ottawa, Canada’s federal capital, owes its status to the Constitution Act of 1867, neutral ground between French and English Canada.

Canada

• Ecumenes– Canada’s ecumenes are extensions of core portions of the major US ecumene. The main Canadian ecumene, which lies within the Province of Ontario with a population of over 12 million, runs from the northern shores of Lake Ontario westward along the shores of Lake Erie, via Hamilton and London, to Windsor. In addition to the major southern Ontario ecumene, Canada has two secondary population and economic core areas– Greater Montreal and Vancouver-Victoria.

• Effective National Territory– Canada is the world’s third largest country in territory, a large proportion is empty area. That leaves a relatively small proportion of the territory classified as effective national territory

Canadian Election

• The three largest parties and their leaders after the 2019 election are: • 1) Liberal Party– Justin Trudeau • 2) Conservative Party– Erin O'Toole • 3) Bloc Quebecois- Eric Duhamie • After the election in October 2019 the leading parties in the

Canadian Parliament are: Liberals 155, Conservatives 120, Bloc Quebecois 32, New Democratic Party 24, Green Party 3, Independent 4.•

NAFTA

• The North American Free Trade agreement is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral rules-based trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994.

• The goal of NAFTA was to eliminate barriers to trade and investment between the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The implementation of NAFTA on January 1, 1994 brought the immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one-half of Mexico’s exports to the U.S., and more than one-third of U.S. exports to Mexico. Within 10-15 years after implementation, all U.S. – Mexico tariffs were to be eliminated except for U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico. NAFTA was strengthened by an agreement in 2010 whereby all nontariff barriers to agricultural trade were eliminated.

Mexico

• Capital and Historic Core– In the first stages of the postwar period, US attention was focused on the Mexico City national; political core and the Bay of Campeche, which contains the country’s major oil and gas producing areas and rich reserves. The capital is located in the high valley and former lake bed that is the site of Mexico’s historic core.

• Ecumene– The nation’s ecumene – the area containing the highest densities of population and economic activities– has formed around Mexico City. In addition to the Federal District, the ecumene contains the surrounding states of Mexico, Puebla, Morelos, and Tlaxcala and extends out to the Gulf Coast at Veracrux.

Mexico

• Effective National Territory • 1) “The concept of a “free zone” dotted with maquiladoras originated

with Mexico’s Border Industrialization Act of 1965. However, it was NAFTA’s establishment three decades later which stimulated the explosive growth of the maquiladoras that has been so instrumental in expanding Mexico’s ENT to the U.S. border.” (Cohen, 2015, p. 142)

• Empty Areas– Mexico has a number of empty areas that are either too mountainous or too dry to support populations. The most extensive ones are in the northwest and far south.

Mexico

• Geopolitical Forces of Attraction • 1) Trade ties with the United States have deepened with Mexico’s

industrial diversification. Most of the petroleum that is exported goes to the United States. In level of trade, Mexico is topped only by the EU, Canada, and Japan as a leading trading partner with the United States.

• 2) Three other important geopolitical forces of attraction between the two countries are tourism, immigration, and drugs.

Mexico’s Political Parties

• Mexico has a multi-party system, which means that there are more than three dominant political parties.

• Nationally, there are three large political parties that dominate: The PRI, the PAN, and the PRD. Other smaller parties survive in isolation or by forming local coalitions with any of the big three.

• As of 2011, Mexico has seven nationally recognized political parties by the Federal Electoral Institute. The parties are listed in order in which they were first registered.

Mexico’s Political Parties

• National Action Party (PAN) a right of center party, member of Christian Democracy

• Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The dominant party at the municipal, state, and national levels for most of the 20th century. A part of Socialist International, it is now considered as a centrist party, with prominent members leaning from both left and right, and supports a policy of mixed economy and nationalized industries. This is the political party of incumbent President Pena Nieto.

• Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD). A left of center party. It has long controlled the Federal District.

Mexico’s Political Parties

• Labor Party (PT) a political party formed in 1990. It is often allied with PRD for electoral purposes.

• Ecological Green Party of Mexico (PVEM). A minor party with an environmental platform.

• Citizens’ Movement (MC). Formed in 1997. • New Alliance (PANAL). Members of the National Educational Workers

Union formed in 2005. • National Regeneration Movement. A left-wing nationalist party. • Humanist Party, Formed in 2014 • Social Encounter Party. A centrist party formed in 2006.

Mexico Presidential Election July 1, 2018

• The presidential election in Mexico was held on July 1, 2018. • The three leading contenders were: • 1) Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, former Mayor of Mexico City and presidential

candidate. Obrador politically is aligned with the left, has promised to run an austere government and to combat corruption.

• 2) Ricardo Anaya, right-left coalition leader. • 3) Jose Antonio Meade, candidate of the PRI. • Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador won the election with 53% of the vote, followed

by Ricardo Anaya with 22% and Jose Antonio Meade finishing third with 16%. • Next presidential election will be on July 1, 2024. President Obrador is not

eligible to run for re-election.

Heads of Governments

• North America • 1) United States • President Joseph Biden (2021- ). Next election Nov. 2024 • 2) Canada • Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, (2015- ). Next election October 23, 2023. • 3) Mexico • President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (2018- ). Next election July 1,

2024.

Middle America

• Countries • 1) The four largest countries to the south of Mexico are Guatemala, El

Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua. • Guatemala • 1) Guatemala is a country of three parts. First, in the uplands

northwest of Guatemala City, the largest Central American concentration of Native American peoples lives in subsistence conditions, often landless and in extreme poverty. Second, people in the southern part of the country adopted a more European lifestyle. Third, the lowland area of the north is forested and less populated.

Middle America

• El Salvador • El Salvador has the densest population in the sub-region. Most of the

people are concentrated in the western highlands, where the dominant crop, coffee, is grown. Light manufacturing industries were established in the 1960s. Civil War over land distribution since the 1980s disrupted both rural and urban economies. Thousands of Salvadorans fled the country during the civil war and took up residence in the united States.

Middle America

• Honduras • Honduras is one of the most materially poor countries in the Western

Hemisphere. The ranching economy established in colonial times persists in parts if the west, and large banana and pineapple plantations dominate the Ulua River valley and the northern coastal plane. Coffee became a primary export in the 1960s.

• Tourism is a growing industry, attracting over 500,000 visitors a year, centered on the Maya ruins in Copan, nature tourism mountain hikes and river rafting.

Middle America

• Nicaragua • Nicaragua developed a mixture of agriculture and modern manufacturing

industries. Coffee, cotton, bananas, and sugarcane are important export crops. The population is concentrated around the lakes of Nicaragua and Managua in the structural depression that is subject to earthquakes.

• Decades of oppression under the Somoza family dictatorship instigated revolutionaries to overthrow Somoza control. The Marxist oriented Sandinistas took control in 1979 and controlled the country, under President Daniel Ortega, till 1990. A United Sates backed group, the Contras, won election in 1990 and held power till 2006 when Daniel Ortega was reelected president of Nicaragua.

Middle America

• Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama have the smallest populations of the Central American countries. Belize is by far the smallest country in the region, having only 300,000 citizens. The country became independent in 1981 after a long period of British colonial rule.

• Costa Rica is the only country in the region that has a long-term democratic government. As a stable democracy, Costa Rica attracted manufacturing and free-trade zones financed by U.S. and Taiwanese corporations.

Heads of Government

• Middle America • 1) El Salvador • President Nayib Bukele (2019- ) Next election Feb. 2024 • 2) Guatemala • Alejandro Giammattei (2020-) Next election June 2023

Heads of Government

• 3) Honduras • President Juan Orlando Hernandez (2014- ) Next election Nov. 2021 • 4) Nicaragua • President Daniel Ortega (2007- present) Next election Nov. 2021 • 5) Belize • Prime Minister Johnny Briceno (2020- ) . Next election by Nov. 2024 • 6) Costa Rica • President Luis Guillermo Solis. Next election Feb. 2022 • 7) Panama • President Laurentino Cortizo (2019- . Next election May 2023

Caribbean Basin

• The Caribbean Basin consists of a few large islands, several small islands, and three political units on the South American mainland. The political geography of the Caribbean is one of the most diverse of any sub-region.

• In 2015, 35-40 million people lived in the Caribbean Basin. The majority live on one of the four largest islands, known as the Greater Antilles: Cuba, Hispaniola (consisting of two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic), Puerto Rico, and Jamaica

• The smaller Caribbean islands are commonly referred to as the Lesser Antilles. The Lesser Antilles chain is an arc of small islands around the eastern edge of the Caribbean Sea, with the Leeward group in the north and the Windward group in the South.

Caribbean Basin

• Puerto Rico • Puerto Rico is not an independent country, nor is it a state within the

U.S. political system. In 1952 Puerto Rico became formally structured with the establishment of commonwealth status.

• Dominican Republic • The Dominican Republic, comprising the eastern two-thirds of the

island of Hispaniola, became independent in 1821 and subsequently suffered from economic stagnation and political instability. Agriculture remains the dominant economic activity, based on sugar, while the Standard Fruit Company operates large banana plantations and Dole Corporation administers pineapple plantations.

Caribbean Basin

• Haiti • Haiti, occupying the smaller western part of the island of Hispaniola,

is the poorest country in the Americas. Life expectancy is low, infant mortality high, and 50 percent of its adults are illiterate. Over three- fourths of the people are crowded onto poor-quality lands resulting from as in balanced division of land resource holdings. Independence in 1804 was followed by the political instability that continues today.

• Jamaica • Jamaica gained historic significance as the largest British colony in the

Caribbean Basin.

Caribbean Basin

• Cuba • When Fidel Castro led a Communist takeover in 1959, ties with the

United States and U.S. companies were severed, and dependence shifted to the former Soviet bloc countries. Large state farms and cooperative farms diversified to produce citrus fruit for eastern Europe, overall productivity remained low. Cuba exported sugar, tobacco (cigars), and some strategic minerals top the Soviet bloc in exchange for oil, wheat, fertilizer, and equipment. Cuba suffered as much as other Communist countries from the breakup of the Soviet bloc.

Caribbean Basin– Lesser Antilles

• Trinidad and Tobago • Trinidad and Tobago has the largest area and population in the Lesser

Antilles. Trinidad and Tobago has an oil-based economy. A unique ethnic mixture in the local population includes many who tie their heritage to South Asia.

• Martinique, Guadeloupe, and French Guiana are political subdivisions of the country of France, known as “overseas departments.” Their residents are French citizens and members of the European Union.

Caribbean Basin– Lesser Antilles

• Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. These former Netherlands colonies, off the northern coast of Venezuela are low-lying and arid, obtaining their water supplies from desalination plants. They remain administratively linked to the Netherlands today.

• Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. All have small populations on relatively large areas of land. Guyana and Suriname export bauxite from inland mines, while French Guiana exports timber to the EU. The reopening of gold mines by Canadian companies in Guyana caused exports to quadruple in the 1990s.

Greater Antilles– Political Leaders • Cuba • President Raul Castro (2008- 2018) Resigned the Presidency in 2018. • New President Miguel Diaz-Canel • Cuba does not have direct elections for its head of government. Instead, Cuba’s legislature, the

National Assembly of People's Power, selects a 31-member Council of State, with the president of that body serving as Cuba’s head of government and state. On April 19, 2018 Raul Castro stepped down as president and Miguel Diaz-Canel replaced him.

• Dominican Republic • President Danilo Medina. Next election May 2020 • Haiti • Prime Minister Jovenel Moise (2016- ) Next election Oct. 2021 • Jamaica • Prime Minister Andew Holness (2016- ) Next election by Feb. 2021

Northern Andes

• The Andes Mountains are a dominant feature in all five countries of the Northern Andes sub-region consisting of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. The world’s second highest mountain range creates a multitude of local environments at different heights throughout the sub-region.

• Economically, the countries of this sub-region range from the poorest (Bolivia) to some of South America’s more materially wealthy countries.

• Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela have the highest incomes in the sub- region. Venezuela’s income is directly related to its dominant oil and mineral exports that continue to be in demand.

Northern Andes

• Early colonists in Peru established mines in the cordilleras and cultivated crops along the coast to support people and pack animals that delivered mined silver and gold to the coast. Later Peruvian export booms from the mid-1800s involved less valuable minerals, such as lead and zinc from the cordilleras, guano fertilizer from offshore islands, and sugarcane and cotton from irrigated coastal islands. Oil from the north, iron from the south, and fishmeal from what became the world’s second largest fishery added new aspects to Peru’s income from the 1950s.

Northern Andes-- Peru

• Peru dramatically opened its economy to external investment in the 1990s, creating a boom in mining exploration. In 1992 Peru opened Latin America’s largest gold mine. It began production at other mines by the late 1990s and continued to explore opportunities.

• Peru is among the world’s largest producers of cocaine.

Northern Andes-- Bolivia

• Bolivia is a landlocked country located in western-central South America. Although only one-third of the country is located in the Andean mountain range, its largest city and principal economic centers are in the Altipiano.

• Before Spanish colonization, the Andean region of Bolivia was a part of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquistadors arriving from Cuzco and Asuncion took control of the region in the 16th century.

• After the first call for independence in 1809, 16 years of war followed before the establishment of the Republic, named for Simon Bolivar, on August 6, 1825.

Bolivia

• The country’s population, estimated at 10 million, is multiethnic, including Amerindians, Mestizos, Europeans, Asians, and Africans.

• Modern Bolivia is constitutionally a democratic republic, divided into nine departments. It is a developing country, with a medium ranking in the Human Development Index and a poverty rate of 53 percent. Its main economic activities include agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining, and manufacturing goods such as textiles, clothing, refined metals, and refined petroleum. Bolivia is very wealthy in minerals, especially tin.

Colombia

• Colombia is a country situated in the northwest of South America, bordered to the NW by Panama, to the east by Venezuela and Brazil, and to the south by Ecuador and Haiti.

• Colombia is a unitary, constitutional republic comprising 32 departments.

• Colombia is ethnically diverse, its people descending from the original native inhabitants, Spanish colonists, Africans originally brought to the country as slaves, and 20th century immigrants from Europe and the Middle east.

Venezuela

• Venezuela is a federal republic located on the northern coast of South America. It is bordered by Colombia on the west, Brazil on the south, and Guyana on the east.

• Venezuela is considered a state with extremely high biodiversity, with habitats ranging from the Andes Mountains to the Amazon Basin.

• Since the discovery of oil in the early 20th century, Venezuela has one of the world’s largest oil reserves and has been one of the world’s leading oil exporters.

Ecuador

• The Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in northwestern South America. What is now Ecuador was home to a variety of indigenous groups that were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by Spain in the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820.

• The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador’s ethnically diverse population, with most of its 15.2 million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of European, Amerindian, and Africans descendants.

Ecuador

• Ecuador has a developing economy that is highly dependent on commodities, namely petroleum and agricultural products. The country is classified as a medium-income country.

• Ecuador is a democratic presidential republic. The new constitution of 2008 is the first in the world to recognize legally enforceable Rights of Nature, or ecosystem rights.

• Ecuador is also known for its rich ecology, hosting many endemic plants and animals, such as those of the Galapagos Islands.

Heads of Government- Northern Andes • Bolivia • President Luis Acre (2020-present). Next election Oct. 2024 • Colombia • President Ivan Duque Marquez(2018-present) Next election May 2022 • The first round of the Columbian election was held May 27, 2018. The final round was held on June 17, 2018.

The top two finishers in the first round were Ivan Duque Marquez, of the Grand Alliance of Colombia with 39% of the vote and Gustavo Petro of the List of Decency with 25% of the vote. In the runoff election Ivan Duque Marquez was elected with 54% of the vote. Gustavo Petro received 42% of the vote.

• Ecuador • President Guillermo Lasso (2021- ) Next election Feb. 2025 • Peru • President Francisco Sagasti ( 2020- ). Next election April 2024 •

Heads of Government– Northern Andes

• Venezuela • President Nicolas Maduro (2013-) • Presidential elections were held on May 20, 2018 with incumbent Nicolas

Maduro being reelected for a second 6 year term. The original date for the election was scheduled to be in December 2018 but moved to April 22 before being pushed back to May 20. Because of this the United Nations, European Union, the Organization of American States, Australia, and the United States have rejected the electoral process. China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Syria, Turkey and others have recognized the election result.

• The two leading candidates facing Maduro were Henri Falcon and Javier Bertucci.

Brazil

• Brazil is the largest country in both South America and the Latin American region. It is the world’s fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population. It is the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world, and the only one in the Americas. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the east, Brazil has a coastline of 4,655 miles. It borders all other South American countries except Ecuador and Chile and occupies 47.3 percent of the continent of South America.

• Brazil was occupied by numerous tribal nations prior to the landing in 1500 of explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral, who claimed the area for the Portuguese Empire. It remained a colony of Portugal till 1808.

Brazil

• Brazil’s economy is the world’s eighth-largest by nominal GDP and the seventh-largest by GDP (PPP) as of 2015.

• Brazil is a regional power in Latin America and a middle power in international affairs, with some analysts identifying it as an emerging global power.

• Brazil has been the largest producer of coffee for the last 150 years. • Brazil’s large territory comprises different ecosystems, such as the

Amazon rainforest, recognized as having the greatest biological diversity in the world.

Southern Cone

• Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay form the southernmost part of South America and are sometimes called the “Southern Cone” because of their combined shape on a map.

Argentina

• Argentina is a federal republic located in southeastern South America. Sharing the bulk of the Southern Cone with neighbor Chile, it is bordered by Bolivia and Paraguay to the north; Brazil to the northeast; Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean to the east; Chile to the west and the Drake Passage to the south.

• Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in South America, and the largest Spanish speaking one./

• Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and G-20 major economies. Argentina is classified as a high-income economy with a “very high” rating on the Human Development Index.

Chile

• Chile is a South American country occupying a long, narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far south.

• The arid Atacama Desert in northern Chile contains great mineral wealth, especially copper.

• The relatively small central area dominates in terms of population and agricultural resources, and is the cultural and political center from which Chile expanded in the late 19th century.

Chile

• Southern Chile is rich in forests and grazing lands, and features a string of volcanoes and lakes.

• Chile is today one of South America’s most stable and prosperous nations. It leads Latin American nations in rankings of human development, competitiveness, income per capita, globalization, state of peace, economic freedom, and low perception of corruption. It also ranks high in regionally in sustainability of the state, and democratic development.

Paraguay

• Paraguay is a landlocked country in central South America, bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest.

• Due to its central location in South America, it is sometimes referred to as Corazon de America (“Heart of America”).

• Following the disastrous Paraguayan War (1864-1870), the country lost between 60 to 70 percent of its population through war and disease.

• Through the 20th century, Paraguay continued to endure a succession of authoritarian governments, culminating in the regime of Alfredo Stroessner, who led a military dictatorship from 1954-1989.

Uruguay

• Uruguay is a country in the southeastern region of South America. It is bordered by Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southeast. It is bordered by Argentina to its west and Brazil to its north and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to the south and southeast.

• Uruguay is home to 3.3 million people, of which 1.8 live in the metropolitan area of its capital and largest city, Montevideo.

• Uruguay is ranked first in Latin America in democracy, peace, lack of corruption, quality of living, and equally first in South America when it comes to press freedom, size of middle class, prosperity, and security.

• The Economist named Uruguay “country of the year” in 2013.

Heads of Governments– Brazil and Southern Cone • Brazil • President Jair Bolsonaro(2019- ) Next election Oct. 2023 • Brazil President Dilma Rousseff, elected to a second term in 2014, was

impeached and removed from office in 2016; Vice President Michel Tremer became president and served the remainder of her term.

• Argentina • President Alberto Fernandez (2019- ) Next election Oct. 2023 • Chile • President Sebastian Pinera (2017- ) Next election Nov, 2025

Heads of Governments--Southern Cone

• Paraguay • President Mario Abdo Benitez (2018- ). Next election April 2024 • Uruguay • President Luis Lacalle Pou (2020- . Next election Oct. 2023

Regional Links

• MERCOSUR • Mercosur is a sub-regional bloc. Its full members are Argentina,

Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Its associate countries are Chile, Peru, Colombia, and Ecuador. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people, and currency. Established first in 1991 by the Treaty of Asuncion, it has been updated, amended, and changed many times since. It is now a full customs union and trading bloc.