Resources,”The rich resources of Middle and South America have attracted outsiderssince the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Europe’sencounter with this region marked a major expansion of the globaleconomy.■ Middle and South America occupied a disadvantaged position in globaltrade, supplying cheap raw materials that aided the Industrial Revolutionin Europe and then North America but reaping few of the profits.■ In recent years, countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, andVenezuela have worked to control their own resources, develop localindustries, keep profits at home, and limit environmental pollution.Meanwhile

Resources,”The rich resources of Middle and South America have attracted outsiderssince the first voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492. Europe’sencounter with this region marked a major expansion of the globaleconomy.■ Middle and South America occupied a disadvantaged position in globaltrade, supplying cheap raw materials that aided the Industrial Revolutionin Europe and then North America but reaping few of the profits.■ In recent years, countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Bolivia, Brazil, andVenezuela have worked to control their own resources, develop localindustries, keep profits at home, and limit environmental pollution.Meanwhile

trade blocs within the region are creating conditions in whichthese countries can prosper from trade with one another.”