| 
When Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, he did not realize that he was arriving at a very large continent that someday would be named after another Italian navigator, Amerigo Vespuci. More than five centuries after the arrival of Columbus' expedition, this wonderful land is no longer one America, but three, and it is still a New World full of opportunities and promises.
Although North America (Canada, Mexico and the US) is leading the way in economic and military power, Central and South America are pushing forward into the new millennium in order to overcome underdevelopment and to fulfill their people's hopes. Not only are the Americas endowed with unlimited natural resources and unexplored riches, but they have made incommensurate contributions to humankind.
In the last decade of the 20 th century, there were a number of events that brought the countries of the Americas together. Several attempts to create economic and political integration emerged; among the most successful have been the North American Free trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Mercado Común del Sur (Mercosur) and the Andean Pact. Trade and cooperation among the nations of the Americas has increased and surpassed even the most optimistic predictions.
|
