51) Historically, what has been the policy of most countries regarding Indian languages in Latin
America?
A) Most countries actively supported Indian languages.
B) Most countries had no policy regarding Indian languages.
C) Until recently, many countries actively discouraged Indian languages.
D) Countries in the north discouraged Indian languages, while those in the south had no policy.
E) Every country discouraged Indian languages, except Brazil, which encouraged them.
52) Which of the following is an example of syncretic religion in Latin America?
A) Christian saints replaced pre-Christian gods.
B) the celebration of Carnival in Brazil
C) The Mayan practice of paying tribute to underworld spirits is replicated through building
shrines to favorite Catholic saints.
D) An important religious symbol in Mexico is a dark-skinned virgin who became the patron
saint of Mexico.
E) all of the above
53) What evidence demonstrates the resilience of the Indian cultures in Latin America?
A) the presence of Indian–run gambling casinos throughout the region
B) architectural ruins
C) Amerindian majorities in all countries of Latin America
D) the survival of Amerindian languages in the region
E) a thriving Amerindian movie industry
54) Which Amerindian group lived in the Valley of Mexico, the site of modern day Mexico
City?
A) Maya
B) Aztec
C) Miskito
D) Garifuna
E) Yanomama
55) After a century–and-a-half of colonization, what was the size of the indigenous population of
Latin America?
A) twice its original size
B) two–thirds its original size
C) one-half its original size
D) one-quarter its original size
E) one-tenth its original size
56) What trade block is the most important one in Latin America?
A) Andean Group
B) CACM
C) Mercosur
D) LAFTA
E) EU
57) What agreement set up a free trade zone in Latin America and helped ease the movement of
goods among the member countries?
A) Mercosur
B) CAFTA
C) UNASUR
D) NAFTA
E) Treaty of Tordesillas
58) FARC is a guerilla army operating primarily in what country?
A) El Salvador
B) Colombia
C) Peru
D) Brazil
E) Chile
59) What Mexican drug cartel controls northern Mexico along the borders of California,
Arizona, and New Mexico?
A) Sinaloa Federation
B) Gulf Cartel
C) Los Zetas
D) Knights Templar
E) Beltran–Leyva
60) What goal did the Treaty of Tordesillas accomplish?
A) divided South America between Spain and Portugal
B) ended the Spanish-American War
C) established the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
D) ended the Mexican revolution of 1910
E) gave possession of Puerto Rico to the United States
61) Which of the following countries is NOT a member of the North American Free Trade
Agreement?
A) Cuba
B) United States
C) Canada
D) Mexico
E) All of the countries listed are members of NAFTA.
62) Which European country had a territorial conflict with Argentina over the Falkland Islands in
the early 1980s?
A) Spain
B) Portugal
C) Germany
D) France
E) the United Kingdom
63) When the countries of Latin America regained their independence, who were the leaders?
A) leaders of indigenous tribal groups
B) European elites born in the Americas
C) newer immigrants from Asia
D) leaders who had previously been loyal to the colonial powers
E) a mix of European elites born in the Americas and indigenous peoples
64) What are Colombia’s FARC and ELN?
A) acts that were established to facilitate free trade throughout Latin America
B) insurgency groups that are financed mainly by the Latin American drug trade
C) acronyms for newly established territories in the western Amazon
D) Latin American television stations that are viewed by millions in the region
E) an international finance and environmental organization, respectively, in Latin America
65) What Latin American country is the world leader in coffee production?
A) Costa Rica
B) Colombia
C) Brazil
D) Ecuador
E) Mexico
66) The two largest economies in Latin America are
A) Brazil and Argentina.
B) Colombia and Venezuela.
C) Mexico and Colombia.
D) Brazil and Mexico.
E) Argentina and Colombia.
67) Between 1970 and 2010 the use of what energy source increased the most?
A) oil
B) coal
C) natural gas
D) hydro–electricity
E) wood
68) What Latin American country holds the world’s largest reserves of lithium, a metal used to
make lightweight batteries?
A) Brazil
B) Peru
C) Argentina
D) Bolivia
E) Chile
69) What agricultural/mineral product is responsible for transforming the Plata Basin but also
has led to a loss of biodiversity and increased greenhouse emissions?
A) corn
B) oil
C) soy beans
D) gold
E) cotton
70) Approximately how many people today are employed in maquiladoras in Mexico?
A) 275,000
B) 500,000
C) 750,000
D) 1 million
E) 4.5 million
71) In recent years, what kind of economic activity has Costa Rica been attracting?
A) banana plantations
B) high–tech firms
C) automobile manufacturing
D) logging
E) banking
72) Neoliberal economic development calls for all of the following EXCEPT
A) privatization.
B) boosting exports.
C) decreased restrictions on imports.
D) increased social spending for the poor.
E) direct foreign investment.
73) What is dollarization?
A) a price reduction strategy where everything within a country is sold at a rounded dollar
amount
B) the complete elimination of U.S. currency from a nation’s economy
C) making the denominations of local currency identical to those in U.S. currency
D) the process by which a country in whole or in part adopts the U.S. dollar as its official
currency
E) the practice of a country’s using the U.S. banking system for its transactions
74) What is dependency theory?
A) the idea that governments should provide a safety net for their citizens
B) the idea that people of the world should depend on each other
C) the idea that the expansion of European capitalism created Latin America’s underdevelopment
D) the idea that the rich should allow the poor to depend on their assistance
E) the idea that people should not allow themselves to become dependent on outside assistance
75) In most Latin American countries
A) divorce is legal.
B) abortion is legal.
C) the government discourages family planning.
D) women cannot obtain loans.
E) all of the above
76) The maquiladoras in Chihuahua are Mexico’s center for what industry?
A) automobiles
B) clothing
C) electronic goods
D) computers
E) aerospace
77) What Latin American country has the highest level of remittances per capita?
A) Mexico
B) El Salvador
C) Brazil
D) Panama
E) Nicaragua
78) What Latin American country had the highest level of foreign direct investment in 2011?
A) Mexico
B) El Salvador
C) Brazil
D) Panama
E) Nicaragua
79) What country is the Latin American leader in outsourcing operations?
A) Mexico
B) Uruguay
C) Brazil
D) Panama
E) Costa Rica
80) By what name do we know the Mexican assembly plants that line the border between
Mexico and the United States?
A) Altiplano
B) maquiladora
C) machismo
D) marianismo
E) Patagonia
81) With respect to the success of maquiladoras, which of the following is NOT one of Mexico’s
competitive advantages?
A) inexpensive labor
B) its membership in NAFTA
C) its location along the U.S. border
D) less stringent environmental regulations
E) abundant raw materials
82) What is import substitution?
A) a policy that encourages domestic industry by imposing high tariffs on all imports
B) a policy that substitutes imports for domestic products
C) a policy of choosing among imports from several different countries
D) a policy in which a country negotiates to have its products imported by international trade
partners
E) an international trade policy for members of the Latin American Free Trade Association
83) Why did the number of people employed in Mexican maquiladoras begin to drop after 2001?
A) Pull factors in the United States caused many of the workers to migrate there.
B) The Mexican government instituted tougher environmental standards for the maquiladoras.
C) The terms of the North American Free Trade Agreement changed, making the maquiladoras
less desirable.
D) China became more popular for labor-intensive work because of its lower wages.
E) The World Trade Organization changed its international labor policies.
84) Describe and discuss the valley of Mexico. What are the particular environmental problems
that the valley has faced and will continue to face in the future?
85) Describe the major geologic forces that have shaped Latin America.
86) Using the graphic below, describe the tectonic processes that created the physical landscape
of Latin America.
87) What are the specific steps that Curitiba, the capital of Brazil’s Parana state, has taken to plan
its growth in a more environmentally friendly fashion?
88) First discuss and analyze the reasons for the demographic collapse of the indigenous
population of Latin America. Then present the various aspects of the Columbian exchange,
including the positive and negative consequences.
89) Using the graphic below, discuss the issues surrounding population growth in these two
countries. What factors make growth rates different and how do these factors affect the future
population of both countries?
90) Discuss the increasing regional economic integration among Latin American countries as
well as the continued dominance of the North American market. Be certain to cite specific trade
agreements among nations in the Western Hemisphere and the flow of capital between them.
91) What are maquiladoras, how and why have they been so successful in Mexico, and what are
the controversies surrounding them? How have they been affected by the increased outsourcing
of manufacturing to China?
92) What is Latin America’s “informal sector,” and how does it serve as a barometer for its
economy? In your discussion please provide examples of activities in this sector, the sector’s
size, and the advantages of working in it.
93) What is dollarization and how has it recently affected the economy of specific Latin
American countries? Also, what are preventive measures that some of these countries are taking
to avoid problems associated with this phenomenon?
94) Discuss and analyze recent changes in the status, power, and roles of Latin American
women.
95) Compare and contrast Export Dependency theory and Neoliberal approaches to economic
development in Latin America. Which has been more successful? What have been the downsides
to each?