why did none of the latin countries in America succeed like the english ones?
In: Economics
Prisoners of Geography (good book I just finished) argues that the broad strokes are inevitable. After the Louisiana Purchase and the secession of Texas and California from Mexico (and, well, from Texas) we had an unbeatable combination of size, mineral resources, highly productive arable land, and natural infrastructure (rivers that went useful places, mountain passes, hundreds of natural ports on both oceans) that whoever had control of this land would be the successful economic engine of the Americas.
The amazon is huge, but its banks are not surrounded by farms and factories. Mexico has a large and able population, but relatively little ability to export food. Argentina is on the come up, but hampered by being so far from US and Europe, and always in competition with its neighbors.
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