Chapter 4
Latin America
Exploring Mexico and Central America

Section 1: Mexico: One Family's Move to the City

A. As You Read
Directions: As you read Section 1, answer the following questions in the space provided.

1. In which part of Mexico does more than half of the country's population live?

Central Plateau

2. What is the name of Mexico's largest city?

Mexico City

3. Where do most of Mexican villagers buy their food and everyday needs?

At an outdoor market

4. What methods do campesinos often use to farm the land in Mexico?

They plow the land using wooden plows and oxen and harvest the crops by hand.

5. Why do many people in Mexico move from the country to the city?

To find opportunities for work

6. What challenges face Mexico's growing cities?

Pollution, traffic jams, overcrowded poor neighborhoods

B. Reviewing Key Terms
Directions: In the blanks provided below, write the definitions for the following key terms.

7. squatter

A person who settles on someone else's land without permission

8. plaza

A public square in a village

9. migrant farmworkers

People who do not own land and travel from farm to farm in search of work; they pick crops during the harvest