South America Content Capture
Forrest Warner
GB 444-053 International Business
Spring 2013
Tarleton State University

When I first think of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile the first thing that comes to mind is the sport of soccer. Latin America is mainly motivated by soccer. As shown in the video, the environment can quickly get hostile at games due to competition. South America holds a great culture followed with a rich history. Brazil holds a traditional motto which is “Ordem e Progresso,” or order and progress, and represents this motto on the Brazilian flag (National Geographic, 2012). Argentina also has a very unique culture. Just like American children, Argentinean children put the teeth they lose underneath their pillow. Instead of a visit from the American tooth fairy, they have what is called the “El Raton Perez,” which is a little mouse that takes teeth and leaves coins (Argentina Facts, 2012). The most interesting thing about Chile was how similar their flag is to the Texas state flag (Photo on the last page) (National Geographic South, 2010).
Out of Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, Brazil has the highest population at over 199,000 people, as expected by the large land mass. Argentina is next in population, with over 42,000, and last is Chile with around 17,000 people (CIA, 2012). Brazil has artwork pictured on their currency (picture on last page), and uses a currency known as Brazil Reais (Brazil Currency Calculator, 2012). Argentina and Chile both use pesos as their main currency (Argentina Currency Calculator) (Chile Currency Calculator). Brazil holds the 8th highest GDP in the world at $2.362 trillion, followed by Argentina with $746.9 billion in GDP, and Chile at $319.4 billion in GDP (The World Bank, 2012). Finding the average income for these countries was difficult. The average income can be found by subtracting total GDP from total population. In 2012, Chile averaged the highest at $14,300, Brazil averaged $12,000 in average income, and Argentina averaged the lowest at around $11,000 per year (The World Bank, 2012). The poverty and unemployment rate resemble the average incomes for these countries. Argentina has both the highest poverty rate at 30% and highest unemployment rate at 7.2% (CIA, 2012). Brazil holds a 6.2% unemployment rate, which is close to Chile’s unemployment rate at 6.4% (CIA, 2012). However, their poverty rates were different. In 2009, Chile had a 15.1% poverty rate, while Brazil had a 21.4% poverty rate in 2009 (CIA, 2009). In 2010, the United States had the exact same poverty rate at 15.1% as Chile (CIA, 2010). Brazil, Argentina, and Chile share many of the same major industries such as textiles, chemicals, vehicle parts, and iron and steel product (CIA, 2012). However, each has some unique industries. Brazil produces a large amount of lumber per year, but is predictable due to the massive land mass. Argentina does much business in food processing, and while as talked about in the video, Chile is big into cooper and wine (CIA, 2012). “Being able to communicate effectively is very important in business.” This is a quote from a professor at Tarleton State. Languages play an important role in communication and the more diverse a country can be, the more efficiently ran it can be. Brazils’ official language is Portuguese, but other languages such as Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, and English are also spoken there (CIA, 2012). Argentina is similar when it comes to languages. Both have Spanish as the dominate language. Other languages such as German and French are sometimes used as well in Argentina and Chile (CIA, 2012). Even though the ethnic groups are very diverse with many races, Roman Catholic is the main religious practice in all of South America (CIA, 2012). Another interesting similarity between Chile and Argentina is that both have a Federal government system, while Brazil has a Federal Republic government system (CIA, 2012).
I learned