MANANA IN LATIN AMERICA.Two futurists tell you what's next. WHY DOES LATIN AMERICA Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. CONTINUE TO lag so far behind its neighbor to the north in economic development? Discovery of both parts of the New World dates to the same year, 1492, and Latin America was a lot quicker off the starting blocks start·ing block n. 1. Sports a. An apparatus that braces a runner's feet at the start of a race, consisting of two angled supports adjustably mounted on a rigid frame that is usually anchored to the track. b. . Within 50 years of Columbus's arrival, all of the current capitals had been founded. European settlement of North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. didn't even begin for another century. Latin American countries List of American countries Nations:
Rapid globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation in recent years has started to break down these historical traits. The reward, apart from the greater good of the region's 410 million inhabitants
The game is based loosely on the concepts from SameGame. , will be to find a "Latin way Latin Way: see Roman roads. " to prove to the world (and themselves) that they can be as modern and as successful as other peoples--without losing their Latinity, the soul that defines their identity. Change can be daunting daunt tr.v. daunt·ed, daunt·ing, daunts To abate the courage of; discourage. See Synonyms at dismay. [Middle English daunten, from Old French danter, from Latin , even for countries that have successfully embraced and managed it smoothly in the past. The region's citizens must not only embrace change, they must take advantage of emerging trends if they wish to become major players in the global marketplace in the 21st century. We have coined the term "Nexts" to describe the key trends that will shape life in the future. Understanding the region's "Nexts" can help Latin Americans This is a list of notable Latin American people. In alphabetical order within categories. Actors
Consider the following Nexts: DESPERATELY SEEKING SECURITY For all its advances in economic stability and democracy, Latin America is facing an uphill struggle with two related and corrosive corrosive /cor·ro·sive/ (kor-o´siv) producing gradual destruction, as of a metal by electrochemical reaction or of the tissues by the action of a strong acid or alkali; an agent that so acts. issues--drugs and violence. The level of violence is so extreme it shaves 2.1% off the region's Gross Domestic Product annually. A 1999 report from non-government organization Mexico United Against Crime proclaims Mexico City Mexico City Spanish Ciudad de México City (pop., 2000: city, 8,605,239; 2003 metro. area est., 18,660,000), capital of Mexico. Located at an elevation of 7,350 ft (2,240 m), it is officially coterminous with the Federal District, which occupies 571 sq mi as one the 10 most violent cities worldwide, with 800 crimes and three murders a day. Nations with similar rates are usually engaged in civil war. WHAT'S NEXT The "Pit Bull" Generation Reared in an atmosphere of violence and unemployment, today's youth are perpetuating the violence, on the streets and, increasingly, in schools. And this trend is being played out in cities across the continent. For example, in Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, city, Brazil Rio de Janeiro (rē`ō də zhänā`rō, Port. rē`  thĭ zhənĕē`r a teen is twice as likely to
be murdered as in Bogota (long considered the most violent city in Latin
America).EDUCATION, POR POR problem-oriented record. POR abbr. problem-oriented record POR Problem-Oriented Record. FAVOR One of Latin America's greatest natural resources is its young people. Birth rates are as much as double those in Europe, and the proportion of youth under age 15 is 30% or more, far outnumbering the elders. In the more "European" countries of the south--Chile and Argentina--the ratios of under-15s to over-65s are around 4:1 and 3:1, respectively, while other countries run between 6:1 and 8:1, compared with less than 2:1 in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . This is great news for pension planners: Latin America has plenty of youngsters to provide for the old folk. Education, however, is a crucial issue. Today children in Latin America go to school an average of just five years. With unskilled and manual work being automated, the governments of Latin America face the immediate priority of educating their teeming teem 1 v. teemed, teem·ing, teems v.intr. 1. To be full of things; abound or swarm: A drop of water teems with microorganisms. 2. masses of youngsters if they want to offer a real alternative to the fast-developing economies of the Asia-Pacific region. WHAT'S NEXT "New School" Houses Rock Don't expect massive spending boosts. Governments just don't have the cash. In Colombia, New Schools, in which older students tutor younger children, are compensating for a shortage of qualified teachers. There are currently 17,000 New Schools in the country and these schools enjoy more support from parents and local businesses than do the nation's public schools. Look for other creative stop-gaps. THE HOLY GRAIL Holy Grail: see Grail, Holy. A very desired object or outcome that borders on a sacred quest. There are several Holy Grails in the computer business. OF REFORM Until recently, rampant inflation and boom-and-bust economic cycles made chronic uncertainty a daily hazard for Latin American businesses. Much of the progress in Latin America today can be attributed to economic reform. The fruit of ongoing privatizations This list of privatizations provides links to notable and/or major privatizations. See also: Privatization. Argentina
privatization Transfer of government services or assets to the private sector. State-owned assets may be sold to private owners, or statutory restrictions on competition between privately and publicly owned , the phone company responds in 48 hours. Free-market thinking will also change people's mindset mind·set or mind-set n. 1. A fixed mental attitude or disposition that predetermines a person's responses to and interpretations of situations. 2. An inclination or a habit. : from the paternalistic pa·ter·nal·ism n. A policy or practice of treating or governing people in a fatherly manner, especially by providing for their needs without giving them rights or responsibilities. overseer inherent in the Spanish colonial legacy to entrepreneurship and the benefits of competition. Such shifts are subtle, and so far, privatization hasn't significantly improved the daily lives of the majority of Latin Americans. Wealth is still concentrated in the hands of the few. In Argentina--one of the most stable countries--unemployment hovers around 14.5%, almost twice as high as it was in 1990. But most experts believe that privatization is already having a far-reaching impact on the young, who for the first time have an almost unfettered thirst for consumer goods consumer goods Any tangible commodity purchased by households to satisfy their wants and needs. Consumer goods may be durable or nondurable. Durable goods (e.g., autos, furniture, and appliances) have a significant life span, often defined as three years or more, and . WHAT'S NEXT Privatization Payback--Small Is the New Big While it is too soon to foretell fore·tell tr.v. fore·told , fore·tell·ing, fore·tells To tell of or indicate beforehand; predict. fore·tell the final outcome of reform, free-market thinking could become contagious contagious /con·ta·gious/ (-jus) capable of being transmitted from one individual to another, as a contagious disease; communicable. con·ta·gious adj. 1. Of or relating to contagion. , leading to a burgeoning entrepreneurial class. A powerful clique (mathematics) clique - A maximal totally connected subgraph. Given a graph with nodes N, a clique C is a subset of N where every node in C is directly connected to every other node in C (i.e. C is totally connected), and C contains all such nodes (C is maximal). of economic groups has long controlled economies controlled economy n → economía dirigida . Smaller businesses will make strides in the future, providing jobs and thus gaining clout and importance. This will create strife with the traditional power brokers. OPENING UP Latin American resistance to change is changing. Globality and technology are enabling--in fact, forcing--Latin Americans to open their minds and their borders. The region has been notable for conservative and inward-looking attitudes fostered by an out-of-the-way location and extreme terrain. Deserts, tropical rainforests Tropical rainforests are rainforests generally found near the equator. They are common in Asia, Africa, South America, Central America, and on many of the Pacific Islands. , and the soaring Andes all make overland communication difficult. Latin America's far-flung populations are finally getting wired to each other and to the rest of the world. This development opens the exciting prospect that huge Spanish-speaking Internet communities will coalesce co·a·lesce intr.v. co·a·lesced, co·a·lesc·ing, co·a·lesc·es 1. To grow together; fuse. 2. To come together so as to form one whole; unite: in this millennium. Although estimates vary, more than 20 million people in the region will he online within three years. Latin American companies are increasingly looking abroad and not just to the United States for education, training, and best-practice examples. Itausa, a Brazilian conglomerate that includes a major bank and a computer-hardware maker, illustrates the new mindset. It sent 50 managers from Duratex, a manufacturer of bathroom fixtures and wood products, to study top companies in Japan, and it reorganized re·or·gan·ize v. re·or·gan·ized, re·or·gan·iz·ing, re·or·gan·iz·es v.tr. To organize again or anew. v.intr. To undergo or effect changes in organization. decision-making to halve halve tr.v. halved, halv·ing, halves 1. To divide (something) into two equal portions or parts. 2. To lessen or reduce by half: halved the recipe to serve two. 3. the time needed to get new products to market. WHAT'S NEXT "E" Equals Exponential 1. (mathematics) exponential - A function which raises some given constant (the "base") to the power of its argument. I.e. f x = b^x If no base is specified, e, the base of natural logarthims, is assumed. 2. Latin Americans are going to take to e-commerce in a big way. Although some hurdles--including insufficient phone lines, low incomes, and lack of credit cards--continue to hinder the growth of e-commerce, real progress is being made. Look for companies to grab hold of online potential--not just to sell goods, but as a key tool in modernizing society. STAND BACK, BOYS Latin America still has one of the world's lowest numbers of women in the workplace, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the International Labor Organization International Labor Organization (ILO), specialized agency of the United Nations, with headquarters in Geneva. It was created in 1919 by the Versailles Treaty and affiliated with the League of Nations until 1945, when it voted to sever ties with the League. . But the percentage of working-age women in the workforce in Latin America increased from 37% in the early 1980s to 45% by the mid-1990s. Nearly 40% of Peruvian women are heads of households today. Among the contributing factors: increased urbanization, improved education for women, and economic need. Women in the smaller, less developed countries such as Ecuador and Colombia, but also to a certain extent in Mexico, experience greater economic and autonomous disparity than women in larger, more urban countries. WHAT'S NEXT No Longer a Macho World Feminism (a gringo grin·go n. pl. grin·gos Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a foreigner in Latin America, especially an American or English person. import) will disappear. Women will begin to place more emphasis on the essential differences that set the two sexes apart. Look for the development of female leadership, Latin style. This feminine "Latinity" means adapting the pragmatic gains of Western-style feminism to specific cultural demands. The result: an identity of strength combined with an unabashed female sensuality, while still maintaining a deep respect for family. DESTINATIONS GREENEST TV nature documentaries, travel writing, and high-profile initiatives by such celebrities as pop star Sting and Anita Roddick Dame Anita Lucia Roddick, DBE (23 October 1942 – 10 September 2007) was the founder of The Body Shop, a British cosmetics company producing and retailing beauty products that shaped ethical consumerism. of The Body Shop have all helped introduce the world to Latin America's vast natural resources and ecosystems. The wilds of Patagonia are now the "in" place for some of the world's rich and powerful--media magnate Ted Turner For other persons named Ted Turner, see Ted Turner (disambiguation). Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19 1938 , financier George Soros George Soros Born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1930, George Soros is considered by many to be one of the world's greatest investors. A famous hedge fund manager, Soros managed the Quantum Fund, a fund that achieved an average annual return of 30% from 1970-2000. , and movie star Sylvester Stallone are just three of the many who have bought up vast estates at the end of the earth. For years, Latin Americans have viewed the environmental concerns of outsiders as hypocritical hyp·o·crit·i·cal adj. 1. Characterized by hypocrisy: hypocritical praise. 2. Being a hypocrite: a hypocritical rogue. attempts to deny them full use of their natural resources. But concern is growing within the region, too. Brazil, for one, is keen to improve its conservation image. The Amazon rain forest loses 5,700 square miles A square mil is a unit of area, equal to the area of a square with sides of length one mil. A mil is one thousandth of an international inch. This unit of area is usually used in specifying the area of the cross section of a wire or cable. per year. Greenpeace warns that, at current rates of deforestation deforestation Process of clearing forests. Rates of deforestation are particularly high in the tropics, where the poor quality of the soil has led to the practice of routine clear-cutting to make new soil available for agricultural use. , the rain forest will be gone in 80 years. To help preserve the remaining area, Brazil now requires that mining companies replace any forest cover they destroy. The Brazilian government has also announced that, by 2000, it will designate 62 million acres of Amazon rain forest as protected. WHAT'S NEXT Tourism-Worth Its Weight in Preservation As governments wise up to the benefits of sound ecological policy and the enormous economic potential of tourism-green or not-expect to see more of Latin America in the world's travel brochures travel brochure n → folleto turístico travel brochure n → brochure f touristique travel brochure travel n . Already, thrill seekers Thrill Seekers was a television series aired in 1973 and 1974. It was hosted by Chuck Connors and featured people who did dangerous stunts. Other works Thrill Seekers (USA) / The Time Shifters and adventure travelers who are searching for that exotic road-less-traveled location are heading for Latin American backwaters. Latin American tourism, however, will never achieve its full potential until the region makes considerable headway head·way n. 1. Forward movement or the rate of forward movement, especially of a ship. 2. Progress toward a goal. 3. The clear vertical space beneath a ceiling or archway; clearance. 4. in tackling crime and violence. LATINITY: A SUPER IDENTITY After a decade of Asian bullishness, the financial crisis of 1997 prompted the world to stand back and take stock of which countries were hot and which were not. Comparisons between Asia and Latin America inevitably followed. While Asia is a region largely defined by geography, Latin America is imbued with a sense of identity and commonality-a Latin consciousness that exceeds geographic limits. This means that residents of places as far apart as Santiago, Chile Santiago, officially Santiago de Chile (Spanish: (helpinfo)), is the capital of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation (Greater Santiago). , Mexico City, and the barrios Barrios is a name of Hispanic origin. The name may refer to: Persons
New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of can communicate. Even Spanish-speakers and Portuguese-speakers (in Brazil) are usually able to communicate without recourse A phrase used by an endorser (a signer other than the original maker) of a negotiable instrument (for example, a check or promissory note) to mean that if payment of the instrument is refused, the endorser will not be responsible. to a third Language--a rarity among the peoples of Asia. This huge pool of people with shared language and cultural roots has enabled Latin Americans to develop a rich world of culture independent of globally dominant Anglo-Saxon influences. Such writers as Jorge Luis Borges Noun 1. Jorge Luis Borges - Argentinian writer remembered for his short stories (1899-1986) Borges, Jorge Borges of Argentina, Gabriel Garcia Marquez Gar·cí·a Már·quez , Gabriel Born 1928. Colombian-born writer known especially for his novel One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967). He won the 1982 Nobel Prize for literature. of Colombia, Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize in Literature. Early life and writings Paz was born in 1914 in Mexico City during the Revolution. of Mexico, and Mario Vargas Llosa Noun 1. Mario Vargas Llosa - Peruvian writer (born in 1936) Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, Vargas Llosa of Peru are widely read throughout the Latin world and beyond. In music, Latins boast depth, diversity, and vitality that easily match the considerable output of the English-speaking world. Latin styles have their roots in specific places--tango in Argentina, samba in Brazil, vallenato in Colombia, merengue merengue Couple dance from the Dominican Republic or Haiti, danced throughout Latin America. Originally a folk dance, it has become a ballroom dance, where it is danced with a limping step, the weight always on the same foot. Varieties include the jaleo and juangomero. in the Dominican Republic Dominican Republic (dəmĭn`ĭkən), republic (2005 est. pop. 8,950,000), 18,700 sq mi (48,442 sq km), West Indies, on the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola. The capital and largest city is Santo Domingo. , mariachi mariachi Traditional Mexican street ensemble. The performer, the musical style, and the musical ensemble are called mariachi. Mariachi music emerged in the late 1700s or early 1800s. in Mexico. The styles are constantly cross-fertilizing and producing hybrids that belong nowhere and everywhere. FUTURE TREND CAPITAL Latinness has the potential to be the seductive se·duc·tive adj. Tending to seduce; alluring: "his sad and fastidious but ever seductive Irish voice" John Fowles. cultural superpower of the future, possibly eclipsing the United States as the world's biggest exporter of popular culture. As Internet technology improves, making it more viable for sound and video, expect to see a huge cross-pollination of Latin American imagination with the rapid growth of Latin cultural power. If Latin America is successful in assimilating as·sim·i·late v. as·sim·i·lat·ed, as·sim·i·lat·ing, as·sim·i·lates v.tr. 1. Physiology a. To consume and incorporate (nutrients) into the body after digestion. b. change and yet retaining its rich cultural heritage, it will be a region to be reckoned with in this millennium. For the wildfire to burn out of control, the region will need to continue to work toward unification, both within the region and with the U.S. That's what makes globalization differ from colonization-power to change flows both ways. Ira Matathia and Marian Salzman co-authored Next: Trends for the Near Future (The Overlook Press, 1999). They are both members of Y&R's Brand Futures Group.
TIMELINE
A march through Latin American history.
The people, the events and the places
that make the region what it is today.
2300 Date of Mexican pottery shards, earliest
settlements in Peruvian highlands
1400 Olmec Culture in Mexico
300 Earliest recorded human use of coca
0 Nazca culture flourishes in Peru
400 Classic Maya period begins
650 Peak of Teothihuacan influence over Mesoamerica
900 Toltecs rise in Mexico
1325 Tenochtitlan founded
1438 Incas take power in Cuzco
1492 Columbus arrives to the New World
1493 Papal bull Inter Caetera divides the world into
Spanish and Portuguese spheres
1496 First Spanish city founded at Santo Domingo
1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral discovers Brazil
1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa discovers Pacific
1516 Juan de Solis enters Rio de Ia Plata, Argentina
1519 Hernan Cortes begin Mexican Conquest
1531 Peasant Juan Diego encounters Virgin of Guadalupe
1533 Fall of Incas
1534 Quito founded
1535 Lima founded
1536 Buenos Aires founded
1537 Asuncion founded
1538 Bogota founded
1538 DeSoto appointed governor of Cuba and Florida
1538 First university established at Santo Domingo
1541 Santiago founded
1545 Silver discovered at Potosi
1549 Salvador, Bahia named Brazil's capital
1550 Cattle introduced to Argentina
1551 Universities established at Lima and Mexico City
1552 First African slaves shipped to Brazil
1565 Rio de Janeiro founded
1578 Sir Francis Drake sails through the straits of
Magellan, sacks Valparaiso
1605 Shipments of charqui (dired beef) leave Buenos Aires
1621 Dutch settle Guianas
1623 English settle St. Kitts
1635 French settle Guadeloupe and Martinique
1650 Paulista bandeirantes begin conquest of hinterland
1695 Brazilian gold rush begins in Minas Gerais
1722 Gaceta de Mexico, region's first newspaper,
begins publication
1750 Guarani people go to war to defend Jesult
settlements
1754 Vatican declares Virgin of Guadalupe patroness
of New Spain
1759 Jesuits expelled from brazil by Pombal
1763 Rio de Janeior becomes capital of Brazil
1778 Free trade established within Spanish empire
1780 Tupac Amaru leads Inca revolt
1801 Toussaint L'Ouverture leads successful slave uprising
in Haiti
1808 Banco do Brasil established, region's first
1810 Mexico's Fr.Miguel Hidalgo proclaims Grito de Dotores
1811 Paraguay declares Independence from Spain
1819 Simon Bolivar liberates new Granada
1820 Liberal Revolution in Spain
1821 Venezuela declares independence
1822 Banco de Buenos Aires founded
1822 Jose de Sucre liberates Quito; Prince Pedro de
Braganca declares Brazilian independence
1823 U.S. Monroe Doctrine declares Latin America to
be in its sphere of influence
1824 Battle of Ayacucho, Peru, signals final battle for
South American independence
1827 Jornal do Comercio founded
1828 Uruguay established as a buffer state between
Argentina and Brazil
1829 First Latin American debt crisis following default
on war bonds
1829 Slavery abolished in Mexico
1830 Bolivar dies
1836 Santa Ana defeats Texans at the Alamo
1838 Central America breaks into separate republics
1845 United States annexes Texas
1848 United States annexes half of Mexico's territory
1860 Guatemala begins to export coffee
1862 French invade Mexico, place Maximillian on throne
1864 British sailors introduce soccer while visiting the
port of Rio de Janeiro
1870 Paraguay loses War of Triple Alliance and
two thirds of its male population
1869 Free public education ratified in Costa Rica
1876 Porfirio Diaz takes power in Mexico
1879 General Julio Argentio Roca completes Desert Campaign
adding 400,000 sq. km.of pampa to Argentina
1879 Victorious Chile landlocks defeated Bolivia
following War of the Pacific
1888 Author Ruben Dario ushers in Age of Modernismo
with "Azul"
1888 Abolition of slavery in Brazil
1889 First International Conference of American States
held in Washington, DC
1889 Fall of Brazilian monarchy
1893 Nicaraguans form formal baseball league
1895 Jose Marti lands in Cuba seeking independence
1897 Coca Cola goes on sale in Mexico
1898 Spain loses Puerto Rico and Cuba in Spanish-
American War
1903 Mexico's first steel plant opens
1904 Construction of the Panama Canal begins
1908 First Japanese settlers land in Brazil
1908 Railway passes over 9000 ft. mountain to connect
Quito to the coast
1910 Pan-American Union founded
1910 Mexican revolution begins
1911 Machu Picchu discovered
1911 Albert Braniff flies Mexican President Francisco
Madero over Mexico City
1911 United States occupies Nicaragua
1913 Royal Dutch Shell begins exploration in Venezuela
1920 Carlos Gardel popularizes tango
1922 Argentine oil company Yacimientos Petroliferos
Fiscales established
1924 United Fruit investment in Honduras tops $26 million
1925 Ford Motor Company opens assembly plant in Mexico
1926 Augusto Sandino begins revolt
1928 Pan-American Highway begins construction
1928 Lindbergh flies from Washington to Mexico City
1929 Diego Cisneros forms a small transport business
in Caracas
1929 Mexico's Partido Revolucionario Nacional gains power,
later becomes PRI
1929 Women allowed to vote in Ecuador
1930 PanAm acquires South American mail routes
1932 Chile's Socialist Republic founded
1933 Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaims Good Neighbor policy
1933 J. Walter Thompson launches ad campaigns
in Latin America
1934 Lazaro Cardenas elected president in Mexico,
begins land reform
1934 Communists lead banana strike in Costa Rica
1935 Bechtel goes internationai with win of
Venezuelan pipeline project
1936 Anastasio Somoza seizes power in Nicaragua
1937 Oil nationalized in Bolivia
1937 Mexican railways put under worker control
1938 Oil nationalized in Mexico, Petroleos Mexicanos
(Pemex) created
1938 Lorenzo Mendoza sells soap factory,
before starting Polar brewery
1939 Outbreak of war in Europe
1939 Chile creates state planning board to run economy
1939 Electrolux opens offices in Venezuela and Colombia
1941 Panama, Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic
declare war on Japan
1942 Mexican workers start migrating to the US
under the Bracero Treaty
1942 Mexico and Brazil declare war on Axis powers
1943 Bolivia and Colombia declare war on Axis powers
1944 Steel company Altos Hornos is founded in Mexico
1944 Mass uprisings topple governments in
Guatemala and El Salvador
1945 Chilean Gabriela Mistral wins
Nobel Prize for Literature
1946 Juan Peron elected president of Argentina
1947 Argentina nationalizes railroad
1947 "Maria Candelaria," directed by Mexican
Emillo Fernandez, is awarded the top prize
at the first Cannes Film Festival
1947 Nestle takes control of Maggi brands
1948 Costa Rica disbands armed forces
1948 U.N.Economic Commission for Latin America formed
1950 Broadcast TV comes to Mexico, Brazil, Cuba
1952 Bolivia nationalizes mining industry
1952 Fulgencio Batista seizes power in Cuba
1952 Arthur Daniels Midland enters Mexico and Peru
1953 Petrobras established
1953 Juan Rulfo publishes "El Liano en Llamas"
1954 Getulio Vargas commits suicide while in office
1954 United Fruit and CIA force Jacobo Arbenz out of office
after three years of radical agrarian reform in Guatemala
1955 Peron ousted in coup
1956 Fidel Castro and 81 men on the Granma land in Cuba
1957 Brazil nationalizes railroad
1957 Francois Duvalier elected in Haiti
1958 West Indian federation established
1959 Bossa Nova becomes popular
1959 Castro takes power in Cuba
1960 Central American Common Market formed
1960 Venezuela promotes establishments of OPEC
1960 Brazil moves capital to Brasilia
1960 Sara Lee goes international with stake in
Venezuelan vinegar company
1961 U.S.President Kennedy announces
Alliance for Progress
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
1962 Cost Plus, later Pier One, starts sourcing
products from Mexico
1963 Tupamaros, Latin urban guerrilla organization,
founded in Uruguay
1964 Castelo Branco leads Brazilian Military coup.
1965 Asarco Mexico sells majority stake to U.S. investors
1966 Oil discovered in Ecuador
1966 Military seizes power in Argentina
1967 Brazilian Economic Miracle begins
1967 Gabriel Garcia Marquez writes Cien Anos de soledad
1967 Maquiladora industry begins in Mexico
1968 Conference of Latin American Bishops in
Medellin, liberation theology follows
1968 Student massacre, XIX Olympics in Mexico
1969 FootballWar between Honduras and EI Salvador
1970 Harvest of the Ten Million fails in Cuba
1970 Salvador Allende elected in Chile
1971 Chilean Pablo Neruda wins Nobel Prize for Literature
1971 Ecuadorian state oil company founded
1971 Costa Rica creates national parks
1972 Mexican government advocates family planning
1972 Managua earthquake
1973 Peru nationalizes mining industry
1973 Caricom founded
1973 Military coup in Chile
1973 Peron becomes president of Argentina again
1973 Mexican industrialist Eugenio Garza Sada murdered
1974 Nuclear water reactor becomes operational In Argentina
1974 Maria Estel "Evita" Martinez de Peron becomes Latin
America's first female president in Argentina
following death of her husband
1974 University of Chicago trained free-market
theorists, the "Chicago Boys," control Chilean cabinet
1975 Venezuela nationalizes oil and iron ore industries
1976 Military undertakes Argentina's Process of National
Reorganization, a.k.a. Dirty War
1977 Brazil legalizes divorce
1977 United States agrees to give canal back to Panama
1977 Pele retires
1978 Sandinista revolution begins in Nicaragua
1979 Pope goes to Mexico
1979 Luis lgnacio da Silva,"Lula," leads metal workers
strike in Brazil
1980 Archbishop Oscar Romero murderedin El Salvador
1980 Wackenhut security firm opens first international
office in Venezuela
1981 Belize is the last country in region to start TV
broadcasts
1981 Brazil signs decreelirniting formation of new state
companies
1981 Chilean miracle ends with onset of recession
1981 President Reagan authorizes Contra fLinding
1981 After $40 million in losses, Nestle negotiates end of
boycott caused by aggressive baby food sales to
Third World mothers
1982 Argentina invades Falkland Islands
1982 Mexico announces sovereign loan default, sparks
Latin debt crisis
1982 U.S. President Ronald Reagan declares war on drugs
1983 IMF stopped loans to Argentina
1983 Civilian government restored in Argentina
1984 Caribbean Basin Initiative signed
1985 Earthquake strikes Mexico
1985 Brazil, Uruguay restore civilian governments
1986 Iran-Contra scandal breaks
1987 Banco do Brasil offers credit cards to consumers
1987 Costa Rica's Oscar Arias wins Nobel Prize for Peace
1988 Pinochet plebiscite defeated
1988 Protestants number 35 million in region, triple 1968
believers
1988 J.P. Morgan offers first voluntary debt exchange
1989 Sendero Luminoso kills foreign tourists
1989 United States invades Panama
1989 Salvadoran military slaughters six Jesuits, their
housekeeper rand her daughter
1989 Chile becomes leading exporter in region per capita
1989 Argentine government authorizes large scale
privatization plan
1989 Carlos Menem becomes president of Argentina
1990 Mexican Octavic Paz wins Nobel Prize for Literature
1989 "El Caracazo"- Ve'nezuelan authorities kill rioters after
government announces austerity plan
1990 American Airlines assumes Latin American routes
from Eastern
1990 Uruguay Round of GATT collapses
1990 Inflation in Brazil reaches an unprecedented 84%
per month
1991 Cantv privatized
1991 Telefonos de Mexico issues stock globally, starts emerg-
ing markets craze
1991 Domingo Cavallo launched Convertibility Plan
1991 Mercosur formed
1992 Trinidad's Derek Walcott wins Nobel Prize for Literature
1992 El Salvador peace accord signed
1992 President Fujimori deposes Peruvian Congress, courts
in "autogolpe"
1992 Guatemala Rigoberta Menchu wins Nobel Prize for
Peace
1992 Hugo Chavez leads unsuccessful coup attempts in
Venezuela
1992 Cemex launched Spanish invasion
1992 United acquires defunct PanAm's routes to Latin
America
1993 Bolivia's Preisdent Sanchez advocates coca toothpaste
and other products from the narotic plant
1993 YPF Privatization
1993 Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello
impeached
1993 Wal-Mart enters Mexico
1993 Carlos Andres Perez impeached
1994 Nafta goes into effect, Zapatista guerrilla uprising in
Chiapas
1994 Venezuelan bank crisis explodes
1994 Telefonica de Espana buys Peruvian state phone com-
panies for US$2.2 billion
1994 Brazil wins fourth World Cup
1994 Fernando Henrique Cardoso launches Real Plan
1994 Mexican peso crashes
1995 Acer becomes top selling computer brand in Mexico,
Andean region
1995 Eduador and Pero go to war over a border dispute
1996 Brazil announces scale of state telecom company
1996 Venezuelan Pepsi bottler switches to Coca Cola
1997 Corona becomes No. 1 U.S. imported beer
1997 El Nino hits the Pacific
1997 Abdala "El Loco" Bucaram thrown out of Ecuadorian
presidency
1998 Telebras phone monopoly broken up and privatized
1998 Intel locates chip plant in Costa Rica
1998 Hurricane Mitch hits Central America
1999 Hugo Chavez elected president of Venezuela
1999 Brazilian real crashes
1999 Repsol acquires majority control of YPF
1999 Brahma and Antartica announce merger
2000 U.S. returns Panama Canal
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Bahamas 
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