Latin America is presently undergoing a social crisis of vast proportions. Population has increased dramatically during the 20th century. For example, Mexico’s population has increased from 13.6 million in 1900 to 94.3 million in 1997; Brazil’s from 18 million to 163.7 million; and Peru’s from 3 million to 24.4 million over the same period. Cities have grown disproportionately faster than rural areas, resulting in the appearance of mega-cities such as Mexico City with 20 million residents and São Paulo, Brazil with 15 million. Poverty, landlessness, and lack of jobs have driven the rural poor to the cities. But job creation in Latin America’s industrial cities has not nearly kept pace with population growth. Industrial development has led to the expansion of an urban middle class, but these same zones attracted millions of slum dwellers. They live a precarious, insecure life, surviving in the “informal economy.” Many of the poor either pick up odd jobs day by day, or sell small items or beg. They have no security; no access to a system of social services. Although population growth rates have declined in the 1990s because of birth control campaigns, problems of poverty, insecurity, and sporadic bouts of despair persist. They are encountered both in the city and the countryside. The first document I would like you to read (you can read both documents by clicking here) describes the lives of struggling workers in the urban slum of Chorillos in Lima, Peru. The second is an oral history of a mother in the impoverished rural sugar-producing zone of Pernambuco in Northeastern Brazil.After reading the documents, I would like you to consider and discuss the following: What was the slum dweller’s relationship to the state? What types of events produced insecurity? What was the purpose of the Leasehold Association? What was the attitude of the Leasehold Association toward people outside its area? Describe the political attitudes of the poor in Chorillos. What did they expect from politicians? What were the mother’s attitudes toward marriage, childbearing, and death of children in Bom Jesus da Mata? Identify the coping mechanisms of the poor. What do these mechanisms suggest about the political culture of the poor? Your thoughts…
13 comments:
Wow, that was proabably the sadest thing i've ever read in my life. I just dont understand that this could even be ignored. I knew things like this were happening in Africa, but not in Latin America. This simply cannot be ignored any longer.
thats really sad. i feel bad because i have seen stuff like this happen in mexico
Basically most of the people had nothing, lived in nothing, ate nothing and to people passing by they were nothing. The guy who did live in an apartment actually had to sound an alarm if someone broke in because they didnt want people living there. thats pretty selfish. and a dollar thirty per dozen shoes? that doesnt seem like that much money like minimum wage is more than that so i see why people want to come here for jobs. and what was up with that girl in the end? she had like three husbands by the age of eighteen? thats pretty skanky. and she had ten kids with one guy and only four of them survived and apparently thats a good thing. One the kids even killed one of his siblings and it was ok! thats wrong. and she thought that it was a god giving gift to want all those guys. wow a much different society then ours
Its sad that this is what america is doing to people when we say we are "helping" the world out and spreading peace. its sickening
She had no birth certificate and had never voted. If someone gets a disease and requires an operation, or if one of the money makers gets sick, it can cause major problems for the family. The Leasehold Association pays people to live on their land so other people dont move in. The view of weddings are just those of convenience for support. Death of children is just a commen occurance to them. Marriage is something that you can just leave and get married to another guy.
Mr. Prill, would Latin America be part of the countries that make less than 1000 dollars a year because I know they do have tourist attractions so I was wondering...
This is so sad. I think that Africa and Latin America are the saddest things I have ever learned about. I mean how could people just not do anything to help those people and just ignore them! Especially us "civilized" westerners!
no, latin america is a little better, but so many countries face dire poverty issues in lat am. the interesting thing is that in latin america the poverty is out of view from tourist attractions. but as soon as you venture out a bit, it smacks you in the face. but heck, that's also true if you travel to new orleans.
i'm glad you're troubled by this information. i'll look forward to seeing you jump in there and get your hands dirty and put on the big boots and bring some positive changes.
there economy was dependent on bananas and coffee, but were they dependent on the drug trafficking as well?
btw, did you like the jarrito ( forgot the name)? i found it at publix
Now I understand why we have immigrants come to America. They don't have jobs or opportunity there. That's why they come to America and do the jobs we are too lazy to do for cheap pay.
This is a terrible story. I see why people move around from different countries because they know that they have some opportunities wherever they go. They know that even if they are poor here they will be poor there as well. This woman, Vegas, goes through so many trials to try and provide for her family. She can never get a break. She even wanted to vote but didn't get a chance to do that. And the man who tried to help her got arrested. The man seems to have a little more of opportunity than the woman but he barely gets a break either. And I feel really bad for the girl in the plantation. She got separated with her family to make ends meet, but at least she had a somewhat happy ending.
These stories show why Latin Americans would want to migrate to the U.S. and the stories are told to where it is normal to them and how in their lives they find solace in some of the most undesirable things in America such as being satisfyed with the fact that 4 out of your 10 babies were able to live past an early age. Overall I see now that maybe we've spoken too harshly on the immigrants that come to this country seeking a country seeking seeking a better future.
these conditions are awful. here in the u.s. we're concerned about abortions because people just don't want children. there it's a matter of choosing to feed themselves or have to work and feed their children and themselves. i've seen the slums in mexico. i've seen what they consider to be upper class. people in the u.s. stick their noses up to conditions like that even when they have no room to talk. when the population crisis is so bad that births are being unrecorded and politics are pushed aside, i think it's time for a change.
gahh. this is so frustrating to read stuff like this! something's gotta give...
I love how they are so happy with the little things. I think that the US would b a better place if only we could stop being so materialistic. Like the single mom. She worked her butt off just so her baby boy could go to school and do something with his life. She would work whenever she could, and seemed to run her home well. The little things though are what knock these people off their feet. How if one gets sick, then they cant get money that they need for school, food, or the other necessities of life. The coping mechanisms can go from eating very cheaply to hoping for a better future. They just want to better themselves and their families, the same as the rest of the world.
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