Why study Latin American Area Studies?

• Our nation's economic interests are deeply involved in Latin America.
• We are tied to Latin America by trade agreements such as NAFTA.
• The U.S. economy depends on production and marketing in Latin America.
• The U.S. determines many of the economic and development initiatives in Latin
• America through the World Bank, IMF, and the International Development Bank.
• Globalization incorporates Latin American labor into the U.S. economy.
• Large sectors of the U.S. have become Hispanized through the influence of migrants from Latin America; these migrants contribute to the U.S. economy, but do not share equally in its benefits.
• Historically, U.S. military intervention in Latin America has polarized our relationship to countries of the region.
• The U.S. supplies military equipment and training to Latin American countries.
• During the cold war, the U.S., in its war against communism, supported military dictatorships and toppled democratic regimes throughout Latin America.
• With the end of the cold war, the U.S. defined the war on drugs as its defining task in Latin America.
• U.S. citizens and organizations are concerned about human rights in Latin America.
• U.S. citizens are concerned about democracy in Latin America.
• Environmental destruction in Latin America impacts the United States as well as the region to the south.