52
votes
Why are so many cities in the list of 50 most violent cities in the world located in South and Central America?
Cocaine
Coca leaf is native to South America and grows best there, so that's where the cocaine comes from. Not only does this produce a huge amount of profit for organised crime, the drug itself ...
- 22k
39
votes
Why are so many cities in the list of 50 most violent cities in the world located in South and Central America?
Because they're not at war.
Referencing this paper, Wikipedia clarifies the methodology:
The following 50 cities have the highest murder rates in the world of all cities not at war, with a ...
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16
votes
Why are so many cities in the list of 50 most violent cities in the world located in South and Central America?
pjc50's answer is good. I would add that proximity to the world's largest gun manufacturer - the United States, makes the flow of guns to the Central Americas much easier.
This opinion piece explains ...
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15
votes
Why do South and Latin American countries have small armies?
Military forces cost money. Countries in South America are relatively poor (compared with the US, Europe or Gulf states.
Military forces are enlarged in response to a perceived threat. There are ...
- 115k
11
votes
Accepted
Any successful example of democratic socialism in Latin America/South America that lasted at least twenty years?
Bolivia?
The dictatorship was overthrown in 1982, and since then it has been generally democratic. Most governments have been left-of-centre. It has had moderate economic success. It certainly isn't ...
- 115k
7
votes
Why do South and Latin American countries have small armies?
Expanding on James K's good answer, which raises the cost and the desire to limit the risk of the military taking over:
Brazil and Mexico also have oil money and an army to show for it.
Brazil, ...
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5
votes
Accepted
Did US threaten Iran to prevent its tankers delivering oil to Venezuela?
Not as far as I can tell. The closest I can find is this statement in which the US criticise Venezuela for making the deal:
US State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said on Sunday: "...
- 1,850
4
votes
Why is Argentina in a near-perpetual economic and/or financial crisis?
We could simply focus on the most recent economic crises, which are similar in nature, but I think it may be helpful to take a longer-term historical perspective. Earlier on, Argentina was something ...
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3
votes
Accepted
Does any other Latin American country have a justice system in which the security forces can only be prosecuted by military courts?
Latin America has a long-time military government. Most of the countries (all of them?) has some military background, which grew being authority and, therefore, has their own judicial system. And yes, ...
- 1,980
3
votes
Why do South and Latin American countries have small armies?
It's not just Latin American countries but Canada as well and again, there's a good reason. For much of it's existence as a nation, the United States Foreign Policy has been based on some form of ...
- 16.1k
3
votes
Accepted
What are the pros and cons that a new common currency for Latin America bring to the region?
It's not the issue that it won't be as stable as the dollar that's the main problem. But rather that the countries proposing to adopt it don't have much of an integrated/common market. The still have ...
- 144k
3
votes
Any successful example of democratic socialism in Latin America/South America that lasted at least twenty years?
Ok, so apparently in addition to the good Bolivia answer that was given by James K, there is apparently a community in El Alto, Bolivia that acts as an autonomous community called Federation of ...
- 6,254
2
votes
Why is the US embargo such a problem for Cuba?
A US embargo is close to a worldwide embargo because the US assert their power all over the world and claims that any foreign business having at least one branch or office in the US is subject to US ...
- 7,137
2
votes
Why have most countries withdrawn from the Union of South American Nations?
As noted in the comments, Wikipedia's UNASUR article lays it out pretty clearly. But let me try to highlight the particular bits that answer this specific question, it starts in the Leadership Crisis ...
- 418
1
vote
Members of Central American Tariff System (SAC)
As far as I can tell the original members (of the 1984 Agreement on the Central American Tariff and Custom Regime) were Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The SAC (El Sistema ...
- 144k
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