South America the first decade of the 21st century, South American governments have drifted to the political left, with leftist leaders being elected in Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela. Most South American countries are making increasing use of protectionist policies, helping local development. All South American countries are presidential republics with the exceptions of Peru, which is a semi-presidential republic, and Suriname, a parliamentary republic. French Guiana is a French overseas department, while the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are British overseas territories. It is currently the only inhabited continent in the
2007 Martinique earthquake America such as in Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. In Caracas, Venezuela, some people evacuated office buildings. The intensity reached VI to VII on the EMS98 scale in Martinique and Dominica. In the surrounding region, the South American Plate is subducting beneath the Caribbean Plate. This earthquake occurred within the South America Plate and was in response to stresses generated by the slow distortion of the plate. 2007 Martinique earthquake The 2007 Martinique earthquake took place on November 29 at in the Windward Islands region, underneath the Martinique Passage. It was a magnitude 7.4 earthquake which occurred from Fort-de-France,