Is Latin America a Hellhole?

[Jack_Dawson]

I keep reading things like this, and it freaks me out.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/403345.html

[Generic Brad]

1. Well, that takes away my anxiety about going there this summer - not

Just knowing me and my kid could be kidnapped hardly gives me the warm fuzzies.

[Jack_Dawson]

2. Where ya goin'?

And...why?

:beer:

[Generic Brad]

25. Costa Rica

We're going to look at plants and birds and let her use her make use of her Spanish lessons.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

3. As Reagan learned on his trip, "It's all different countries down there."

Some are comfortable and prosperous, some are classic Third World hell holes. Most are somewhere in between.

[Jack_Dawson]

4. Which are comfortable and prosperous

[Lydia Leftcoast]

5. I've heard that Costa Rica is nice, and

that Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay, which have a lot of European immigrants, are coming out of a bad couple of decades of dictatorship and laissez-faire economics. They have always had a middle class, because they never had the typical Central American situation of a tiny European minority acting like feudal lords over an oppressed indigenous population. Read some travelogues about Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay as opposed to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

[Kali]

9. and likelyu ALL of them have hell hole areas and prosperous comfy ones as well

geez, the generalizing. Americans really need to look in the mirror mor often (not you, Lydia, that is just my reaction to the subject)

[liberaltrucker]

6. FARC's only desire is to liberate Colombia

From North American corporate colonization. The kid's dad got
caught in the crossfire. Shit happens.

:shrug:

[Jack_Dawson]

7. "Shit Happens"??

What if that was your shit that was happening? Paraded around in chains for 7 years...starving, thirsty, crawling to the "bathroom". You have a teenage son at home growing up. Shit happens indeed.

[liberaltrucker]

8. Dude went there voluntarily

Knowing he had family. Representing a US corporation.

Sorry, :nopity:

[LanternWaste]

17. "Shit happens" only to other people...

"Shit happens" only to other people; when it happens to us, it's becomes a tragedy.

Unless you feel that the civilian deaths in the twin towers can also be attributed to "shit happens"... :shrug:

[petronius]

10. Didn't Bush buy a ranch down there - in Uruguay or somewhere?

So yeah, the neighborhood south of us is sliding toward hellhole...

[pitohui]

22. i was shown a place in guatemala supposedly owned by poppy bush

i think they have lots of places, they are wealthy people with lots of vacation homes in pretty spots would be my guess

scaring people off with hellhole stories = great way for wealthy to keep nice places to themselves and away from the teaming hordes

florida is the real hellhole, it's an anthill these days if we're honest

[mike_c]

11. um-- no....

eom

[malta blue]

12. That is a pretty offensive statement Jack.

Latin America is not a hellhole.

That is like saying North America is paradise.

There are good and bad places in all regions of all countries, just like there are good and bad places in every single one of these "United States."

I have travelled a great deal throughout several latin american countries and have found myself in situations where I would rather have not been (dealing with the Shining Path in Peru, for example) BUT, in no way would I categorize Latin America as a "hellhole"

What a steaming pile :puke:

[raccoon]

13. Right, Malta.

However, having been to Honduras, I consider Honduras a Third World hell hole.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. one country cannot determine the state of the continent

[redqueen]

15. Yes. Every single country south of here is just nothing but shit.

:eyes: (would rather have used the "wanker" smiley)

[GirlinContempt]

16. haha

:D

[LanternWaste]

18. I lived in the Yucatan for quite some time...

I lived in the Yucatan for quite some time. Far from being a hellhole, it was the closest thing to a paradise on earth I've ever seen.

After seeing the news story about the American boy who had been held captive by a molester for two years some time back, one could just as easily wonder if the U.S. is hellhole...

[RadiationTherapy]

19. I traveled by bus with an estranged couple and their 3 small children

It took us 6 weeks to get from Phoenix, AZ to San Gerardo de Rivas C.R. We traveled through Mexico (Pacific coast), Honduras(devastated by clear cutting), El Salvador (San salvador was the poorest big city I had ever been to), Nicaragua and into Costa Rica.

There were MANY different attitudes toward us (we were all white; I am dark, but the children and parents were all blond/blue/pale. This DOES matter down there), however, all attitudes were tempered by the presence of the children. The familial nature of their culture made us feel very welcome; even when there were undercurrents of hostility. It is worth being informed (I wasn't) of the "tinkering" (to put it mildly) that the USA did in this part of the world in the 80s. We were warned several times in different places that there would be no qualms about stealing from us (but do ANY thieves have qualms?) in the context of us being from the USA (we could "replace" anything in their eyes, so there is "no harm done"). A Mother Superior and her crew of nuns that was on our bus that ended in Managua, Nicaragua told us that "she knows her people" and that we wouldn't be safe anywhere in Managua; they took us into the jungle to stay at a building donated to them. We ate lamb and wonder bread, drank strong coffee and sang songs. The next day we were able to shower and do laundry.

The most hellish part of the entire journey was that, it seemed to me, ALL of Mexico and Central America were in a capitalistic FEVER. Because we traveled by bus, we ended up in poor parts of town (as opposed to flying). We saw time and time again jewelry, name brand shoes and clothes that must have cost a "fortune" for these very poor city dwellers. It concerned me because, for me, a fundamental aspect of America I was trying to escape was the concept of material status. EVERYWHERE we went we saw people living the "american dream" meaning that, frankly, they were far too poor to be bothering with a pair of NIKEs or gold jewelry. Even if it was fake (very common down there) merchandise, the IDEA of it bothered me.

Oh, and all of those vehicles that would no longer pass any kind of "air quality" test have been shipped down there. San Jose rush hour features most people going to work with handkerchiefs over their faces and plumes of dark diesel particulates roiling up the faces of buildings. I was only there a short time, though; perhaps there was an inversion or something.

I would not go back because, frankly, the motivation and economies of the people there are too capitalistic for me; I want to migrate to a more socialist area.

[Jack_Dawson]

23. Thank you...

for that description. I read every word. I cannot believe you drove from San Diego to C.R. That seems crazy to me but really cool at the same time. And I get the same capitalistic shivers just going to TJ.

[pitohui]

20. "latin america" is a pretty big place, you know that, don't cha?

plenty of places in latin america are not hellholes and in fact are considered to be tropical paradise, such as parts of panama, costa rica, etc. there are even areas of mexico where ex-pats find a better life than they had in the usa

[LeftinOH]

21. The article refers to Colombia.. not a hellhole, but not reccommended

for the casual tourist, either. Most anywhere else is as safe as Europe

[Jack_Dawson]

24. Safe as Europe?

Really? Honestly I don't know. But I did adopt a foster child in Paraguay today.