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The term Southern Cone (, below the Tropic Of Capricorn . The region includes all of Argentina , Chile and Uruguay , and sometimes Paraguay and parts of Brazil . LANGUAGE The main language spoken is Spanish due to the Spanish colonization from the 16th to the 19th Century ; if one includes Brazil, Portuguese places a close second. Autochthonous languages, spoken by some Amerindian groups include Aymara , Guaraní , Mapudungun (or Mapuche), and Quechua . Italian (mostly its Northern dialects, such as Venetian ) is spoken in rural communities across Southern Brazil and Argentina. German is mostly spoken in Southern Brazil and in some communities in Southern Chile . Furthermore English is spoken in the Falkland Islands , a disputed territory between the U.K. (inhabited by British subjects) and Argentina. Welsh is spoken by descendants of Immigrant s in the Patagonia region of Argentina. Japanese has speakers in communities of Southeastern Brazil and Korean in the main cities. Portuñol , Portunhol in Portuguese, a pidgin language of Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish that is spoken in the border with Brazil. The overwhelming majority though, including those of recent Immigrant background, speak Spanish (in Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay) and Portuguese (in Brazil) as the first language. DEMOGRAPHICS AND ETHNICITY The population of these countries: Argentina (38.9 million), Chile (16.1 million) and Uruguay (3.3 million). Buenos Aires is the largest metropolitan area at 12.7 million and Santiago, Chile has 6.2 million. When southern Brazil is included, São Paulo is the largest city, with 19.8 million. Uruguay's capital and largest city, Montevideo , has 1.8 million, and it receives many visitors on ferry boats across the Rio de La Plata from Buenos Aires, 50 km (35 miles) away. In contrast to most of Latin America, the populations of Argentina and Uruguay are composed in their majority by people of White European descent, with relatively small numbers of people who are of visibly mixed race; Mestizo s and Mulatto s. They also retain almost no indigenous Amerindian population, and in Uruguay's case the indigenous population is now extinct. Meanwhile, although the majority of the population of Chile and Paraguay is composed of Mestizo s (mixed European & Amerindian ), the European apport has impacted significantly. It is not uncommon for the admixture in their mestizos to lean more towards the European element, as opposed to a relatively equal amount of both in the rest of Latin America , and in some cases it is the only discernable element. This situation has led to the often contentious question on the proportion of White People in Chile. Both Chile and Paraguay have an undetermined number of unmixed White Europeans, as well as a visible Amerindian minority. In Chile , although almost the entirety of the population has a racially mixed origin, confirmed by various genetic studies, the proportion composed of the white population is hotly disputed. Estimates range from as low as 2% for the truly unmixed white population to as high as 30% including all those who are phenotypically white. For this reason, most figures stating racial proportions for Chile prefer to give a combined figure for mestizos and whites. Moreover, though 10% of the population self identified as indigenous, mainly Mapuche , in the 1992 census (5% in the 2002 census due a change in question which added a cultural and linguisting association for official indigenous identification) it is most probable that pure unmixed Chilean Amerindian are now extinct. A potential proof of that may be the fact that the Mapuches have different tones in the skin colour among them, different shape of noses (some of which are roman-shaped noses), and significat differences in hair colour and shape, which may be curly, a thing that does not occur in American Indigenous races. EDUCATION AND STANDARDS OF LIVING The other distinguished and probably most significant characteristic of the southern cone is the high average of standards of living and life quality. The Brazilian southern region’s HDI ( Human Development Index ) can be compared to the richest countries of the Eastern Europe , like Slovenia , Croatia or Hungary . Uruguay, where illiteracy technically doesn't exist, reaches the same level of this social development even facing natural restrictions to industrial and economical growth. Argentina and Chile are considered developed countries when it comes to human development, since their high indexes of 0.863 and 0.859 respectively surpass many places in Europe and other industralized regions. High Life Expectancy , health and education access, significant participation on the world’s economy and profile of emergent economy make the southern cone the most prosperous macro-region of Latin America. RELIGION In terms of religion, the overwhelmingly majority are Roman Catholic , but there are Muslims , Eastern Orthodox , Buddhists and Daoists . Jewish communities thrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Despite some parts of the Southern cone's religious conservatism, it never curtailed the region's characteristics of social reform. Uruguay , where Agnosticism and Atheism is very usual, has a strong church and state separation policy and could be considered the most Liberal country in Latin America . The more conservative Chile only recently passed a law to legalize divorce, contrasting to Brazil and Argentina, countries where gay union is already possible. GEOGRAPHY The climates are mostly temperate, but include humid subtropical, mediterranean, highland tropical, maritime temperate, sub-Antarctic temperate, highland cold, desert and semi-arid temperate regions. Except for northern regions of Argentina ( Thermal Equator in January), the whole country of Paraguay, the Argentina-Brazil border and the interior of the Atacama Desert , the region rarely suffers from intense heat. In addition to that, the winter presents mostly cool temperatures, except for the Andes and Patagonia desert (almost unoccupied regions). Strong and constant wind and high humidity is what brings sensation of low temperatures in the winter. The Atacama is the driest place on Earth. BOTANY The most peculiar plant of the region is the '' Araucaria '' tree (''pinus'') which can be found in Argentina and Chile. The only native species of ''pinus'' found in the southern hemisphere had its origin in the Southern Cone. '' Araucaria Angustifolia '', once widespread in Southern Brazil, is now a critically endangered species. The steppe region, situated in central Argentina, Uruguay and southern Brazil is known as the Pampas , and the typical people of the region are a mixture of Spanish and some Amerindian blood, and are called Gaucho s. Maritime tropical trees, Tundra , mediterranean vegetation and desert plants are also natural occurrences. Besides Antarctica , Patagonia is the cleanest place on earth. POLITICS During the second half of 20th Century , these countries were often ruled by Junta s, military nationalistic dictatorships. Around the 1970s , these regimes collaborated in Plan Cóndor against leftist opposition, including Urban Guerrilla s. However, by the 1990s , these countries restored democracies. Currently, Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet have restored credible and reformist governments. Uruguay has a liberal and secular tradition and its social welfare policies are sometimes held as the " Switzerland of Latin America". For information on countries' political histories, see Argentina , Chile and Uruguay . INCLUSION OF BRAZIL When only entire countries are included, in most of cases only Argentina, Uruguay and Chile are included in the Southern Cone. In some other definitions, when used for describing the countries under military dictatorship during the middle of 20th Century , Brazil is fully included, although most of the Brazilian lands are geographically outside the Southern Cone. Nowadays, the southernmost states of Brazil(the states of and Rio Grande Do Sul receive snowfalls every year), high level of industrialization and strong European immigration. It should be pointed out that the State Of São Paulo has a higher GDP and GDP per capita than Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and the other three Brazilian states more commonly included. Parts of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais also share the same characteristics. INCLUSION OF PARAGUAY Due to the geographic position and the past military dictatorship, Paraguay is often included in the Southern Cone. But, due to its great poverty, non-industrialized trait and mostly tropical climate, in opposition to the other countries of the Southern Cone, it's sometimes excluded from the definition. SEE ALSO |
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