Latinoamérica sin humanos (Latin America After People) is a special that aired on October 29, 2010 in Chile, Mexico, and other Latin American regions, on the Latin American History Channel. The special is a sequel to Life After People and the eponymous series. The special describes what Latin America would be like if humanity disappeared. The special assumes that humanity disappears suddenly and immediately, but does not speculate on what could cause such an event.
Timeline
| Time Period | Predictions |
|---|---|
| 1 day | Quite a few cars on the continent will be stranded in the streets for good, thus the major source of pollution in Latin America is gone. Garbage is not recycled or collected and the air begins to stink, and pets are forced to fend for themselves. The electricity that has not yet been consumed provides power to continue operating automated systems until the power supply is exhausted. But if the electricity holds about 36 hours before exhaustion, fires will erupt in the slums of cities, the first disaster after the disappearance of people. |
| 7 days | The remains of food are being devoured mercilessly by rats and insects. The dogs that survived will have to adapt to the wild. Cats will also have to adapt, but as they have not lived as long with man like dogs, they adapt faster and better. Zoo animals have escaped from their cages, and go into the cities. The electrical systems have collapsed and finally all cities are dark. |
| 1 month | Without electricity demand, the generators of Itaipu Dam automatically shut down, with no water moving through the dam, the Paraná River begins to overflow the dam. The predators who escaped from the zoo roam the streets looking for prey. Latin American nature begins to show signs of recovery. |
| 1 year | Tropical and subtropical rainforests recover at an incredible rate, deforested areas have been reclaimed by nature. In Brazil, the Atlantic Forest has begun to expand into São Paulo; grass has started to grow through Paulista Avenue, vines now cover the buildings and the city is slowly reverting back to a tropical forest. In Mexico, the former Lake Texcoco begins to revive after years of diverting its waters away from Mexico City, soon 70% of Mexico City will be flooded. |
| 2 years | Plants and wild grasses have overrun the crops that once supported humanity. The seeds that remain within storage silos begin to ferment in a dangerous manner, causing fires and explosions. Two years of uncontrolled replenishment has refilled Lake Texcoco that Mexico City was built in. The buildings of Mexico City begin to degrade and be at risk of falling due to the softening of their foundations by flooding. |
| 5 years | Skyscrapers in Chile become home to birds of prey. Hotels near the Brazilian coast begin to be degraded by the tide. |
| 10 years | Latin America has changed a lot. Cars stranded for ten years are destroyed by rust and vegetation. In Mexico City, the Zócalo has been submerged; the National Palace and the Metropolitan Cathedral have been flooded. |
| 20 years | Outside of Mexico City, plant life has invaded the ruins of Teotihuacan without humans to maintain the site, completely covering the Avenue of the Dead, hiding it once again; eventually the entire site will disappear under plant growth. |
| 30 years | The City of Bogota it is almost unrecognizable. The show examines Melincué, a town in the south of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina that was abandoned in the 1970’s. |
| 75 years | In Mexico City, the softening of its foundation and a small earthquake leads to the collapse of the World Trade Center Mexico City. In Argentina, the Obelisk of Buenos Aires collapses due to water damage at its base. Rheas that have returned to Buenos Aires witness the obelisk’s collapse. In Mexico City, the Angel of Independence still rises out of the lake that Mexico City has become, but 75 years of water damage has weakened the base of the pillar and it topples into the water below. The Paraná River has now overcome all the dams ever built on it. |
| 100 years | The Pan American Highway is now in ruins, and nothing remains but the remains of cars and concrete that were abandoned a century ago. The descendants of zoo animals now populate their sites of origin. In Rio de Janeiro, the head and arms of the Christ the Redeemer Statue are now covered in vines, creating a carpet of green on the statue. The San Roque González de Santa Cruz Bridge succumbs to corrosion and collapses. |
| 150 years | In São Paulo, the Copan Building finally falls and collapses. In Santiago, the highly degraded and plant covered Titanium La Portada finally gives up the fight to corrosion and collapses. In Mexico City, an earthquake collapses the Torre Mayor. |
| 200 years | Jesuit temples that were built in Paraguay in the seventeenth century have survived better than many modern buildings. One of the arms of the Christ the Redeemer Statue falls. |
| 250 years | The Christ the Redeemer Statue collapses in Rio de Janeiro, as does the Italy Building in São Paulo. |
| 500 years | São Paulo has been overtaken by the rainforest and is now unrecognizable. Rio de Janeiro is not the same: the Atlantic Forest has invaded the city and its magnificent buildings have fallen. Buenos Aires has been consumed partly by the waters of the Río de la Plata, and partly by vegetation. Mexico City, the second-largest city in the world in time of humans, is now unrecognizable, Lake Texcoco has returned, and the city is gone forever. |
| 1000 years | Latin America is now completely unrecognizable. The statue of El Caballito in Mexico City survives below the waters of Lake Texcoco but the Popocatepetl volcano erupts and destroys what remains of Mexico City. |