1. What role did the military play in shaping the economy of Brazil?

Brazil originally had military dictatorships, when they were in control Brazil was sent into an economic
boom because they fostered foreign investments. They began as development projects in the Amazon
Jungle. On the other hand the boom caused them to pay attention to social programs causing a decline
in standard of living.
2. What were some of the positive benefits of one-party rule in Mexico?
Some of the benefits are that they finally got the chance to vote for who they wanted to be in charge.
The leaders wanted to start a reform and pay more attention to the peasants and working class. He
carried out land reforms and promoted labor rights. He used the Mexican oil industry instead of foreign
affairs.
3. What effect did the Falklands war have on the military government in Argentina?
They suffered a great defeat against the Falklands. The generals were so embarrassed that they stepped
down.
4. Review the chart of Population Living in Poverty
[a] In which three countries of Latin America is the percentage of people living in poverty the
lowest?
The lowest population living in poverty is Uruguay with a little over 10%, Chile with 20%, and Argentina
with 30%.
[b] In which three countries I the poverty rate highest?
The top three with the highest living poverty would be Bolivia with a little over 60%, Ecuador with 60%,
and Colombia with over 50%.
5. After reading this excerpt, in your opinion, has the military dictatorships in L.A. nations been bad or
good for the nations' growth? Explain your answer in two paragraphs [minimum].
I think that the military dictatorships had a positive role in the shaping of Latin America because they
had a very high economy because thats what the military leaders wanted the whole time and they were
very successful by doing it. Also, since they were the leaders and part of the military their military was
very well trained because they had a better handle on the military and the people in it because they
were in charge. The only bad thing is that they were so focused on the military and economy they sort of
forgot about the citizens which wasnt beneficial to them because they needed them to stay as the
working class and that could have resulted into a civil war as revolt against their dictatorship.
While reading, define/explain each term or name below and write a sentence regarding its significance
to the topic:
a. Brazilia: capital city.
b. Land reform: Breaking up large estates and distributing the land to peasants.
c. Standard of living: level of material comfort.

d. Recession: slowdown in economy

e. PRI: Industrial Revolutionary Party
f. NAFTA: North American Free Trade
g. Nationalization of an industry: government takes control of a company/industry.
h. Welfare state: when the state offers social programs with broad popular appeal but limited
freedoms.