Chapter 2
Latin America
Shaped By Its History

Section 5: Issues in Latin America Today

A. As You Read
Directions: As you read Section 5, answer the following questions in the space provided. If necessary, write your answers on another sheet of paper.

1. What type of groups owned large interests in Latin America's mines and farms during the early 1900s?

Foreign companies

2. What happened in the 1980s that led Latin American countries to borrow billions of dollars from wealthy countries such as the United States?

The price of oil went up and, in order to keep their factories running, Latin American countries borrowed heavily from wealthier countries.

3. How did people around the world react when Brazil moved people who had no land to the Amazonian rain forest?

People were worried about the clearing of the rain forest and believed that this would hurt the environment.

4. Why have many people in Latin America moved to the cities?

People cannot make a living farming so they seek jobs, education, medical care, and other services in cities.

B. Reviewing Key Terms
Directions: Complete each sentence by writing the correct term in the blank provided.

5. Foreign companies that wanted to invest, or spend their money to earn more money, in Latin America made huge profits in the early 1900s.

6. The way in which goods and services are produced and made available to people is called a country's economy.

7. The population has increased dramatically in both the rural areas, or countryside, and the urban areas, or cities, of Latin America.