LATIN AMERICA

The population of Latin America is a composite of ancestries, ethnic groups and races, making the region one of the most diverse in the world.

Spanish is the predominant language in the majority of Latin American countries but there is also spoken Portuguese, French among others.

In the lecture made by the classmates I found avery interesting contrast among two countris, Chile and Guyana.

Chile is a large and narrow strip situated in southwest South America, bounded on the north by Peru, on the east by Bolivia and Argentina, and on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean. In the mid-1970s, Chile pioneered the adoption of market-oriented structural reforms. For almost two decades Chile was the best performing economy in the region and its economic and financial policy reforms served as an example for other Latin American nations. For most of its independent life Chile has had constitutional and democratic governments. In the period 1973–1990 the country experienced a military regime led by General Augusto Pinochet. Since 1990 democratic rule has been restored. A large majority of Chileans (73 percent) are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church. Some 15 percent of the population identifies itself with several Protestant groups. This includes Anglicans and Lutherans, but the vast majority of Chilean Protestants (90 percent) belong to the Pentecostal Church.

Guyana is the size of Idaho and is situated on the northern coast of South America, east of Venezuela, west of Suriname, and north of Brazil. The Dutch, English, and French established colonies in what is now known as Guyana, but by the early 17th century the majority of the settlements were Dutch. English is the official language but they also speak Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi and Urdu.

Guyana is very unknown by many latinamericans and it is interesting to make some comparission among it and Chile, the most unknown and the most develop country in the region.

¿Which is the economic future for Guyana?

"Following Guyana's real estimated GDP growth of 5.3% in 2007, the Economist Intelligence Unit expects economic activity to moderate in 2008 and 2009, but to remain strong compared with growth rates recorded during the stagnation of 2000-05. A more settled political climate is encouraging private-sector investment within and outside the main commodity sectors, while public-sector investment in infrastructure, in particular in the sugar industry, continues. The upgraded Skeldon sugar facility will provide a boost to growth from 2008. Further ahead, economic growth could be strengthened by investment in a major hydro-electric power project and a potential oil windfall (if ongoing exploration activities are successful). "

"...greater efficiency and substantial planned investments will ensure a future for Guyana's sugar industry, but employment in the industry will decline"

Guyana economy: Growth to moderate
EIU ViewsWire. New York: Jul 2, 2008.