This week is a tough one for me to write about because this topic seems to me quite controversial. Latin America has always been majorly influenced by the United States. The economic industrialization that occurred in the late 1800’s resulted in the United States needing to export goods to Latin America. In return, they would supply some natural resources of their own to the United States. You would think this is an okay deal however, the United Stated gained too much power and controlled much of Latin America. In fact, Latin America is now so dependent on imported goods that many of the local industries have gone bankrupt due to the extreme competition from larger, more successful foreign industries. These industries provide jobs for some of the locals however, we also have to consider that much of this produced wealth does not reach the hands of the people of Latin America. Yes, these industries pay taxes to the government, (at least they should, although it has been reported that a lot of them don’t or do not pay the full amount) and salaries to the worker but much of the wealth is actually kept by the industry and taken back to their home country. It seems to me like foreign industries are benefitting from Latin American resources and Latin Americans are not being given their fair share.

In Mexico, I have heard two very different opinions on this topic. People seem to find that a lot of the products manufactured locally are not as useful or high quality as the ones imported from the United States. Generally, these people support and even encourage the import of goods from The United States to Latin America. They don’t seem to mind where the products are made or where they come from as long as they are efficient and serve their purpose. I understand this point of view, and understand that this seems like a more comfortable choice. However, I think that it would be better for Latin America to take care of their own affairs and start managing the manufactured or their own goods. It may be true that Latin American products may not be as high quality as the ones produced by the United States at first, however I think in the long run this would be beneficial. This change will still provide jobs for Latin American people and perhaps even more that the previous system did. It will also cause the wealth to the be cycled through the country as opposed to having it be divided with another country. Maybe it is time for outside influences, including that of the United States, to be pushed out of Latin America. Perhaps if Latin America was left alone, it would have a chance to learn to manage its own affairs.