Hellllllo everyone!
Recently in geo class we've been learning about poverty and the economy, and how that affects countries overall. Last week we watched a documentary called Life and Debt, which I thought was really cool. It essentially tells you the truth behind the finances and people of Jamaica. I was seriously shocked by the information, since I always thought the Caribbean as a group of small, rich islands. It turns out that those islands are the exact opposite of wealthy. The government and the IMF has promoted the tourist industry up to the point that all we think about when it come to the Caribbean is resorts, sandy beaches, and sun. The reason why these islands are so deep in debt is due to their past. Before they were liberated, many of the islands were colonized by the French, Spanish, British...you name it. During that time period, the ruling countries helped manage their finances. After they were freed, however, their economies just fell apart. Most colonized countries including Jamaica and Antigua didn;t have a strong enough economy to sustain themselves. That's when the IMF stepped in. The IMF gave countries in debt a lot of money and a lot of conditions. It was up to the point where the IMF controlled the economic decisions of the country. This caused the country to fall deeper in debt, for the budgeting was unwise. That was the start of their vicious debt cycle.
I hope you guys enjoyed the post! This is probably my favorite section in geo yet!
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