Portal:Latin America

Intro

P:LAP:LA

Latin America (Spanish and Portuguese: América Latina; French: Amérique Latine) is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish and Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geography, and as such it includes countries in both North and South America. Most countries south of the United States tend to be included: Mexico and the countries of Central America, South America and the Caribbean. Commonly, it refers to Hispanic America plus Brazil. Related terms are the narrower Hispanic America, which exclusively refers to Spanish-speaking nations, and the broader Ibero-America, which includes all Iberic countries in the Americas and occasionally European countries like Spain, Portugal and Andorra. English- and Dutch-speaking countries and territories, although in the same geographical region, are excluded (Suriname, Guyana, the Falkland Islands, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, etc.).

The term Latin America was first introduced in 1856 at a Paris conference titled, literally, Initiative of the Americas: Idea for a Federal Congress of the Republics (Iniciativa de la América. Idea de un Congreso Federal de las Repúblicas). Chilean politician Francisco Bilbao coined the term to unify countries with shared cultural and linguistic heritage. It gained further prominence during the 1860s under the rule of Napoleon III, whose government sought to justify France's intervention in the Second Mexican Empire. (Full article...)

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Official portrait, 2018

Juan Evo Morales Ayma (Spanish: [xwan ˈeβo moˈɾales ˈajma]; born 26 October 1959) is a Bolivian politician, trade union organizer, and former cocalero coca farmer who served as the 65th president of Bolivia from 2006 to 2019. Widely regarded as the country's first president to come from its indigenous population, his administration worked towards the implementation of left-wing policies, focusing on safeguarding the legal rights and improving the socioeconomic conditions of Bolivia's previously marginalized indigenous majority and combating the political influence of the United States and resource-extracting multinational corporations. Ideologically a socialist, he led the Movement for Socialism (MAS) party from 1998 to 2024.

Born to an Aymara family of subsistence farmers in Isallawi, Orinoca Canton, Morales undertook a basic education and mandatory military service before moving to the Chapare Province in 1978. Growing coca and becoming a trade unionist, he rose to prominence in the campesino ("rural laborers") union. In that capacity, he campaigned against joint U.S.–Bolivian attempts to eradicate coca as part of the war on drugs, denouncing these as an imperialist violation of indigenous Andean culture. His involvement in anti-government direct action protests resulted in multiple arrests. Morales entered electoral politics in 1995, was elected to Congress in 1997 and became leader of MAS in 1998. Coupled with populist rhetoric, he campaigned on issues affecting indigenous and poor communities, advocating land reform and more equal redistribution of money from Bolivian gas extraction. He gained increased visibility through the Cochabamba Water War and gas conflict. In 2002, he was expelled from Congress for encouraging anti-government protesters, although he came second in that year's presidential election. (Full article...)

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... that seven currencies of Latin America are named "peso"?

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WikiProjects

WikiProject South America
WikiProject Latin America (semi-active)

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The 2010 Colombia–Venezuela diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Colombia and Venezuela over allegations in July by Colombian President Álvaro Uribe that the Venezuelan government was actively permitting the FARC and ELN guerrillas to seek safe haven in its territory. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), founded in 1964, is the largest of Colombia's left-wing guerilla groups, and the National Liberation Army (ELN), also founded in 1964, is another left-wing guerilla group inspired by the Cuban Revolution (1953–1959) and Marxist ideology. Uribe presented evidence to the Organization of American States (OAS) and in response, Venezuela broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia amid speculation of a possible war. Both countries eventually reconciled, with the help of the Union of South American nations (UNASUR) and agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations by mid-August. (Full article...)

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... that Tural, the setting of the expansion pack Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, is inspired by Latin America and Southeast Asia?
... that Diana Vicezar created recycled housing for street dogs, a recruitment platform for international students, and a podcast about Latin American students in Ireland?
... that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak complained when a joint declaration was made at a summit between the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States that used the term Islas Malvinas?
... that Antonio Oteiza was a missionary in Latin America but from 1961 focused on creating religious art, which he felt had more impact than sermons?

General images

The following are images from various Latin America-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Monument to Cuauhtémoc, Mexico City (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 2Intermediate level international-style Latin dancing at the 2006 MIT ballroom dance competition. A judge stands in the foreground. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 3Plaquita, a Dominican street version of cricket. The Dominican Republic was first introduced to cricket through mid-18th century British contact, but switched to baseball after the 1916 American occupation. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 4Fiambre, Guatemalan traditional dish, eaten on November 1, the Day of the Dead (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 5Holy week, Ouro Preto-MG, 2010. Chrome. Photo: Guy Veloso. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 6Mexican Stock Exchange (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 7Instituto Arnoldo Gabaldón, declared August 30, 1984, as a National Historic Landmark (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 8In blue countries under right-wing governments and in red countries under left-wing and centre-left governments as of 2023 (from History of Latin America)
Image 9Pope Paul VI and Salvadoran cleric Oscar Romero (now St Oscar Romero) (from History of Latin America)
Image 10Villa de Leyva, a historical and cultural landmark of Colombia (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 11The Guadalajara International Film Festival is considered the most prestigious film festival in Latin America. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 121903 political cartoon: President Roosevelt intimidating Colombia to acquire the Panama Canal Zone. (from History of Latin America)
Image 13A 17th-century map of the Americas (from History of Latin America)
Image 14Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger (from History of Latin America)
Image 15Exhumation of corpses in the aftermath of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 16Che Guevara Cuban revolutionary poster (from History of Latin America)
Image 17The name Augusto Sandino, Nicaraguan nationalist hero for his struggle against the United States, was taken by leftist guerrillas as the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). (from History of Latin America)
Image 18Agrarian reform poster, Guatemala 1952 (from History of Latin America)
Image 19Roll-on/roll-offships, such as this one pictured here at Miraflores locks, are among the largest ships to pass through the Panama Canal. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. (from History of Latin America)
Image 20Calls for justice in the wake of the Guatemalan genocide (from History of Latin America)
Image 21Map of Countries in Latin America with Socialist regimes during the Cold War c. 1985 (from History of Latin America)
Image 22Left-leaning leaders of Bolivia, Brazil and Chile at the Union of South American Nations summit in 2008 (from History of Latin America)
Image 23Comandanta Ramona of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, Mexico (from History of Latin America)
Image 24Countries in Latin America by date of independence (from History of Latin America)
Image 25The joropo, as depicted in a 1912 drawing by Eloy Palacios (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 26Ethnic distribution by country. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 27The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is the second largest in the world, after only of the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City. (from Culture of Latin America)
Image 28Fidel Castro and his men in the Sierra Maestra, 2 December 1956 (from History of Latin America)

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Selected panorama

Credit: Julien H

The Tatacoa Desert, the second largest arid zone in Colombia after the Guajira Peninsula, is one of the most attractive scenery Colombia and occupies 330 square kilometers of land in ocher and gray brushstrokes of green cactus..

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El Castillo, Chichen Itza

Photo: Daniel Schwen

El Castillo, found in the Chichen Itza archaeological site, is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid that is one of the most recognized and widely visited pre-Columbian structures in Mexico. Built by the Maya, it served as a temple to Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya Feathered Serpent deity.

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Countries

Territories (in bold), dependencies, and subnational entities of a country not located primarily in Latin America are italicized.

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North and Central America

Caribbean

South America

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Associated Wikimedia

Latin America on Wikiquote	Latin America on Wikibooks	Latin America on Wikisource	Latin America on Wiktionary	Latin America on Wikinews	Latin America on Wikimedia Commons
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