Latin America

It can be distinguished between Latin America and Anglo-America, stressing the European heritage (also called Eurocentrism) of Anglo-America. Still we must see the fact that there are many places in the Americas (e.g. highland Peru and Guatemala) where American Indian cultures and languages are important, as well as areas in which the influence of African cultures is strong (e.g. the Caribbean, including parts of Colombia and Venezuela, and coastal Brazil).

Latin America (Portuguese and Spanish: América Latina; French: Amérique latine) is the region of the Americas where Romance languages, those derived from Latin (particularly Spanish and Portuguese), are primarily spoken, due to earlier being Spanish and Portuguese colonies.

Latin America is often contrasted with Anglo-America, the region of the Americas where English predominates, due to earlier being British colonies. However, there are many places in the Americas where other languages are spoken, such as Amerindian languages.

The different colonial histories have influenced not just spoken languages, but also other regional differences.

Race

People of European ancestry are concentrated on two areas, on Quebec and Acadia in Canada and on the Southern Cone (Argentina, Southern Brazil, Chile and Uruguay) although some areas with good number of whites are also present out of these two areas (example Costa Rica).

People of mixed ancestry are predominately on almost all the rest of Latin America, usually Euramerindians (whites and Amerindians). In Canada there is also a population of Euramerindians called métis (french for mixed). The technically accurate term for this ethnic background is Euroamerindian (provided no negro admixture which there sometimes is), but in the United States, they demand a politically correct but inaccurate term such as Hispanic, Mestizo or Latino.

Negroids and mulattos are present on northeast coast of Brazil (specially on Bahia state) and on Colombia coast (Chocó department), and are majority in many Spanish speaking islands on the Caribbean. The Amerindians are more common on the Andean countries such as Bolivia, but are minority in all the rest of Latin America.

Less politically correct topics

Race mixing has been extensive in some parts of Latin America. See also Effects of race mixing: Latin America and the "External links" section.

There have been large increases in crime and associated social dysfunctions in parts of Latin America. Politically correct explanations include drug abuse and associated criminality. Less politically correct explanations include increased migrations within the countries, increasing local ethnic heterogeneity which is associated with many negative factors, and breakdown of traditional values causing effects such as family disruption and more single-parent families, which is associated with many negative factors.

See also

• Argentina
• Brazil
• Caribbean
• Central America
• Chile
• Cuba
• Haiti
• Hispanics
• Mexico
• Puerto Rico
• Venezuela
• Portal:Latin America
• White people in Latin America

External links

• Racial Politics in Latin America: What Race in Another America Tells Us About Our Destiny, Part 1
  • Racial Politics in Latin America: What Race in Another America Tells Us About Our Destiny, Part 2
• The Real Reason Behind Rising Violence in Mexico City

Article archives

• American Renaissance: Mexico and Latin America