This is the Americas.
The region spans four geographical areas North America,
South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.
Together, this region makes up almost all of the Earth's Western
Hemisphere, reaching from the Arctic tundra
all the way down to the Antarctic Peninsula.
To the north,
is Canada and the United States of America.
In many ways, these two countries are outliers
in the region due to their economic, political and military strength.
The United States accounts for nearly a third of the region's billion
plus population and three quarters of its economic output.
Canada, like the U.S., has an advanced service
based economy, which ranks as the third largest in the region.
So significant are these two economies that when the U.S.
and Canada entered the North American Free Trade Agreement, along with Mexico
in 1994, they created one of the largest trade blocs in the world.
Many benefited from NAFTA, but perhaps none more so than Mexico.
Today, the country is an emerging leader in advanced manufacturing
and increasingly becoming an international trade hub.
But before these changes, Mexico's economy
was greatly reliant on commodities, much like its southern neighbors.
This area
south of Canada in the United States, is often referred to as Latin America.
Here, Spanish is the predominant language with English spoken
in some Caribbean nations and Portuguese and French spoken in other countries.
Within this expanse lies large oil reserves, massive copper and gold mines,
and abundant crops, especially corn and soybeans.
Peru is one of the world's largest producers of gold, copper, tin,
zinc and silver.
Brazil, one of the world's biggest economies,
is the world's leading sugar producer and exporter by far.
And commodities here make up more than 50% of the country's total exports.
However, these products are sold largely to buyers
outside of Latin America, like China and trade between neighbors
here is dismally low.
This longstanding dependance on raw materials
also makes many Latin American markets unstable as any global price fluctuation
in, say, copper can either save or sink a country's economy.
And in many parts of Latin America, this lack of economic
stability is accompanied by political instability.
Though most countries in the Americas are democracies,
many have succumbed at times to democratic backsliding--
the erosion or total elimination of the political institutions
like legislatures, independent courts and media, or elected leadership
that are meant to guarantee democratic principles and freedoms.
And while the United States and Canada were founded
hundreds of years ago as liberal democracies, the shift toward democracy
in Latin America began just 40 years ago, with the exception of Cuba,
which has been a one-Party state since 1959.
Democracy in Latin America has proven shaky.
Countries, including Guatemala, Haiti and Bolivia, have all had periods of both
authoritarianism and democracy in recent decades.
Democracy in these places remains fragile.
And rising populism is a concern across the entire region.
In recent years, a severe
humanitarian crisis has rocked Venezuela.
The country's economy collapsed due both to an overreliance
on oil and general government mismanagement and corruption.
And while Venezuela's leftist government received support
from foreign powers such as China, Cuba and Russia,
the U.S., Canada and countries in Europe have implemented sanctions.
As the government cracks down harder than ever on civil liberties,
issues with corruption and weak government
institutions in the region have fed widespread mistrust in the authorities
including police forces and the courts in Latin America.
There are no ongoing wars between countries,
no major terrorist threats and no nuclear weapons.
And yet violence is a major problem.
The region is responsible for a staggering 33% of the world's murders,
even though it represents just 8% of its population.
Of the 20 countries in the world with the highest murder
rates, 17 are Latin American.
In Mexico, where crime and gang violence is rampant.
90% of victims do not file a report with the police
when a crime has been committed.
And a recent poll found that most Mexicans believe
the police are controlled by organized crime.
This lack of public trust and confidence
has been compounded by actual cases of police collusion with local gangs.
Violence is particularly acute in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador,
three Central American countries that make up what is known
as the Northern Triangle. Here corruption, drug
trafficking and gang violence gravely threaten regional security.
Millions of people from this region
have fled bloodshed, forced gang recruitment and extortion.
As well as poverty, lack of opportunity and dangers stemming from climate change.
Migrants most
often head to the United States, where many have family members.
Strong familial ties between the U.S.
and Latin America date back generations.
This is largely because migration within the region is an enduring trend
that fluctuates with changing economic, political and social conditions.
In the 1950s, millions of Mexicans were incentivized
to come work in the United States
under a diplomatic agreement known as the Bracero Program.
And in the 1980s, in the midst of Cold War proxy fighting violence
in Central America drove thousands of asylum seekers
to the U.S.
Nevertheless, this pattern continues.
Latin American migrants seeking economic opportunities and refuge from violence
have overwhelmed the U.S.
immigration system.
But until internal security and political issues like crime,
violence and corruption are addressed, this latest wave of migration is unlikely
to slow.
Many countries are taking critical steps
to overcome these challenges and strengthen their democracies.
While Mexico is still rife, with violence and corruption,
its democracy has strengthened from a one party rule to one
with regular competitive elections and checks on presidential power.
In Colombia, a 2016 peace deal sought to end a civil conflict
with Fark rebels that's lasted half a century.
Guerrilla fighters were required to disarm and in
turn were given representation in the country's Congress.
And Chile, a country that experienced brutal political upheavals in the 1970s
and eighties, is now one of the strongest democracies in the region.
Its economy is robust,
life expectancy is up, and poverty has been halved since 1990.
Overall, though, there are few stable
democracies that have been able to stand the test of time and stable
democracies are critical for addressing the region's challenges,
because failures in weak countries can threaten the strength of all countries.