The Latin American Experience

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Definition

alienar

alienate

v. in law, to transfer (property, title, or the like) to another.

alimentación popular

the people’s diet

n. the food and drink ordinarily consumed by the common people.

bienestar

well-being, welfare

n. a state of health, happiness, and good fortune.

brecha

cleavage

n. the tendency to split along certain definite lines, as in some stones.

the splitting of an organization into opposing groups, as from conflicting ideas; faction.

campesino

peasant

n. a member of the class of farm laborers and small farmers.

an unsophisticated country person, or a person considered to be crude and unlearned.

cláusula de salvaguarda

safeguard clause

n. a clause to keep safe, guard or protect.

comercializar

market

v. to sell or make available for sale.

compensar

subsidize

v. to provide financial assistance for; support with money.

to secure the cooperation or assistance of by paying a subsidy to.

cosecha

harvest

n. the gathering of ripe crops, the crops or the amount so gathered, or the season in which they are gathered.

coyote

coyote, middleman

n. an intermediate trader or merchant between producers and consumers.

coyuntura

juncture

n. a particular point in time, esp. a point of serious importance or crisis.

cultivar

farm, grow

v. to cultivate (land).

cultivo

farming

n. the business or practice of raising crops and livestock.

cultivo

crop

n. agricultural plants or produce.

de riego

irrigated

adj. relying on artificial application of water

de temporal

rain-fed

adj. relying only on direct rainfall

ejido

ejido, collective ownership

n. system of communal or cooperative farming. Ejidatarios did not actually own the land, but were allowed to use their alloted parcels indefinitely as long as they did not fail to use the land for more than two years. They could even pass their rights on to their children.

elote

ear of corn

n. the ear on which corn seeds grow.

empresario

businessman

n. a man who works in business or commerce.

expropriate

expropriate

v. to take property away by legal or official action.

foráneo

foreign

adj. in, from, characteristic of, or involving a country that is not one's own.

grano

grain, cereal

n. the small hard seeds of cereal plants such as wheat or rice, used for food and often ground into flour.

such cereal plants collectively.

híbrido

hibrid

adj. the offspring of two plants or animals that differ genetically as to species, race, breed, or the like.

impunidad

impunity

n. exemption or immunity from harm, esp. punishment or retribution, as a result of one's actions or words.

insoslayable

unavoidable, inescapable

adj. impossible to avoid or escape; inevitable.

intermediario

middleman

n. an intermediate trader or merchant between producers and consumers.

latifundio

large state

n. a very large area of land.

latifundistas

large state owners

n. owners of a very large area of land.

lineamientos

guidelines

n. an indicator of a procedure or course to be followed.

maicero

man of maize

n. a maize grower. a maize farmer.

maíz

maize, corn

n. a cereal grain domesticated in Mesoamerica and subsequently spread throughout the American continents.

milpa

milpa

n. a field, usually but not always recently cleared, in which farmers plant a dozen crops at once including maize, avocados, multiple varieties of squash and bean, melon, tomatoes, chilies, sweet potato, jícama, amaranth, and more.... Milpa crops are nutritionally and environmentally complementary.

minifundio

small state

n. an area of land relatively little in size

neoliberalismo

neoliberalism

n. a political philosophy, actually a continuance and redefinition of classical liberalism, influenced by the neoclassical theories of economics. The central principle of neoliberal policy is free markets and free trade.

ocupación agrícola

farm labor

n. work performed in a farm for a wage or salary.

olote

corncob

n. the woody core that bears the kernels in an ear of corn.

paternalismo

paternalism

n. the practice or policy of controlling or managing people in a nation, corporation, school, or the like in a paternal manner, by taking care of their needs but giving them virtually no responsibility.

planta transgénica

transgenic plant

n. plants created in a laboratory using recombinant DNA technology.

plantación

planting

n. the act of putting (seeds or plants) in the ground.

pugnar

strive

v. to struggle, usu. against something or someone.

rendimiento

yield

n. a thing or amount produced or yielded.

production, output

riego

irrigation

n. artificial application of water.

sembrar

sow, plant

n. to plant or scatter in or over the ground.

subsistencia

subsistence, survival

n. the act, fact, or state of subsisting or surviving.

temporalero

rain-fed

adj. relying only on direct rainfall

transnacional

transnational corporation

n. a corporation or enterprise that manages production or delivers services in more than one country.