This week, we were able to explore some of the reasons as to why a large number of Latin American nations are subjects of extremely instability in cultural, social and political contexts. I found great joy in learning the content this week, as I myself hail from a country with similar recurrent issues, thus this allowed me have a better understanding of my own culture and modern day history as a whole. Something I’ve come to disagree with, is the view that unemployment is the major source of instability in the content.

This for me is not true, because some countries in the nation e.g. Brazil and Chile, have lower unemployment rates then their poorer counterparts e.g. Bolivia and Uruguay, however all countries suffer from the same consistent issues. I myself believe that the lack of physical infrastructure in the continent is the major source of instability. As I find that a society is unable to progress when it lacks the basic physical capital that allows its citizens to become financially prosperous. Infrastructure is what has allowed great countries like Germany and Norway to surpass all, and reach the heights of stability.

Additionally, it is easily observed that when these countries prosper in terms of another macroeconomic indicator. This growth has never really translated to an increase in quality of life or overall stability. For example, when Brazil has high economic growth rates of 5 to 6% in the days leading up the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the country was still in an unstable condition where many people feared for their lives daily. Although the country experienced physical economic growth, the issues that existed prior to this growth lived on and limited the country’s ability to prosper with respect to other areas of society. For example, crimes such as arson and kidnapping surprisingly experienced no decrease whatsoever.

The only way to kick these issues to the curb was by targeting them at their source. Educational campaigns aimed at lower income areas e.g. favelas, when introduced, have proven to be more effective at combating social issues then any increase in any economic factor. After learning this week’s content, and after examining the issues brought forth, my question for this week is: “How can the leaders of South America be more effective in combating social issues that have consistently limited their countries ability to strive for an overall increase in quality of life?