Development & the Environment

People in Latin America want democracy and the rule of law. They are also deeply concerned about their material well-being. Thus, issues of economic inequality, poverty, and what the government does to affect the welfare of citizens through their choice of economic model have great salience in the region.

The following sources cover these topics: (1) economic development models; (2) inequality & poverty; and (3) the environment.

Economic Development Models
   overviews
   long-term perspectives
   the 1980s turn to markets and after
  •    mexico
      • The Avocado War
        • Documentary on Mexico, on how a popular super-food has created areas of oppression and greed in dangerous regions, and how avocado supply became part of the cartel’s leverage in Mexico. Available for rent here.
      • Harvest of Loneliness: The Bracero Program
        • Documentary on Mexico, on the story of the millions of Mexico’s men and women who experienced the temporary contract worker program known as the Bracero Program from 1942 to 1964
      • Mexico: From Boom to Bust
        • Documentary on Mexico, on economic development and the import-substitution industrialization (ISI) model in Mexico during 1940-1982.  Part of a series, “Mexico.”
      • Street Vendors: The Informal Majority of Mexico
        • Brief documentary on Mexico, on the informal economy
      • United We Fall
        • Documentary on Mexico, offering a critical perspective on NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
   central america
      • Gold in Your Cup
        • Documentary that examines coffee’s stranglehold on Brazil and Central America in the nineteenth century. Part of a series, “Black Coffee.”
  •    argentina
      • La economía neoliberal
        • Documentary on Argentina (in Spanish), on the country’s shift to a neoliberal model of development in the 1990s. Part of a series, “Historia de un país, Argentina Siglo XX.”
      • Economía peronista
        • Documentary on Argentina (in Spanish), on the country’s shift to an import-substitution industrialization (ISI) model during the governments of Juan Perón from 1946 to 1955. Part of a series, “Historia de un país, Argentina Siglo XX.”
      • El modelo agroexportador
        • Documentary on Argentina (in Spanish), on the country’s agro-export model during 1880-1930. Part of a series, “Historia de un país, Argentina Siglo XX.”
      • The Take
        • Documentary on Argentina, on factory workers following the economic collapse in Argentina in 2001
   brazil
      • Gold in Your Cup
        • Documentary that examines coffee’s stranglehold on Brazil and Central America in the nineteenth century. Part of a series, “Black Coffee.”
   chile
      •  Chicago Boys
        • Documentary on Chile, on the group of Milton Friedman’s disciples that, backed by Pinochet’s military dictatorship (1973-1990), turned Chile into the first and most extreme neoliberal country in the world. Available for rent here.
   venezuela
Inequality & Poverty
  •    brazil
      • Brazil in Black and White
        • Documentary on Brazil, detailing socio-economic disparities between lighter and darker skinned Brazilians
      • Los capitanes de la arena
        • Documentary on Brazil (in Portuguese with English subtitles), inspired by a novel by Jorge Amado, which describes the conditions in which poor children live in the city of Salvador de Bahía, Brazil
      • Histórias da Fome no Brasil (Histories of Hunger in Brazil)
        • Documentary on  Brazil (in Portuguese), offering a timeline of hunger in Brazil from colonial times to the early twenty-first century, and addressing policies adopted to reduce hunger
      • Landless
        • Documentary on Brazil, providing insight into the daily routine of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement, which covers the tilling of the land, political activism, and talks of what a better future might be. Available for rent here.
The Environment
   Honduras
  •    argentina
      • A Journey to Fumigated Towns
        • Documentary on Argentina (in Spanish), on the social and environmental consequences of the transgenic agricultural model with agricultural toxins in seven Argentine provinces
      • En el nombre del litio
        • Documentary on Argentina (in Spanish), on the struggle of originary communities in the north of the country to defend their interests by confronting multinational companies seeking to exploit lithium
  •    brazil
      • Catastrophic Failure
        • Documentary on Brazil, that tells the story of an environmental disaster in Brazil caused by Australian mining giant BHP that destroyed the homes and lives of workers in 2015. Available for rent here.
      • They Killed Sister Dorothy
        • Documentary on Brazil, about the life and death of nun and environmental activist, Sister Dorothy in Pará, Brazil
  •    colombia
  •    ecuador
      • Sumak Kawsay: The Sarayaku Case
        • Brief documentary on Ecuador (in Spanish with English subtitles), on the case of the Kichwa community of Sarayaku in Ecuador, where indigenous people’s rights were violated in favor of an oil company
  •    Peru
      • Law of the Jungle
        • Documentary on Peru (in Spanish with English subtitles), on the judicial process confronted by an indigenous leader who challenged the government’s exploitation of lands in the jungle for extractive purposes. Available for rent here.
      • The Real Avatar
        • Documentary on Peru, on Peruvian and Canadian mining companies that aim to set up a gold mine on land indigenous peoples say is their traditional territory
      • River of Gold
        • Documentary on Peru, that chronicles a clandestine journey into Peru’s Amazon rainforest to uncover the savage unraveling of pristine jungle by illegal small-scale gold mining. Available for rent here.
      • When Two Worlds Collide
        • Documentary on Peru (in Spanish with English subtitles), on the story of an indigenous environmental activist who takes on the large businesses that are destroying the Amazon. Available for rent here.
  •    venezuela
University of Southern California