Why was most of the population of latin america poor?

Explanation:

The Latin American countries have never had fully democratic systems. Several key pieces are always messing. Some are highly religious (and hence not secular), many were communist or fought civil wars over communism, many were dictatorships, some still don't have full property rights, many don't have any rule of law and hence massive corruption, etc.

the phenomenon that would be cited as evidence of increased economic interdependence between europe and the americas is  the development of mercantilism.

this theory suggests that the wealth of a country depends on its economic assets, or capital.

hope this : )