Poverty-War On Drugs-Migration To Us

Issues for
Modern Latin
America
Poverty, the War on Drugs,
and Coming to America
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Standard
SS6H1d - Explain the impact of pover
ty, the war on drugs, and migration t
o the United States on Latin America.
Essential Question
How is conflict and change impacting
the lives of Latin American Citizens?
Poverty in Latin America
Poverty is a common
thread connecting so
me of Latin America’s
worst problems.
For a long time, the re

gion has struggled wit
h unequal distribution
of wealth.
Many Latin America c
ountries have a small
social class of rich pe
ople and a much larg
er social class of peas
ants who are extreme
ly poor.
The poverty problem is
made worse by unstabl
e governments, by spe
nding too much on the
military and too little o
n human services, and
population growth that
exceeds a country’s foo
d resources.
The War on Drugs
The United States has
struggled for many ye
ars to stop abuse by it
s citizens of illegal dr
ugs like cocaine.
The War on Drugs
Eventually, the US gov
ernment started goin
g after the suppliers o
f drugs rather than th
e users.
It was called the

War on Drugs.
The War on Drugs
In the 1980s, nearly all o
f the world’s cocaine wa
s grown in Peru, Bolivia,
and Colombia.
Many small farmers in th
ose countries had starte
d growing coco plants (th
e source of cocaine) as a
way out of poverty.
The War on Drugs
The US and Latin Am
erican governments b
egan sending planes t
o spray chemicals on
coca plants and going
after growers in other
ways.
The War on Drugs
However, abuse of co
caine in the United St
ates did not stop.
The policing efforts ju

st pushed coca farmi
ng farther north, into
northern Colombia an
d Mexico.
The War on Drugs
Meanwhile, a new pro
blem emerged for Lat
in Americans.
The illegal drug trade
was taken over by ma
jor cartels, which use
d brutal violence agai
nst growers, police, a
nd each other.
The War on Drugs
Tens of thousands of
people were murdere
d or disappeared due
to drug-related violen
ce in Colombia and M
exico since the late 1
980s!
The War on Drugs
Since drug abuse in A
merica has shifted to o
ther kinds of drugs an
d not gone away, the
War on Drugs is not se
en as a success.
It also created new thr
eats to Latin America’
s poor citizens.
Coming to America
These are the key
events in the mod
ern migration fro
m Latin American
countries to the U
nited States in sea
rch of economic o
pportunity…
Coming to America
1. In the 1880s, Mexica
n laborers crossed th
e border to help buil
d railroads and work
in mines.
Mexicans came to A
merica for work in in
creasing numbers th
roughout the 1900s.
Coming to America
2. In 1917 Congress passe
d a law granting US citiz
enship to residents of Pu
erto Rico (which Americ
a governed as a territor
y).
Large numbers of Puerto
Ricans came to the mai
nland United States to liv
e.
Coming to America
3. After WWII, the
US Bracero Pro
gram let Mexica
n guest workers
enter the countr
y and provide b
adly needed far
m labor.
Coming to America
4. After the Castro-led
revolution in Cuba,
Cubans started fleei
ng for America – an
d continued for two
decades.
Coming to America
5. Starting in the 1970s,
political upheaval in E
l Salvador, Guatemal
a, Honduras, and Nica
ragua led hundreds of
thousands more peop
le to emigrate to the
United States.
Coming to America
6. Lack of work at ho
me attracted great
numbers of people
from Mexico and C
entral America to s
eek jobs in the Uni
ted States.
Coming to America
This trend led to huge
controversies in the U
nited States.
Many Latin American

s crossed the border
without proper immig
ration documentatio
n.
Coming to America
They arrived here illeg
ally, though children b
orn in the United Stat
es to immigrants auto
matically became citi
zens.
Coming to America
Policing of the southe
rn border by the agen
cy now called US Cust
oms and Border Prote
ction has varied from
strong to weak since t
he 1960s, depending
on political attitudes.
Coming to America
Many US citizens have de
manded a stronger border
with Mexico and want mor
e deportations of illegal im
migrants.
Other Americans argue for
a more compassionate ap
proach and day the countr
y benefits from the Latin A
mericas’ labor.
Coming to America
Either way, migration
has made it more diff
icult for Latin America
n countries to grow o
ut of poverty.
Skilled workers have l
eft, and Latin econom
ies need to create mo
re jobs to bring them
back.
Bibliography
• © Carole Marsh/Gallopade International
• http://www.georgiaexperience.com
• ISBN 978-0-635-06712-8
• Student Workbook Pages 124-126

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For a long time, the re

It was called the

The policing efforts ju

Many Latin American

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