Middle America ( Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama) Lecture, 26 March 2015

Central America's political systems are nearly all dysfunctional

Murders everywhere Guatemala's murder rate is twice as high as Mexico ten times greater than that of US Honduras and El Salvador are more violent Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, the quietest members of the group, have also seen violence increase in recent years Same with Belize

Political leadership Costa Rica and Panama are much better off and better governed than their neighbours. Costa Rica is one of the world's oldest democracies; life expectancy there is at par with the United States. Nicaragua is the poorest country Almost half of Guatemala's children are chronically malnourished—a rate worse than Ethiopia's

US vs. Russia civil wars ravaged Central America in the 1970s and 1980s dictators backed by US and guerrillas backed by the Soviet Union Cuba was a victim of crippling polarisation In 2009 the president of Honduras fell victim to a coup prompted by fears—or paranoia—about his ties to Venezuela's Hugo Chávez This year will see a bitter election in Guatemala and a dubious one in Nicaragua

Drug cartels Middle America now finds itself thrust into the front line of the drugs trade and prey to big-time organized crime Produces nearly all the world’s cocaine biggest consumer is the United States; price of a kilo of the stuff, even full of impurities, starts at $12,500 The route to market used to run from Colombia to the tip of Florida, across the Caribbean

Cocaine tons of cocaine—or almost the whole amount heading for the United States—now pass through Guatemala each year Unlike the Colombians, they pay their local help in drugs, not cash.

Panama

DEATHS DUE TO DRUG BUSINESS Guatemala's murder rate has doubled in the past decade. In both Guatemala and El Salvador, the rate of killing is higher now than during their civil wars. In Middle America drugs are produced, processed and consumed

Weak army Honduras ordered the army on to the streets of its cities in March El Salvador did the same last September Costa Rica abolished its armed forces in Its 11,000 police are “badly trained, badly armed and equipped and badly housed”

Poor economy Organised crime feeds on Central America's other weaknesses traditionally been based on the export of coffee and other crops In the 1990s foreign investors set up textile factories to supply the US market Central America's ties to the US meant that it was badly affected by the recession. It also depends on imported oil and food. As commodity prices rose, poverty increased in the region even before recession struck

Increase in immigration Since 1990, the number of Central American immigrants in the United States has nearly tripled. This immigrant population grew faster than any other region-of-origin population from Latin America between 2000 and Central American immigrants' share of the total immigrant population in the United States has also grown steadily for the past five decades

Change of citizenship El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras have highest number of immigrants to US In 2011, almost 44,000 Central American-born immigrants were granted U.S. lawful permanent residency (LPR status, also known as obtaining a green card).

Naturalized citizens In 2011, 68 percent of immigrants born in Panama were naturalized U.S. citizens, making them the most likely of all Central American immigrants to naturalize. Immigrants from Belize (58 percent) and Nicaragua (53 percent) were also more likely to be U.S. citizens than those from other Central American groups. The naturalized as a share of the total immigrant population were comparatively lower for El Salvador (30 percent), Guatemala (24 percent), and Honduras (23 percent).

Employment Nearly 38 percent of employed Central American-born men worked in construction, extraction, and transportation, while about 45 percent of Central American women worked in service and personal care occupations.

Poverty The Central American born were more likely to live in poverty (23 percent) than the native born (15 percent) or foreign born overall (20 percent).

Poverty Line immigrants from Panama (15 percent), Costa Rica (16 percent), Nicaragua (17 percent), and Belize (19 percent) were less likely than immigrants overall to live below the federal poverty line. immigrants from Honduras (30 percent) and Guatemala (27 percent) were more likely than other immigrants overall to live below the poverty line.

US influence Central America's leaders think the United States should do more to help tackle the consequences of its own demand for cocaine. The Central American Regional Security Initiative, the latest aid scheme, offers just $260m over three years to the seven countries. they give significant aid when countries have been invaded by organized crime.